Overview
- Archaeologists working on a municipal construction site in Paderborn recovered a palm-sized wood-and-wax notebook from a sealed medieval latrine that remained tightly bound in a leather satchel.
- The ten-page tablet has wax-coated pages written in Latin cursive that show multiple superimposed layers, which makes parts readable but requires advanced imaging to separate overwritten text.
- The object’s leather cover is embossed with a fleur-de-lis and the script style points to the 13th to late 14th century, evidence that suggests an educated, likely merchant, owner.
- Conservators at LWL have cleaned and opened the notebook, documented it, and are planning noninvasive scans and scientific tests that could take months up to about a year before a complete transcription is ready.
- The find sits alongside barrels, pottery, a knife and finely woven silk scraps from the latrine, illustrating how airtight, damp cesspits can preserve organic materials and offering a rare window into everyday medieval life.