An archaeological study of baking and bread in New Kingdom Egypt

This research applies a multi-disciplinary approach based on the archaeological record, to bread, a staple item of diet in ancient Egypt. Desiccated ancient loaves and artefacts connected with post-storage crop processing at settlement sites are the prime sources of data. They have been interpreted with reference to appropriate ethnographic analogies and to information about starch microstructure and its transformation under different processing techniques. These sources of evidence, together with experimental replication, have established that New Kingdom Egyptians obtained clean grain from emmer spikelets by dampening and pounding the spikelets in limestone mortars with wooden pestles, which shredded the chaff and freed whole grain. The mixture was dried, winnowed and sieved. The whole grain was then milled on a saddle quern, on which any desired grade of flour could be produced. This work has disproved the widely quoted hypothesis that addition of grit was needed to mill flour with the saddle quern. Identification and distribution of cereal processing artefacts have been linked to household self-sufficiency and general transport of cereal commodities. The study of actual ancient loaves has established a range of shapes, how they were formed, and that shape is not related to recipe. Emmer wheat was the cereal used for the great majority of the loaves examined, including those now held at the British Museum, the Louvre, and the Egyptian Museum, Turin. Occasional ingredients include fig, coriander and date. Barley was not an intentional addition. The analysis of starch from ancient loaves by optical and scanning electron microscopy has shown different patterns of germination and gelatinization, leading to the development of three different models for baking in New Kingdom Egypt. Bread was baked from untreated raw emmer, or from germinated emmer which was then air-dried and milled, or thirdly, from germinated emmer which was roasted prior to milling. These results have implications for the nutritional quality of bread, and for reinterpretation of the archaeological record .This research was financially supported by Scottish and Newcastle Breweries, plc, and the British Academy. Darwin College provided a travel grant to allow me to attend the Sixth International Congress of Egyptology 1991 in Turin

Bread in archaeology

This introductory article gives a history of the research on archaeological bread from the nineteenth century until recently. The different aspects that are relevant to adequate analyses and the correct interpretation of bread remains are discussed with a particular stress on future prospectives.Cet article introductif présente l’histoire des recherches sur les pains archéologiques du dix- neuvième siècle à nos jours. Les différents aspects qui déterminent une analyse efficace et l’interprétation correcte des restes de pains sont décrits, ce qui permet de formuler des perspectives pour les recherches à venir

An archaeological study of baking and bread in New Kingdom Egypt

This research applies a multi-disciplinary approach based on the archaeological record, to bread, a staple item of diet in ancient Egypt. Desiccated ancient loaves and artefacts connected with post-storage crop processing at settlement sites are the prime sources of data. They have been interpreted with reference to appropriate ethnographic analogies and to information about starch microstructure and its transformation under different processing techniques. These sources of evidence, together with experimental replication, have established that New Kingdom Egyptians obtained clean grain from emmer spikelets by dampening and pounding the spikelets in limestone mortars with wooden pestles, which shredded the chaff and freed whole grain. The mixture was dried, winnowed and sieved. The whole grain was then milled on a saddle quern, on which any desired grade of flour could be produced. This work has disproved the widely quoted hypothesis that addition of grit was needed to mill flour with the saddle quern. Identification and distribution of cereal processing artefacts have been linked to household self-sufficiency and general transport of cereal commodities. The study of actual ancient loaves has established a range of shapes, how they were formed, and that shape is not related to recipe. Emmer wheat was the cereal used for the great majority of the loaves examined, including those now held at the British Museum, the Louvre, and the Egyptian Museum, Turin. Occasional ingredients include fig, coriander and date. Barley was not an intentional addition. The analysis of starch from ancient loaves by optical and scanning electron microscopy has shown different patterns of germination and gelatinization, leading to the development of three different models for baking in New Kingdom Egypt. Bread was baked from untreated raw emmer, or from germinated emmer which was then air-dried and milled, or thirdly, from germinated emmer which was roasted prior to milling. These results have implications for the nutritional quality of bread, and for reinterpretation of the archaeological record .This research was financially supported by Scottish and Newcastle Breweries, plc, and the British Academy. Darwin College provided a travel grant to allow me to attend the Sixth International Congress of Egyptology 1991 in Turin

A new look at old bread: ancient Egyptian baking

Despite abundant archaeological, pictorial and textual evidence of ancient Egyptian life and death, we have little detailed information about the staple diet of most of the population. Now experimental work by a postdoctoral Wellcome Research Fellow in Bioarchaeology at the Institute is revealing how the ancient Egyptians made their daily bread

Prehistoric cereal foods from Greece and Bulgaria: investigation of starch microstructure in experimental and archaeological charred remains

Abstract In order to investigate ancient cereal cooking practices, the microstructure of preserved starch in charred ground cereal remains recovered from prehistoric sites in Greece and Bulgaria has been analysed. A comparative modern set of cooked and subsequently charred cereals was produced. By scanning electron microscopy it is demonstrated that, under some conditions, distinctive cooked starch structure survives the charring process. Charring alone can occasionally produce morphological changes which typically occur during cooking. Despite this caveat, starch microstructure features which are indicative of heating in liquid, and which are visible in the experimental material, have been detected in the ancient charred cereal food remains. Although much more experimental investigation is required, it has been established that evidence for past food preparation survives in ancient charred starch microstructure.status: publishe