15 April 2025 The Future is the Product of the Past

The “food” thousands of years ago may be the ancestor of a Turkish dessert

The rock paintings and kitchen materials found in the cave, which were discovered by a shepherd and emerged as a result of a landslide Mustafakemalpasa, located in the northwest of Turkey, created excitement.

Mustafakemalpaşa Dessert, which belongs to the Mustafakemalpaşa district of Bursa, is one of the traditional desserts of Bursa cuisine. This dessert can shed light on the history of a recent discovery.

The modern-day cheese dessert has remarkable parallels to a “meal” that stayed unspoiled due to a resin coating it. The dessert-like meal was discovered within a cave discovered by a local shepherd following a landslide. The cave near town was also found to have rudimentary old paintings on its walls as well as archaic culinary equipment.

According to the news of İHA, archaeologists believe the findings, which include complete and shattered pots, date back to 10,000 B.C. The meal in issue was comprised of wild wheat, unidentifiable plant roots, and a milk-like liquid.

A "foodstuff" that remained unspoiled due to a resin covering it bears striking similarities to the modern-day cheese dessert.
A “foodstuff” that remained unspoiled due to a resin covering it bears striking similarities to the modern-day cheese dessert. Photo: İHA

In the first examinations, it was determined that an animal like a buffalo or a cow was hunted and tried to be domesticated in the cave drawings, which were clearly evident despite not seeing light for many years.  Local authorities designated the cave as a protected area, and more information is expected to be gleaned from the detailed work of archaeologists working at the cave and a nearby location thought to be an ancient settlement.

The cave’s walls are adorned with drawings showing a “hunt” for animals resembling cows and how to breed them.  Photo: İHA
The cave’s walls are adorned with drawings showing a “hunt” for animals resembling cows and how to breed them. Photo: İHA

Mustafakemalpaşa Mayor Mehmet Kanar, who announced that detailed information will be given in the coming days as the area is taken under protection and the investigations have started, stated that the first investigations were enough to get them very excited.

Mustafakemalpasa, located in the northwest of Turkey, is an agricultural hub. The rural town already made a name for itself in the world of archaeology with the discovery of what experts described as one of the largest elephant fossils ever found in Turkey, dating back some 15 million years, and named Gamphotherium Pasalarensis after the town’s Paşalar district. Calcium carbonate and resin-rich woods in the larger region known as the “Gönen Basin,” according to scientists, help in the preservation of items such as food and fossils for generations.

Related Articles

A 42,000-year-old pendant found in northern Mongolia may be the earliest known phallic art

20 June 2023

20 June 2023

An international team of researchers has found a pendant in northern Mongolia that may be the earliest known example of...

1,600-year-old Roman-era wine shop unearthed in Greece

29 January 2024

29 January 2024

A team led by Scott Gallimore of Wilfrid Laurier University and Martin Wells of Austin College discovered a 1,600-year-old Roman-era...

An intact Punic Tomb was Discovered in Malta

29 May 2021

29 May 2021

İntact a tomb dating to the Punic period was found in Tarxien. The Superintendence of Cultural Heritage has announced the...

1400-year-old artifacts discovered in the ancient city of Uzuncaburç (Diocaesarea)

26 January 2022

26 January 2022

During the excavations carried out in a tower in the ancient city of Uzuncaburç (Diocaesarea) in Mersin province in the...

A Mysterious Partially Submerged Structure in Ireland is a Prehistoric Tomb, archaeologist says

25 October 2022

25 October 2022

New research has revealed that a mysterious structure found many years ago on the eastern shore of Cork Harbor in...

1,500-year-old Byzantine artifacts found under a peach orchard in Turkey’s Iznik

27 January 2023

27 January 2023

In the world-famous historical city of Iznik, which was the capital of four civilizations, a farmer found coins and historical...

Magical Roman Phallus Wind Chime Unearthed in Serbia

15 November 2023

15 November 2023

Archaeologists have unearthed a Roman phallus wind chime known as a tintinnabulum, during excavations at the ancient city of Viminacium...

Jordan’s mysterious ancient wall “Khatt Shebib”

22 October 2022

22 October 2022

The accomplishments of ancient civilizations are typically woefully underappreciated because we stereotype them as primitives who only wore loincloths, and...

Archaeologists may have found the lost 2,000-year-old ancient city of Bassania in Albania

19 June 2022

19 June 2022

Polish archaeologists may have discovered the 2,000-year-old lost city of Bassania in Albania. The remains of two large ancient stone...

Archaeologists Reveal a Hair Style They Think Was Fashion 2000 Years Ago

19 February 2021

19 February 2021

The small 5 cm figurine found during excavations at Wimpole in Cambridgeshire surprised with its details. National Trust archaeologists and...

Manuscript Portal Brings Medieval Manuscripts from Greifswald Online

24 April 2024

24 April 2024

Greifswald’s oldest books can be accessed digitally via another new portal. The Manuscript Portal (HSP) is the central online portal...

A female executive’s seal from 3000 years ago was discovered in Turkey

29 October 2021

29 October 2021

During the excavations carried out in southeastern Turkey’s Gaziantep’s Karkamış (Carchemish) Ancient City, seals and prints determined to belong to...

2,000-Year-Old Unique Composite Fish Scaled Armor Found in Ancient Tomb

20 December 2024

20 December 2024

Chinese researchers have recently found fish-scaled armor in the tomb of Liu He, Marquis of Haihun from the Western Han...

An ancient “fridge” have uncovered at the Roman legionary fortress of Novae, Bulgaria

30 September 2022

30 September 2022

Polish archaeologists, during excavations at the Roman legionnaires’ camp in Novae, discovered a container that could be described as an...

Unique 6,000-Year-Old Sacred Hearths and Karaz Pottery Discovered at Tadım Mound in Elazığ

28 March 2025

28 March 2025

Archaeological excavations at Tadım Castle and Tadım Mound (Tadım Höyük), located within the borders of Tadım Village in Elazığ, continue...