May
23
/ 2023
Coprolite, also known as prehistoric poo, has been highly prized since its discovery in the 19th century. Regarded as a priceless treasure-trove by paleontologists and archaeologists alike, mining dinosaur droppings for use as fertilizer during the Victorian era proved to be an exceptionally lucrative endeavor. During the 1850s, a wave of miners flocked to Cambridgeshire, England, in what History Extra aptly dubbed "the Victorian 'gold rush' for fossilized feces." This peculiar craze was closely tied to the increased demand for fertilizer caused by food shortages following the Napoleonic Wars.Top of Form Coprolites, a fancy term to describe fossilized feces, were first discovered in the early 1800s by English fossil hunter Mary Anning, who noticed that they contained little pieces of
