Thetford Forest Archaeology - Manure Scatters Survey Manure scattered ceramics and their distributions across Thetford Forest. Introduction Light background scatters of small abraded sherds of pottery are often detected during field surveys.
Archaeologists usually consider such finds to represent so called manure scatter.
This not only kept settlements clean and tidy, but also provided a valuable fertiliser for crops. Rubbish tipped onto the manure heaps included floor sweepings, and broken pottery from the kitchens. These manure and garbage heaps would be carted out to the fields, to be ploughed into the soil. Although the manure quickly degraded into the ploughsoil - the sherds of pottery often survive to the present day as manure scatter. Incidentally, ceramics are not the only surviving materials of domestic manuring practises.