A medieval notebook believed to have belonged to a local merchant surfaced unscathed, miraculously, as a wet lump of dirt in a latrine, or toilet, in Paderborn, Germany. At first, the object that surfaced was inconspicuous, packed in a wet clod of earth. Archaeologists described the odor to be “rather unpleasant.” Once they penetrated the repulsive outer layer, however, they discovered a real treasure — bringing to mind the Buddhist saying that …