Diet of man who produced largest ever poo revealed over a thousand years later
Rachael Davis
Featured Image Credit: Rapeepong Puttakumwong/Getty Images
We all poo. It's nothing special. Except, of course, if you're responsible for creating the largest poo ever recorded.
It must be hard to know whether the record of a Viking, who would have done this poo more than 1,000 years ago, has been beaten in years since, as the invention of plumbing has meant that human waste is gone at the push of a button, rather than being perfectly preserved like this complete stool found in York around 50 years ago.
As it stands, this turd - which is around 20 centimetres long and five centimetres wide - is the largest on record, and is believed to have been created all the way back in the ninth century.
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The poo, which was discovered in York by the York Archaeological Trust, now sits pride of place in the city's Jorvik Viking Centre. It's impressive that it was preserved for so long, remaining structurally intact, but even more impressive is that scientists who tested the turd have been able to uncover the diet of its producer.
Researchers discerned that the poo, which was discovered on a site which later became a Lloyds Bank, most likely came from a Viking man who had a diet made up primarily of meat and bread, as it is ‘moist and peaty’. He was poorly nourished, and also had parasitic intestinal worms, as evidenced by the hundreds of eggs discovered in the stool.
Gill Snape, a student conservator at the York Archaeological Trust, had previously said: "Whoever passed it probably hadn't performed for a few days, shall we say.
“This guy had very itchy bowels." Charming.
Back in 1991, another scientist discussed the poo, describing it as 'the most exciting piece of excrement I've ever seen'.
"In its own way, it's as irreplaceable as the Crown Jewels," said Dr Andrew Jones.
Be that as it may, there was a catastrophe in 2003 when the poo, which had survived for a millennium underground, was split into three pieces after being accidentally knocked on the floor by a teacher who was studying it.
You'll be pleased to hear that it was successfully stuck back together and put back on display.