The world’s oldest breadcrumbs are discovered in Jordan. Ryebread causes a devastating disease in medieval Germany. In 18th-century France, the rising price of flour sparks popular unrest. And a carbonised sourdough loaf is discovered in Herculaneum, entombed by the Mount Vesuvius eruption… A Noiser production, written by Nicole Edmunds. For ad-free listening, exclusive content and early access to new episodes, join Noiser+. Click the Noiser+ banner to get started with a 7-day free trial. Or, if you’re on Spotify or Android, go to noiser.com/subscriptions To get an exclusive NordVPN deal, head to https://nordvpn.com/curioushistory to get an extra 4 months on the 2-year plan. There’s no risk with Nord’s 30-day money-back guarantee. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
It's mid August 2013 and we're in the baking heat of the Harrat Al Sharm in Jordan, also known as the Black Desert.
The rocky volcanic stones that stretch out for miles give the location its dark moniker.
Today we're following a team of archaeologists led by Amaya Aram Fotegai as they excavate a 14 and a half thousand year old site known as Shoemaker One.
The site is believed to be the remains of a Natufian home.
These were Paleolithic people who lived in this region between 12,500 and 9,500 years BC for weeks, the archaeologists have been working hard to expose the house's.
Finally, their endeavors are paying off and they can see the faded chipped stone remains peeking through the dust.
But though they can pause for a moment to admire their handiwork, the challenge isn't over yet.
There's still one key feature the archaeologists need to unearth.
The fireplace.
Stretching an entire meter across the floor, the task of excavating it is a daunting one.
It will take days of painstaking labor to carefully uncover what lies below.
But the team knows just how important this stage is.
The fireplace could reveal how the Natufian people cooked and what they ate, providing a glimpse into millennia old diets.
So, trying to ignore the unrelenting heat, the archaeologists crouch down and get to work.
You can hear the gentle swish of brushes sweeping dust to one side.
A chink of trowels delicately digging among the sand and stone.
Every few moments, someone stops and sifts a handful of soil through a sieve like instrument to check for any impurities.
Hours pass, and slowly, tiny fragments of the fireplace fall into formation like a jigsaw.
Then one member of the team draws a sharp gasp.
They've unearthed what seems to be the charred remains of some sort of plant.