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Discover how the first biscuits were barley-baked from the Ancient Greeks, when a slice was baked twice, and would create a massively extended shelf-life for your foodstuff. In Greek, those items were called paximadia, whilst in Latin, the name was panes biscottis, similar to how they became known for across the English speaking world. Food historian Anastasia Edwards explains to Elliott Webb how the hardy item could be used at sea, for instance, reconstituted with water, and also in soups and salads across Southern Europe. She says dipping biscotti in to wine is akin to 'dunking history'! Various names for 'sea biscuits' were used to describe soldiers and sailors, including ring shaped biscuits which gave their name to Roman soldiers. Soldiers in the American Civil War were known as 'heart attacks', another name for the twice-baked dry food. Modern sweet biscuits first came about through sugar, coming first to Europe through the sugar cane trade routes of the Middle East, turning the double-baked good in to a sweet meat which eventually formed the sweeter confection we know today.