Published on
21/06/2026 - 12:30 GMT+2
The excavations were carried out in connection with the construction of a new administrative building in Paderborn, in the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia. During the work, archaeologists under the supervision of the Regional Association of Westphalia-Lippe (LWL) discovered the notebook in one of five exposed medieval latrines.
Dr Barbara Rüschoff-Parzinger, head of cultural affairs at the LWL, stresses that this is a unique find: "Unusual as it may sound, latrines are often extremely rich sources of material for archaeologists."
The object, which is around 700 to 800 years old, measures just 10 by 7.5 centimetres. It consists of wooden tablets coated with wax, protected by a leather cover embossed with a lily motif. In the Middle Ages, notes could be scratched into the wax layer with a stylus, then erased and written over again.
