Archaeological Studies
The detection of manuring and other areas of faecal deposition in antiquity can provide important information concerning the agricultural practices, settlement layout and economies of ancient communities. However, in many cases changes in soil structure may make any morphological identification of manuring or general faecal deposition unviable. Fortunately, a suite of steroidal biomarkers, which occur naturally in faeces, can be utilised to investigate ancient soils lacking any such morphological evidence.
5β-stanols and bile acids constitute a series of highly diagnostic compounds, the inherent stability of which confers a remarkable longevity in the soil. Furthermore, the combined use of these compounds to assess faecal deposition enables a clear distinction to be made between human, porcine and ruminant faecal matter thereby providing additional information about resource use in ancient communities. Despite the subject matter this still remains a popular area of my research.
