Guidebook directs looters to artefacts on Thames shore
Pictures may have accidentally led to theft of Tudor and Napoleon-era relics
LOOTERS have been stealing artefacts from the River Thames after history buffs wrote a handy guide detailing their prominence, it has emerged.
Earlier this month a section of a Tudor jetty which provided the main riverside access to the Palace of Placentia in Greenwich – the birthplace of Elizabeth I – was stolen.
Further along the river in Rotherhithe, the keel of a Dutch 66-gun third-rate Napoleonic-era warship called Prince Frederick was also stolen in mid-february.
Last year the Thames Discovery Programme, which consists of 700 volunteers who record the exposed archaeological foreshore of the Thames, released a book chronicling the area.
Eliot Wragg, project officer with the programme, suspects that the pictures used in the book “might have unintentionally advertised some of these things”.
“These things are an intrinsic part of London’s history,” he said.
“They are slowly emerging as the Thames retreats but the only way we can record them is if they are there.” Mr Wragg believes the individual behind the thefts is doing so for their own personal pleasure.
“I have no idea why someone would want to steal this; it boggles my mind,” he said.
“The only thing I can think of is a private collector is sourcing these things for his or her collection.
“But it would very selfish if they are as it would be depriving people of an important part of our heritage.”
When the tide is out the Thames transforms into the longest open-air archaeological site in London, rich in history and heritage.
In 2013 the foreshore was listed by Historic England as a Scheduled Ancient Monument with the aim to protect the landing stage for the Greenwich palace. This decision was based on the work of the Thames Archaeological Survey in the Nineties, and follow-up work done by the Thames Discovery Programme in 2010.
The actual jetty lies just outside the scheduled area, as it wasn’t visible when the Thames Archaeological Survey took place.
Its full extent has only become known now as it has eroded out since.
No one is allowed to mudlark in an area that is a scheduled monument or disturb the surface or features. However, the Thames Discovery Programme Foreshore
‘I have no idea why someone would want to steal this; it boggles my mind’
Recording and Observation Group has Scheduled Monument Consent from Historic England to monitor and record the foreshore. Its website points out much of the Thames shore is freely accessible to the public, and sites are often unprotected and affected by tidal activity.
The Thames Discovery Programme regularly reports back on its work there to Historic England to keep it updated.