29 May 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.”

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

Ancient Celtic Bone Pen Found in Southern Germany

14 December 2024

14 December 2024

From August to October this year, the State Office for the Preservation of Monuments (LAD) in the Stuttgart Regional Council...

60-million-year-old Snail Fossil Found in southern Turkey

22 May 2021

22 May 2021

A snail fossil dating to the age of 60 million was found in Mersin’s Toroslar district. The snail fossil discovered...

Archaeologists Found Seal Impressions That Could Change Hittite History in Kayalıpınar

15 September 2023

15 September 2023

A seal impression belonging to Hattusili III was found during the excavations carried out near the village of Kayalıpınar in...

Archaeologists uncovered an Aztec altar with human ashes in Mexico City

1 December 2021

1 December 2021

Archaeologists in Mexico have discovered a 16th-century altar in Plaza Garibaldi, the center in Mexico City famous for its revelry...

Chinese Paleontologists discovered a 170-million-year-old flower

29 March 2023

29 March 2023

Chinese paleontologists discovered fossils of an ancient plant dating back approximately 170 million years. The Chinese Academy of Sciences Nanjing...

The mystery of the silver bracelets of Queen Hetepheres in her celebrated tomb at Giza solved

2 June 2023

2 June 2023

The discovery of silver bracelets in the tomb of Queen Hetepheres I, wife of Pharaoh Snofru and mother of Pharaoh...

Archaeologists Unearth 78,000-Year Oldest Human Burial

5 May 2021

5 May 2021

A 78,000-year-old group of bones discovered at the mouth of a Kenyan coastal cave constitutes the oldest recorded formal human...

The International Congress of Hittitology will be held in Istanbul for the first time in its history

29 December 2021

29 December 2021

The International Congress of Hittitology, which has been held every three years since 1990, was postponed for one year due...

The Half of the Rare Oil Lamp Found in Jerusalem May be in Budapest

9 May 2021

9 May 2021

We had recently reported on a grotesque lamp found in Jerusalem. The other half of the oil lamp, which is...

Rare Prehistoric Animal Carvings Discovered For The First Time In Scotland

31 May 2021

31 May 2021

Animal carvings thousands of years old have been found for the first time in Scotland. The carvings, estimated to be...

5,000-Year-Old Fortress Discovered in Romania Using LiDAR Technology

22 March 2025

22 March 2025

Archaeologists have unveiled a 5,000-year-old fortress hidden deep within the forests of Neamț County, Romania. This remarkable find, made possible...

In Lowbury Hill Mystery of Anglo-Saxons buried 1,400 years ago may soon be solved

8 March 2023

8 March 2023

The mystery surrounding the remains of two Anglo-Saxons buried 1,400 years ago in south Oxfordshire, identified as a man and...

Roman girl adorned with 1800-year-old jewelry found in a lead coffin on Mount Scopus

9 April 2023

9 April 2023

“After the destruction of the Jerusalem Temple and the exodus of the Jewish population, late Roman Jerusalem—renamed Aelia Capitolina—had a...

Archaeologists discovered the monastery of Queen Cynethryth, a strong Anglo-Saxon queen

19 August 2021

19 August 2021

Archaeologists from the University of Reading and local volunteers excavating on the grounds of Holy Trinity Church have made an...

A long-lost branch of the Nile helped in building Egypt’s pyramids – Scientists Say

1 September 2022

1 September 2022

The Giza Pyramids are one of the world’s most iconic cultural landscapes, and they have fascinated humans for thousands of...