Gloucester’s Medieval Poo
Written by Shaun Moore on July 5, 2010
People have flocked to see a 1,000 year old poo previously kept hidden in the Gloucester City Museum & Art Gallery.
11,000 visitors saw it when it was loaned to the Gloucestershire County Council’s Archaeology Service for their display in the Discovery Zone of the Cheltenham Science Festival. It proved to be so popular with visitors that it will be shown again at the Tewkesbury Medieval Fair next weekend.
Discovered by archaeologists in 1991 digging on the site of the public car park in Ladybellgate Street, it was found at the bottom of a roadside hole thought to have been dug in Saxon times. With no designated public toilets about 1,000 years ago perhaps a desperate Anglo-Saxon found a hole and thought they would never be found out!! This is an important find because scientists can use it to analyse the diet and heath of our ancestors which helps them to understand similar issues today. Gloucester is well known for remarkable Saxon finds of things that don’t usually survive, including a complete shoe, part of a smart checked dress and human hair.
Planned to be included in the new galleries due to open April 2011 at the Gloucester City Museum & Art Gallery as part of the million pond Heritage Lottery Grant recently awarded to the Gloucester Museum Service.
