8 August 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

Silver coins found near the ruins of the medieval monastery in Holy island

10 November 2021

10 November 2021

Archaeologists have discovered a silver coin on Lindisfarne, known as Holy Island, in the northeast of England. Dig Ventures is...

Brief history and 9 unknowns of Hagia Sophia

11 August 2021

11 August 2021

The Great Church was the name given to Hagia Sophia when it was initially constructed (Megale Ekklesia). However, the Church...

Roman Mosaic found during rescue excavation in southeast Türkiye

13 December 2023

13 December 2023

Archaeologists discovered mosaics believed to be from the Roman era during a rescue excavation undertaken in a rural expanse in...

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...

A 3,300-year-old tablet found at Büklükale from Hittite Empire describes catastrophic invasion of four cities

11 March 2024

11 March 2024

Archaeologists have unearthed a 3,300-year-old clay tablet depicting a catastrophic foreign invasion of the Hittite Empire in Büklükale, about 100...

An unknown human group is revealed in a 7,200-year-old skeleton discovered in Indonesia

27 August 2021

27 August 2021

According to a study released this week, archaeologists uncovered the bones of a 7,200-year-old skeleton from a female hunter-gatherer in...

4,500-Year-Old Three Warrior Graves Found in Germany, One Still Wearing an Arm Guard

30 January 2025

30 January 2025

Extraordinary discovery during the construction of a New Power Line: Archaeologists unearth a cemetery from the Copper Age with Three...

Gold glass ‘Roma’ unearthed in the excavations of the Rome subway

7 February 2023

7 February 2023

A very rare and refined piece of gold glass representing ‘Roma’, the woman symbol of the Eternal City, has been...

Academics Uncover Ancient Roman Physicians Galen’s Pharmacy Legacy in İzmir

27 February 2024

27 February 2024

As a part of research on medicinal plants in Bergama, İzmir’s historic district where Galen (129 AD -200 AD) once...

A Small Sandstone Carved With A Viking Ship May Be Oldest Picture Ever Found In Iceland

16 June 2023

16 June 2023

Archaeologists in East Iceland have found a sandstone carved with a Viking ship that may be the oldest picture ever...

New Moai statue discovered on Easter Island

1 March 2023

1 March 2023

A new Moai statue has been discovered on Rapa Nui, a Chilean territory known as Easter Island. The sacred monument,...

Getting to Know Matar Kubilea

8 February 2021

8 February 2021

Hittite state’s, With its collapse in 1200-1190 BC, Anatolia entered a period of drift from holistic to dispersal. (The Hittite...

Poland’s oldest copper axe discovered in the Lublin region

30 March 2024

30 March 2024

A copper axe from the 4th to 3rd millennium BC identified with the Trypillia culture was found in the Horodło...

A bronze tablet from 2000 years ago proves that Greek was spoken in Anatolia and that a multicultural life existed ‘Anisa tablet’

12 April 2024

12 April 2024

The Anisa bronze tablet proves that Greek was used in Anatolia 2000 years ago and that a multicultural life existed....

Unique and very well-preserved prehistoric engravings found in southwestern Catalonia

23 March 2023

23 March 2023

Significant prehistoric rock art has been discovered in La Febro, in southwestern Catalonia. The team that discovered the art inside...