6 October 2025 The Future is the Product of the Past

Interesting discovery at Crowland digs, a human poo from the Saxon period or coprolite found

Excavations in Abbey Church Field in Crowland, near Peterborough, have also yielded such amazing finds results for archaeologists.

The archaeological excavation by students from Sheffield and Newcastle universities, which took place at a site traditionally connected with the hermit St Guthlac, concluded with an open day at the weekend.

Along with the ruins of a high-status structure, the researchers discovered a Guthlac period comb and a human poo – or coprolite – thought to be from the Saxon period.

Dr. Duncan Wright of the University of Newcastle told Spalding Today that organic material often does not survive at archaeological dig sites, and the finding of coprolite shows how well the site is preserved.

Duncan Wright at the archaeological dig in Crowland
Duncan Wright at the archaeological dig in Crowland

Dr. Wright said, “Coprolites give us a lot of information about the diet and how healthy people were at the time.”



📣 Our WhatsApp channel is now LIVE! Stay up-to-date with the latest news and updates, just click here to follow us on WhatsApp and never miss a thing!!



Saying that they found some wooden remains, Dr. Wright added that the most important find is a comb from the time of Guthlac.

The wood is thought to be part of a gully and will be carbon-dated later to give archaeologists an exact time when the high-status hall was built. However, flint scrapes from the Mesolithic era were discovered, indicating that people have been living and working on that site for thousands of years.

As for the high-status salon, Dr. Duncan Wright, “The excavation has been really successful, and we’ve identified archaeology from the Mesolithic right to the modern period. A substantially built medieval hall was uncovered, probably dating to between the 12th and 14th centuries. This building was divided into three rooms, with an annex projecting to the west. A second building project west to east was also identified, which may be the last in a series of churches on the site,” he said.  (Peterborough Telegraph)

“Perhaps most excitingly, we excavated material from the 8th century which is the time when St Guthlac lived. This material could relate to the saint’s use of the site, and local tradition holds that this place was where he lived as a hermit,” he added.

Related Articles

Researchers believe mass immigration to Orkney during the Bronze Age was mostly led by women

8 February 2022

8 February 2022

Researchers believe mass immigration to Orkney during the Bronze Age was mostly led by women.  Mass migration to Orkney during...

Archaeologists may have discovered the site where Otto the Great, founder of the Holy Roman Empire, died

5 October 2023

5 October 2023

Archaeologists believe they have found the site where Emperor Otto I (936-973), known as the Great, founder of the Holy...

Radiocarbon dating shows that the Roman settlement of Karanis survived in Egypt until the Arab Conquest in the 7th century AD

13 May 2024

13 May 2024

New research results are rewriting the history of Karanis, an ancient Greco-Roman agricultural settlement in the Fayum oasis in Egypt....

Radar Detects Long-lost River in Egypt and Could Explain How The Pyramids Were Built

22 May 2024

22 May 2024

More than 30 pyramids in Egypt are located in an unremarkable strip of barren desert far from the shores of...

Scottish Archaeologists unearth ‘missing’ Aberdeenshire monastery linked to first written Gaelic

19 November 2023

19 November 2023

One of the biggest mysteries in Scottish archaeological history has been solved with the discovery of the monastery site where...

Extraordinary discovery for the Western Baltic Sea region: a 400-year-old shipwreck Found at Bottom of German River

3 August 2022

3 August 2022

During a routine measurement at Trave, near Lübeck, in the northern part of Germany,  Kiel-Holtenau Waterways and Shipping Authority (Wasserstraßen-...

In Parion, one of the most important cities of the Troas region, 2,000-year-old mother-child graves were unearthed

1 November 2022

1 November 2022

Archaeological excavations in the ancient city of Parion, the most important harbor city in the Hellenistic era, have uncovered  2,000-year-old...

Beehives of Saudi Arabia’s Thought to be Over 1,000 Years Old

20 July 2024

20 July 2024

Located in the majestic Sarawat Mountain range in western Saudi Arabia, the ancient beehives in the Maysan Governorate constitute a...

Magnificent Romanesque and Peasant war fury in the lost Kaltenborn monastery near Allstedt

18 August 2023

18 August 2023

From the 12th to the 16th century, the Kaltenborn monastery near Allstedt was a religious, cultural, and economic center of...

Roman mosaic found under the pavement in the narrow streets of Hvar

13 February 2022

13 February 2022

In the Old Town on the Adriatic island of Hvar, Croatia, a Roman mosaic was unearthed beneath a narrow street....

How Knossos Palace Looked in Its Glorious Days

9 May 2021

9 May 2021

Knossos Palace is a famous architectural structure of ancient Knossos, which was the capital of the Minoan Civilization. Archaeologist Arthur...

The rich-poor distinction draws attention in the nutrition of the inhabitants of the Ancient City of Pergamon

27 November 2021

27 November 2021

The hegemony of wealth to the poor, arising from the ruler, elite structure, property ownership, unjust acquisition, and distribution of...

Royal Shipwreck From 17th century Is discovered Off the Coast of England

11 June 2022

11 June 2022

Off the coast of England, a royal shipwreck has been unearthed. The Gloucester, one of the most renowned ships of...

Archaeologists Unearth Roman Archive of Ancient City of Doliche

20 November 2023

20 November 2023

Archaeologists from the Asia Minor Research Center at the University of Münster have uncovered the municipal archive in the ancient...

Ancient Tombs and 2-Meter Sarcophagus with Hieroglyphics Unearthed Near Aga Khan Mausoleum in Aswan

11 July 2025

11 July 2025

A joint Egyptian-Italian archaeological team has unearthed a significant collection of ancient rock-cut tombs near the Aga Khan Mausoleum on...