Spelt, also known as Dinkel, is an early form of wheat that originated near the Caspian Sea in south west Asia. The grain is enclosed in a hard hull or shell that makes threshing very difficult.

Common in Britain in the Iron Age and early Roman Period, it was later replaced for bread making by wheat that is easier to thresh from the ear. Small quantities of spelt are now grown in Britain, Europe, especially in Germany, and in America for the health food market. The grain can be milled to flour for bread making, processed into flakes for muesli or roasted as a 'coffee' substitute.

Although the photographs show  spelt without awns, some varieties of spelt have awns in a similar way to wheat with or without awns.