Bronze Age box from Swiss Mountains Contains Ancient Grains

Angela

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Are we really talking Bronze Age here?

See:
http://www.archaeology.org/news/5764-170726-bronze-age-box

"MUNICH, GERMANY—A wooden box containing traces of grains has been recovered on Switzerland’s Lötschberg Mountain, according to a report in The International Business Times. The 3,500-year-old box is thought to have been lost or forgotten at the summit of an alpine pass, some 8,500 feet above sea level. Molecular traces of spelt, emmer, and barley were detected in the box by a team including Jessica Hendy of the Max Planck Institute for the Science of Human History. “We knew that cereals were around but don’t know how important they were in the general economy,” she said. “Now we’ve developed this, we can try to apply it more widely to understand how important cereals were for these early farmers.” "

Just as an aside, spelt totally went out of fashion almost everywhere, but not in the mountains of Massa Carrara. We're a conservative bunch.

"Il Farro
Spelt wheat is an ancient cereal. It was a preferred dish of the ancient Romans, who even used it to nourish their legions. A cereal that has pratically disappeared, spelt has survived in Garfagnana, where it is polished in ancient stone mills. This local wheat possesses characteristic qualities that other types of spelt do not have.
It is frequently used to make a wonderful thick soup, which is also particularly wholesome, and unique salty savoury pies.
Today, thanks to the health food, vegetarian cuisine and macrobiotic food boom, this product is becoming marc and marc popular outside ot its native land. Like all genuine products, as it is a crop that is strictly linked to man's relationship with his land, even the origin of spelt had to be guaranteed and protected. This is exactly what the Comunità Montana delta Garfagnana has tried to bring about: first obtaining the "Indicazione Geografica Protetta" (Geografic Mark of Origin) and then setting up its own control and promotion committee.
This and other activities make up a vaster strategy intended to augment the typical productions and protect the consumer. "
torta-farro-g-.jpg


That's torta di farro, a "pie" made of farro, grated cheeses, milk and eggs. It's sort of like the "wheat" pie of southern Italy

We also make a very good soup with farro. If you add beans, it's the perfect vegetarian meal.
 

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