It’s Saturday, 10.45am and we eagerly meet our guide at exit one of Mansion House tube station. Soon we make our way on foot whilst listening to the history of The Thames from renowned archeologist and intertidal specialist,professor Fiona Hughey. As we cross Southwark Bridge with each step we take we travel through time. Mingled in with the historic views of London Bridge on one side, I see the container boats containing modern-day waste beneath us. A sharp contrast to our journey as tourists of the river, in hope of finding something interesting from the rubbish of our ancestors.
Passing Shakespeare’s Globe and the many visitors along Bankside, we stop for a final talk about health and safety before descending the steps onto the foreshore. Adorned with gloves and the hope that something we find may be of historic importance, we litter the ‘beach’ as modern-day mudlarks in search of adventure. As we spread out I pause to take a couple of photos before gingerly walking on,head stooped low. As well as being aware of the tide times I know that in each footstep I take l could be treading on a historic find.
Soon I find a clay pipe bowl, and a few bits of clay pipe stem. After about half an hour we reconvene to share our finds. I have found Victorian roof tiles and chunks of green glass which originate from a factory down river. After Fiona dates my clay tobacco bowl from the 16-1700’s we continue with our search for historic goodies.
As I cautiously walk through the sand and stones I am conscious not to disturb anything. Although surface finds are ok ,digging and metal detecting requires a licence from The Port of London Authority. I then find another clay bowl,dated 1770 approx. Other finds of the day include fragments of pottery, animal bones and flintlock from a gun. Each object I find has its own ethereal beauty, and as I pause to take it all in, I recall something Fiona remarked earlier ‘each item has its own story’. Simply wonderful.
London walks operate during September and October 2014 via http://www.walks.com/
secretwriter1 