Archaeologists Find 3,500 Year Old ‘Lunch Box’ in Swiss Alps

Chemical analysis found traces of grains inside, possibly part of an ancient porridge.

July 30, 2017 5:00 am
Archaeologists found this Bronze Age wooden box in the Swiss Alps. (Credit: Archaeological Service of the Canton of Bern)
Archaeologists found this Bronze Age wooden box in the Swiss Alps. (Credit: Archaeological Service of the Canton of Bern)

Archaeologists recently discovered a wooden “lunch box” buried under ice near the top of a mountain in the Swiss Alps with traces of grain residue in it.

They’ve determined that it is from about 3,500 years ago, and did a chemical analysis on the contents. The analysis revealed faint traces of cereals like wheat and rye, reports Live Science, which could have been part of a whole-grain porridge.

Personal containers made from wood or leather rarely survive because they are made from organic material that can quickly rot away. But heavy ceramic containers would have proven difficult to carry over long journeys through the snowy mountain passes. Ötzi the Iceman, Europe’s oldest mummy, was found with two birch-bark containers.

This ‘lunchbox’ was found near the summit of the Lötschenpass, where artifacts once frozen in ice patches are now being discovered as melting occurs from climate change. It appears to be made of Swiss pine and willow, and sewn together with twigs.

Now, archaeologists have new chemical techniques, which allows them to better examine food and drink residues. However, Live Science says it is rare to find fats (or lipids) from cereals on dishes like these, even though grains were very important after the emergence of farming.

“One of the greatest challenges of lipid analysis in archaeology has been finding biomarkers for plants,” André Colonese, a bioarchaeologist at the University of York in England, said in a statement. “There are only a few and they do not preserve very well in ancient artifacts.”

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