Researchers exploring an archaeological site in Austria have found three pieces of 3,000-year-old charred bread that look suspiciously like the remains of little bagels.

They are not complete rings — only parts of what were once ring-shaped pieces of dough. They were made from finely ground flour, but the scientists are not ready to claim that they have found the ur-bagel.

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The site covers 54 acres near the Slovakian border, and consists of an elevated Bronze Age fortification and surrounding settlements that flourished around 1500 to 500 B.C. The area had been excavated continuously from 1969 to 1989, and researchers uncovered about 100 pits apparently used for the storage of grain and other objects; three of the pits contained human remains.

The archaeologists also found ovens and vessels containing a variety of edible plants, including barley, wheat and broomcorn millet, and some food or foodlike preparations, including the three charred “bagels” made from a wet cereal mixture.