German archaeologists discovered a pretzel made before the Declaration of Independence was signed, in the southern German province of Bavaria on Wednesday. The pretzel, which arguably also is the world’s stalest pretzel, was badly burnt and found next to a similarly burnt croissant and bread roll at an excavation site in Regensburg, according to the Local. 
 
 Archaeologists with the Bavarian Bureau for the Conservation of Historic Monuments said they believe the baked goods were badly burnt and tossed in the garbage by a baker about 250 years ago. Pretzels by this time were well-established treats in Germany. The earliest artistic depictions of pretzels discovered come from the 12th century; by the 15th century, they were being sold on the streets, according to Julius Sturgis Pretzel Bakery, the oldest pretzel-maker in the United States. 
 
 The general consensus among historians is that pretzels originated with German monks and were crossed into their distinctive knot as a symbol of a monk's crossed arms in prayer. Traditional pretzels were made with only flour and water and so were allowed to be eaten during the Christian holy period of Lent. Southern German regions like Bavaria are considered the true home of the pretzel. They are regularly eaten for breakfast with sausage and mustard, according to the Local. 
 
 Photo: Reuters 
 
 Unsurprisingly, the world’s largest pretzel was made by a pair of Bavarian bakers with the now-closed Müller-Brot GmbH bakery in 2008 in Neufahrn, Bavaria, according to the Guinness Book of World Records. It weighed 842 pounds, was 26 feet 10 inches long and 10 feet 2 inches wide. 
 
 While certainly a historic discovery for pretzel enthusiasts around the world, the Bavarian pretzel is not the oldest baked good ever found. That honor goes to a handful of 5,500-year-old pieces of burnt bread discovered in Oxfordshire, England. As farming and bread-making was a relatively new practice at the time, it’s safe to say that the pretzel found in Bavaria was probably a better-tasting treat. Photo: Reuters 
 
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 Small pieces of burnt bread, discovered in a pit at Yarnton in Oxfordshire, UK, have been dated and found to be 5,500 years old. This makes the Neolithic bread the oldest ever found in Britain. 
 
 The pieces turned up when the soil from the recently-excavated pit was mixed with water, allowing light material to float and be removed. 
 
 Initially, the burnt fragments were mistaken for pieces of wood charcoal, but when Dr Mark Robinson from the Oxford University Museum examined them through a microscope, he could clearly see partially crushed grains of barley. 
 
 The material was analysed at the Oxford University Radiocarbon Accelerator Unit and at Rafter Radiocarbon Laboratory, New Zealand. 
 
 From the amount of radioactive carbon in the sample, it is estimated that the bread was baked between 3,620 - 3,350 BC. 
 
 A flint knife was also found in the pit, along with over 200 flint flakes, some of which had been sharpened and serrated. 
 
 Crumbs of pottery were also discovered, along with hazelnut shells and apple cores. 
 
 Archaeologists speculate that it may have been a rubbish deposit, but the presence of a knife in good condition and the bread suggests it was a religious offering. 
 
 The bread was made by the first farmers to arrive in central England having migrated from mainland Europe. 
 
 They cleared the extensive forests and planted wheat and barley as well as keeping cattle and pigs.
– Archaeologists digging in Germany's state of Bavaria probably weren't expecting to find a snack. But that's exactly what turned up last summer at a site in Regensburg on the Danube River, a location that had previously given up the remains of some gallows and a 1,200-year-old wooden house. Out of the dirt came ... a roughly 250-year-old pretzel. "This is definitely the oldest pretzel ever found," Silvia Codreanau-Windauer of the Bavarian Bureau for the Conservation of Historic Monuments said in announcing the "archaeological sensation." Remnants of a bread roll and croissant were also found nearby, "suggesting that someone missed out on quite the historical breakfast buffet in the 18th century," the Local quips. In reality, the meal probably wouldn't have been so tasty back then: Researchers say the food is so well-preserved because it was originally burnt, and they speculate that a baker threw out the creations in frustration. Carbon dating placed the items in the 1700 to 1800 time period. "This discovery is really extraordinary, because it depicts a snippet of everyday life," Regensburg's mayor says. The Bavarian state's pretzel last year secured a place on the EU's "protected origins" list, which NBC News explains means only pretzels made there can be labeled "Bayerische Brezn" ("Bavarian pretzel"). The International Business Times notes this is far from the oldest food item ever found: In the late '90s, burnt pieces of 5,500-year-old bread were found in England. (A "tantalizing" find was recently made at an Oregon dig.)