Mudlarking on Thames beaches makes a return for families searching for treasure
FOR much of the past year the beaches of Spain, Greece and other foreign places have been beyond reach, but families have found places closer to home to explore in the fresh air.
Lockdown has seen a return to mudlarking – scouring river foreshores and beaches in search of treasure and trinkets. Along the “tidal Thames”, from Teddington to the estuary, hundreds are on the beaches at low tide, with others wandering to spot wildlife.
Beachcombing and mudlarking can boost mental wellbeing. Simon Clarke, of the Thames Explorer Trust, has seen a surge in use of the banks. “There’s been a huge increase in people going down to the foreshore during lockdown. People have been bored, stuck in close confines and have been looking for an adventure. It’s added to what was already a growing interest in archaeology and heritage. People hope they will find gold coins and ancient artefacts, but the real value is in gaining a close connection to the river and their immediate natural surroundings.”
The Port of London Authority (PLA), which issues “mudlarking permits” to explore the Thames foreshore and hunt for archaeological objects, has seen numbers grow. Last year the PLA issued 1,363 permits, up from 1,000 in 2019 and double the number issued in 2018.
It’s common to find clay pipes or coins. In 2019 a mudlarker came across the fragment of a human skull, identified by radiocarbon dating as from the Neolithic period and put on display at the Museum of London.
The frontal bone, dating from 3600BC, belonged to one of the earliest people discovered in the Thames, and was male and over the age of 18.
It’s not just the number of licensed mudlarkers that has risen. At one stretch of the Thames at Chiswick, west London, the number exploring the foreshore at any one time at weekends has leapt from around 10 to 60, with similar numbers elsewhere. Mr Clarke said: “Some are mudlarking and looking for buried objects, others are just lifting stones to see if they can find shrimps and other river life. The common theme is they are exploring their surroundings because they have been forced to.
“If you can’t get on a plane to Spain, look to where you can go.”
Anna Clark, 42, from London, tried mudlarking on Thursday with her friend Lindy Brown and their children.
“Covid restrictions have meant we haven’t been able to explore new places as much, so it’s great to explore our own backyard,” she said. The children found a Victorian sugar bowl lid and William even uncovered a fully intact skeletal sheep’s jaw among shards of clay tiles along the Southbank.
‘People hope to find gold coins and ancient artefacts, but the real value is in a close connection to the river’