Archaeologists Unearth 250-Year-Old Pretzel In Germany

(Bavarian State Department of Monument and Sites)

Archaeologists and carb lovers are excited over a recent find in Bavaria, where scientists unearthed a 250-year-old pretzel, still in pretty good shape — all because whoever made it biffed in the kitchen, burning the pretzel during the baking process.

Dubbing it the oldest pretzel in the world, archaeologists dug up the bit of burned dough along with several rolls and croissant-shaped dough during excavations in Regensburg, Germany, reports NBC News.

“It is an archaeological sensation,” Silvia Codreanau-Windauer, from the Bavarian State Department of Monument and Sites, told NBC News. “In my 30 years in the business I have never found an organic object.”

Carbon dating shows that the food was made sometime between 1700 and 1800, and have survived until today due to bad baking technique.

“The baked goods, which were typical for the religious fasting period, are very well preserved because they were originally burnt in the baking process,” Codreanau-Windauer said, adding to The Local that it’s “definitely the oldest pretzel ever found.”

The mayor is psyched about the aged dough, because everyone loves pretzels.

“This discovery is really extraordinary, because it depicts a snippet of everyday life,” Mayor Joachim Wolbergs told The Local.

I’m willing to bet at least one of those archaeologists was like, “Hey… dare ya to take a bite.” But clearly that would only happen if cheese sauce was available. You know, to cover that burned taste.

250-Year-Old Pretzel Unearthed by German Archaeologists [NBC News]

Bavarian archaeologists find 250-year-old pretzel [The Local]

by Mary Beth Quirk via Consumerist