THE MOST ANCIENT ARCHAEOLOGICAL REMAINS OF "BREAD" AND RELATED PRODUCTS IN THE MEDITERRANEAN AND EUROPE
Universal food par excellence, bread, in its numerous forms (loaves, focaccias, crushed bread, etc.), has been in the history of man one of the main sources of subsistence for ancient populations. Apparently simple food, it was and still is an expression of complex cultural, social and symbolic universes, probably more than any other nourishment
In truth, bread is one of the most elaborate and refined cereal products, being the result of a series of operations which involve the use of specific technologies for its realization, such as the production of flour, more or less long times to guarantee its leavening, as well as the construction of ovens suitable for its cooking. Bread has also been a very useful food reserve in times of famine: it can be dried, preserved and reused.
Apart from the numerous historical and ethnographic sources available for the Mediterranean and for Europe, archaeological finds of bread (and related products), already recovered at the end of the 19th century, i.e. at the dawn of modern archeology, are quite rare. Among the earliest finds, the best known is certainly that relating to the charred loaves collected by Keller in the prehistoric villages around the Swiss lakes3 ; and it was followed by those much more numerous than the cremation burials of Birka, on the island of Björkö (Sweden), dating back to the Middle Ages4 . Although they had greater resonance, the famous Egyptian loaves preserved for drying in the burials of ancient Egypt, were discovered only later: there are occasional references in the excavation reports of the time, such as that of Petrie in relation to the excavation of Qurneh5 . As far as the chronological attribution of the finds is concerned, and contrary to what was supposed, the leavened doughs from European sites are very ancient and the first attestations date back to the 4th millennium BC, such as for example the remains from the Twann site (Lake Biel, Switzerland) dated to ca. 3900-3500 BC, and those from the Montmirail site, dated to 3719-3699 BC
Ancient and Modern
CONSERVATION METHODS AND ANALYTICAL APPROACHES
From an archaeological point of view, bread, as an organic compound, can only be preserved in archaeological deposits in particular conditions and this has certainly made it among the least common archaeological remains, and therefore of exceptional value.
Generally it is preserved because it is carbonized (therefore devoid of those elements which attract decomposing agents); the combustion can be accidental, for example during an error in the cooking process, or voluntary, connected to ritual or religious practices. Even catastrophic events can contribute to the conservation of similar remains, as is the case, for example, of the loaves found in the excavations of Pompeii and Herculaneum.
Ancient and Modern 2
THE IMPORTANCE OF DISCOVERY CONTEXTS
The archaeological context of origin plays an important role in the interpretation of the remains of bread, especially when the research is also oriented towards the reconstruction of the socio-cultural, as well as economic, value that this food product had in ancient societies.
In fact, the bread produced more or less daily for food needs was intended for man and, therefore, consumed; only accidental events could have allowed its conservation (this is the case, for example, of the remains of Pompeii and Herculaneum).
On the contrary, the findings of bread and similar products are much more frequent in ritual, funerary and cultural contexts; although they are not daily products (because they are linked to specific events of social life) their conservation from an archaeological point of view is guaranteed by "taphonomic" processes (ed. Taphonomy: science that studies the modalities of the formation of a fossil) subjects. Offered to the deceased or to the deity, loaves, focaccias, etc. they are often connected to ritual forms that involve the use of fire (incineration practices, offered through combustion); their deposition takes place in protected places such as tombs and burials, or in special cult spaces (votive ditches, eschara).
THE MOST ANCIENT FINDINGS IN SALENTO
Roca's conical bread. Currently the oldest attestations of remains of bread for the Salento area, and more generally for Puglia, dates back to the 2nd millennium BC and comes from the levels of the Recent Bronze Age (12th century BC) of the site of Roca (Melendugno- Le), a fortified settlement that arose along the Adriatic coast of Salento during the Middle Bronze Age.
The site is characterized by different phases of life and, in addition to the aspects of monumentality that make it almost unique, the contexts of a cultural/ceremonial nature connected to rich and varied testimonies of contacts with the eastern Mediterranean during the age of Bronze. It is precisely these aspects which, underlining the centrality of Roca's political role in administering relations with the Aegean world, highlight phenomena of cultural hybridization, also of a religious nature, with elements typical of the Minoan-Mycenaean environment.
In other words, it would be an elaborate product, obtained from the processing of cereals, ground until they are reduced to flour and mixed with a liquid, and which probably underwent fermentation processes; a sort of "bread" whose shape appears very singular. The "conical" shape of the dough refers above all to Egypt where, over a wide period of time between the 3rd and 1st millennium BC, they are documented by the molds in which they were modelled, called precisely bread moulds, from reproductions in terracotta25, from the hieroglyphic sign (bread-cone, conical loaf), which is attributed the meaning of «to give, to present», as well as from numerous testimonies in the figurative arts, also in scenes of offerings and sacrifices. Therefore, it cannot be excluded that the very shape of the ancient bread of Roca is not accidental, thus confirming the cultic value of the archaeological context of discovery.
The focaccia and taralli of Monte Papalucio. The main and most abundant archaeological evidence of products similar to bread in the Salento area consists of burnt remains from the site of Monte Papalucio (Oria-BR), a sanctuary area located on a small relief of today's city and dedicated to the cult of the Greek deities Demeter and Kore. The place of worship, archaeologically investigated since the late seventies, is spread over a system of terraces at the foot of a cave. The construction of the Sanctuary dates back to the archaic period (VI-V century BC) and coincides with the period of profound settlement transformation of Messapia; attendance, after a period of interruption, resumed in the Hellenistic phase (4th-3rd century BC), when we witnessed a growth of the place of worship through a series of restructuring works of the cult complex and the creation of new rooms.
The presence of mortars and stone millstones and the discovery of fragments of large containers for foodstuffs suggest that the meals were prepared and consumed in the Sanctuary and that a part of the vegetable gifts were stored inside the place of worship. In fact, the remains of fruits and seeds are abundant in the votive deposits (various species of wheat and barley, various legumes including field beans, vines, dates, figs, pomegranates, etc.), but what makes the An archaeobotanical assembly unique in the ancient Mediterranean, it is made up of the incredible wealth of charred remains of muffins of various shapes.
The most interesting aspect of these finds, as already underlined by Ciaraldi, is their almost perfect overlapping, at least formally, with the sweets depicted in the votive terracottas of the likna found in the Sanctuary of Demeter and Kore in Corinth (VI-II century BC).
Some of the remains of Oria go beyond this immediate comparison with the representations in the liknas, which instead find a fascinating and incredible parallel with one of the most typical baked products of the Apulian tradition, the so-called "tarallini". These are precisely ring-shaped cakes, with a maximum diameter of about 2 cm and which, according to Ciaraldi, could be the stylized representation of the snake, an animal associated with thesmophoric rites
The "tarallini" of Oria offer an interesting example of a long food tradition that has its roots in very ancient times. Over a long period of time this product, in some way similar to bread (with which it shares the basic ingredients), has been filled with different social and cultural meanings with respect to the original context of sacredness (where it was also linked to food and meals, even if with a ritual value), representing today one of the main symbols of conviviality, hospitality and friendly sharing; “tarallucci and wine” to be precise.
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