A 250-year-old pretzel was uncovered by archeologists in Germany's southern state of Bavaria recently, and it is thought to be the oldest pretzel ever found in Europe.
"This discovery is really extraordinary, because it depicts a snippet of everyday life," Joachim Wolbergs, mayor of the eastern Bavarian city of Regensburg,
told The Local.
"In my 30 years in the business I have never found an organic object," archeologist Silvia Codreanau-Windauer of the Bavarian State Department of Monument and Sites
told NBC News. "It is an archaeological sensation."
The excavation site in Regensburg has proven to be a rich one in recent years, as archeologists previously uncovered a wooden house thought to be 1,200 years old. The site, which is located on the Danube River, is even being considered for the building of a museum celebrating the Bavaria region.
Along with the pretzel — which was baked before the founding of the United States — Codreanau-Windauer also found a bread roll and a croissant. All of the baked goods had been charred, which likely angered the baker, but aided their preservation through the years.
People of the region have long dined on pretzels and weißwürst (white sausage), and the baked goods were especially popular among religious orders.
"The form of the pretzel is supposed to represent the crossed arms of monks. Eventually it ended up as a fasting meal," Codreanu-Windauer explained.
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