Excrements of Herbivores

Shape, preservation, embedded components and groundmass characteristics allow distinction between herbivore excrements and the coprolites of omnivores or carnivores. Herbivore dung remains may occur in a wide range of onsite archaeological features but are also known from offsite situations. Fresh herbivore excrements are usually porous, loosely packed and consist mainly of poorly digested to undigested plant fragments, which are sometimes embedded in a brown to dark brown amorphous organic groundmass. Ruminant and horse excrements mainly consist of poorly digested plant fragments. Rodent excrements can be found in archaeological sediments. Because of the high organic content of herbivore excrements, dried ruminant dung is an excellent fuel, used since prehistoric times and still in use today, mainly in dry regions. Stabling or enclosure sediments have a lower porosity than equivalent unaffected excrements and show an impact of sediment agglomerates, mineral grains and other components due to trampling processes.