The guy, Seamus Blackley, a game programmer who proposed the original Xbox, no less. Also made Trespasser (1998) realistic open world 3D game with physics engine [1]
The article didn't imply that the food was still edible.
I wasn't implying that either. But how can you recognize organic food after 5k years? In my compost bin it lasts only a few weeks :)
Composting is a process specifically intended to break down organics. A closed tavern in the desert isn't likely to have the same conditions, and I'd imagine the remnants of the fish are largely bones and scales of the sort you wouldn't put in home compost.
You can't compost food in the desert, it's to dry.
5000 year old fish would probably be excellent fish sauce by now
they mentioned they found the "remains" of fish, presumably liquefied along with possibly some bones
You've never found McDonalds of unknown age under the seat of your car?
maybe they found it in a sumerian freezer
bones, seeds etc. can fossilize
They can, but usually not on the relatively short timescales we use in archaeology. It's not what happened here, for example.