Inside an 800-Year-Old Toilet, Archaeologists Found a Marvel of Natural Preservation

An 800-year-old toilet is not the first place most people would expect to find a delicate written object. But in Paderborn, Germany, archaeologists excavating medieval latrines uncovered something extraordinary: a small wax-and-wood notebook still protected inside a decorated leather case.

The discovery was made during construction work near the historic Abdinghof monastery, where five medieval latrines revealed an unusually well-preserved collection of everyday objects. The most remarkable find was a 13th- or 14th-century notebook written in cursive Latin, possibly dropped by a wealthy or educated owner and sealed away for centuries.