A small, blackened loaf believed to date back 2,000 years has been uncovered at the Roman site of Vindonissa in Windisch, Switzerland. It is the first example of Roman bread found in the country, preserved after being burned and sealed in the ground.
The discovery was made during excavations ahead of a planned housing project. The area sits close to the edge of the former Roman camp, prompting a rescue dig organised by local authorities in Aargau. Work began last August and is still ongoing.
Archaeologists have identified signs of an older, temporary camp beneath the later permanent one. Two parallel ditches and a line of post holes suggest a timber wall once stood there. A separate V-shaped ditch helped estimate the site’s size at around 400 metres across.
Remains of a building were also found, protected under a later Roman road. The layout includes smaller rooms alongside a larger space with a hearth. Tools, metalworking waste, and weapon fragments point to daily life linked to both soldiers and craftsmen.
A large clay oven found nearby suggests food was prepared in quantity. Close to it, the team noticed a dark, rounded object in the soil. It was removed carefully and taken to a lab for closer study.
Experts later identified it as a loaf of Roman bread, about 10 centimetres wide and a few centimetres thick, similar in shape to flatbread. Initial analysis was carried out by a specialist from the University of Basel.
"Finds of Roman bread are extremely rare. They only survive if they have been burned, such as the loaves in the bakery of Pompeii. The discovery of the first Roman bread in Switzerland underlines once again how important the Vindonissa site is for archaeological science," said the Canton of Aargau.
Sources : Canton of Aargau