Two pretzels discovered during a digging operation on the banks of the Danube in the German city of Regensburg seem to be more than 300 years old, said archeologists. The pretzels are not exactly similar to the doughy product available in the state's famous beer halls today.

The pretzel fragments were put in display at the Regensburg Historical Museum this week on Thursday, said Dorothee Ott, spokeswoman for the Bavarian Office for Historical Conservation.

According to Ott, the reason behind the survival of the pretzels and other baked goods for the centuries was severe burning. They were believed to have been discarded from a bakery that was once on the site, said archeologists.

After using carbon dating technique, the researchers found that their creation marked a period somewhere between 1700 and 1800. The archeologists observed 15% shrinkage and according to Ott, it’s a normal pretzel, but a little smaller than today.

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

The archeologists also found several rolls, croissant-shaped dough and other pretzel fragments during excavations in the city of Regensburg last summer. The baked goods were meant for the religious fasting period, said Silvia Codreanau-Windauer from the Bavarian Bureau for the Conservation of Historic Monuments. They all are well preserved because of being originally burnt in the baking process.

According to the mayor of Regensburg Joachim Wolbergs, the discovery is outstanding given it depicts a snippet of everyday life.

One may see pretzels as typically German by non-Germans, but they actually are very much a south German and Austrian delicacy.

Codreanu-Windauer said the crossed arms of monks are supposed to be represented by the form of the pretzel.