Dysartian
Mudlarking in the River Thames
When Mags and I were in London recently, we and a fair crowd of other people were interested in the activities of this metal-detectorist, or mudlark, who was probing the river banks at Gabriel’s Wharf on the south bank of the river. The people who enjoy spending time on the strips of land that get exposed either side of the River Thames at low tide are called ‘The Mudlarks’. The ninety-five mile foreshore of the tidal Thames is one of the richest archaeological sites in the United Kingdom. To legally search the Thames foreshore you need a permit from the Port of London Authority and although a Standard Permit allows a search up to a depth of twenty feet, it is only a Mudlark's Permit that allows any serious digging. This special permit is only available to members of the Society of Mudlarks. Founded in 1980, this society is reportedly made up of around seventy, mainly male, enthusiasts who get together to use their metal detectors on informal archaeological digs. The Mudlarking Permits state that any find that appears to be of historical interest must be taken to the Museum of London for identification and recording. Although English Law states that any found object is the property of the landowner, in practice the Port of London Authority often lets mudlarks keep and profit from their finds. But, unless what's found is either extremely rare or an item of "treasure" (i.e. part of a substantial buried hoard) there isn't much money to be made from mudlarking. We saw him sift out a coin from the sand that was at this point but there were no cries of ‘Eureka’ when we were there.
Mudlarking in the River Thames
When Mags and I were in London recently, we and a fair crowd of other people were interested in the activities of this metal-detectorist, or mudlark, who was probing the river banks at Gabriel’s Wharf on the south bank of the river. The people who enjoy spending time on the strips of land that get exposed either side of the River Thames at low tide are called ‘The Mudlarks’. The ninety-five mile foreshore of the tidal Thames is one of the richest archaeological sites in the United Kingdom. To legally search the Thames foreshore you need a permit from the Port of London Authority and although a Standard Permit allows a search up to a depth of twenty feet, it is only a Mudlark's Permit that allows any serious digging. This special permit is only available to members of the Society of Mudlarks. Founded in 1980, this society is reportedly made up of around seventy, mainly male, enthusiasts who get together to use their metal detectors on informal archaeological digs. The Mudlarking Permits state that any find that appears to be of historical interest must be taken to the Museum of London for identification and recording. Although English Law states that any found object is the property of the landowner, in practice the Port of London Authority often lets mudlarks keep and profit from their finds. But, unless what's found is either extremely rare or an item of "treasure" (i.e. part of a substantial buried hoard) there isn't much money to be made from mudlarking. We saw him sift out a coin from the sand that was at this point but there were no cries of ‘Eureka’ when we were there.