1,300-year-old possible Communion loaf bearing image of Christ is found in Turkey

ACI Prensa Staff, Oct 16, 2025 / 15:41 pm

A team of archaeologists has discovered at a site in southern Turkey five small round loaves — probably intended for the Eucharist — more than 1,300 years old, one of which features an image of Jesus Christ.

The discovery took place in Topraktepe, an ancient Roman and Byzantine center known as Irenopolis — the “City of Peace” — located in present-day Karaman province in the historical region of Anatolia.

The loaves, made with barley and dating from the sixth to eighth centuries, have been exceptionally well preserved thanks to their carbonization and the oxygen-free environment where they were found. According to researchers, they are the best-preserved examples of their type found to date in Anatolia.

One of the loaves depicts the figure of J