Europeans were enjoying blue cheese and beer 2,700 years ago, ancient poop shows

Austrian miners living 2,700 years ago consumed foods that are still part of our diet today, including blue cheese and beer, new research studying ancient poop has shown.

(CNN) — Iron Age Europeans enjoyed foods that are still part of our diet today -- like blue cheese and beer -- new research studying ancient poop has shown.

As a rule, human fecal matter doesn't tend to last for thousands of years, except in a few specific places such as dry caves, desert areas, waterlogged environments, and frozen habitats.

But on studying the ancient poop -- paleofeces -- found in prehistoric salt mines of the Hallstatt-Dachstein UNESCO World Heritage area of western Austria, the team uncovered some "surprising" evidence: the presence of two fungal species used in the production of blue cheese and beer in the historic samples. The high salt concentrations and the constant annual temperature of around 8 degrees Celsius inside the mine preserved the samples well, and researchers say their findings show the first molecular evidence for blue cheese and beer consumption in Iron Age Europe.