Faecal fault to be fixed

The Diary must decline, with regret, an invitation from the York Archaeological Trust last week to witness an attempt to glue back together a 1,200-year-old human poo. The fossilised excrement, unearthed in 1972, was considered to be the largest complete example until it was accidentally broken during a school visit. Analysis has revealed that the Viking who made it ate large amounts of meat and grain. It contains evidence of several hundred eggs, indicating that this Viking's stomach and intestines would have been riddled with worms. After repair, it will go back on display as the trust's star exhibit in its Archaeological Resource Centre.