A 16TH CENTURY drinking vessel whose discovery led to an "archaeological goldmine" was today being put on display.

The half-buried stoneware flagon was discovered by a US tourist visiting Rievaulx Abbey, near Helmsley, in the summer.

The chance discovery sparked a series of archaeological tests at the 850-year-old site that may provide new information on what the monks ate and what plants were being grown in medieval times.

The flagon, which experts say was made around 1510, was spotted in a ruined part of the Abbey known as the "reredorter", the Latin name for the building used as a latrine.

Andrew Morrison, English Heritage senior curator, said it was a "quite a remarkable find".

"Such stonework was popular 500 years ago, but previously we've only ever found fragments at Rievaulx. But this glazed, brown example is as good as new," he said.

Mr Morrison believes it could have been used as a night "potty" which was accidentally thrown down the loo by a clumsy monk.

The find was all the more surprising as it had been assumed that a clearance of Rievaulx Abbey in 1919 by archaeologist Sir Charles Peers had long since removed any artefacts.

Ian Panter, English Heritage Scientific Advisor, said his team was sent in to re-examine the latrine area.

He said: "Our scientists at York University believe the waterlogged conditions may have preserved any buried leather, textile and wood."

Updated: 11:36 Wednesday, October 30, 2002