Another example of Lloyd fame

My favourite place we visited today was called DIG. It is a centre to teach about archaeology. You have to set up a time to join in as a tour guide leads you through the centre. They start your tour with a brief introductory talk. There is an archaeological dig happening in York right now. They are excavating ruins near the church where the DIG centre has been set up. There most recent find is a Roman burial site. York is interesting because of the number of different people who called it home.

The Romans had a fort here, the Vikings had a city here, the Normans built a castle here and the Saxons also built here. Their ruins are in layers under the present city. The DIG centre has set up areas to excavate according to the people you want to learn about. The pits are filled with rubber “dirt”. Under the dirt they have planted interesting things to find and as you dig through the pit, the guide walks around to help you understand the significance of your find. All of the things planted in the pits were actually discovered in York. We dug in a Medieval church and found a human skeleton; very exciting. We dug in a Viking pit and discovered food waste such as shells and animal bones; less exciting.

After our dig, we went to another area where there were bins of actual finds from the dig. We were asked to sort the pieces as to what they could possibly be according to a guide we were given. The tour guide also circulated to help and to explain differences. It was all very interesting and well done. Because you had to book a time, you were in a small group so everyone had a chance to touch and participate. The tour guide had lots of time to get around to all of us and we had some great conversations.

At the end of the tour, the guide brought out a replica of their most precious find to date. It is a large piece of Viking pooh (and I do mean ‘ouch’). It is so important a discovery that the original is kept in a climate controlled, sealed transparent case at Jorvik. I kid you not, We saw it earlier. It has helped the scientists understand the eating habits and health of the Viking people. For example, they discovered thousands of parasite eggs in the pooh and have concluded that the majority of Vikings must have had many worms in their intestines. This would have made for stomach aches and a very unpleasant existence by today’s standards,

Pooh in and of itself is a fascinating topic as I am sure you would all agree. However, the scientists felt this pooh was so interesting and significant that it needed a name. As Lloyd’s Bank had put up the funding to help with the excavation at the time of the find, the pooh has been named, “Lloyd’s Pooh”. Naturally, we had a family photo taken with the pooh. I mean, first a bank and now a piece of pooh? Is there no end to the honours our family name has acquired?

I leave you all here, knowing that many of your minds are furiously working with the connotations this presents and thankful I am not part of this further conversation. :)