There is a strange connection hunting for the lost detritus of decades and centuries ago.
A pipe, a coin and a pot all lost to the river many years ago and now found in the squelching mud of the river Thames.
There is a wondrous sensation stepping on the shore and in the mud. While the hunt is mostly for man-made objects there are many fascinating objects of nature also along the squelching path. There is a mind cleansing feeling coming so close to the river water and the ducks and the shells and thes tones and the mud these earth made objects right in the centre of the city. A connection to nature. I had recently spoken to “birdgirl” also known as Mya-Rose Craig. She observed how you can feel nature all around if only you stop and look or engage. When you see the bird fly in the street or garden that’s engaging with nature and walking along the river felt like a very nature thing despite being so close to the built-up industry of humans.
There were these mounds of stones which I think were built years ago to help stabilise barges and other ships. They echoed as almost alien objects on the river popping out from the mud at irregular intervals.
The sun was beaming brightly. London was still mostly in lockdown. People were out traipsing jogging and walking along the river path. A few walkers and dogs had also made it to the shore but mostly people walked on by upper path along the tow path. Children delight in the mud and the water and found objects. Detritus that passes the adults by. ... regular and irregular shapes out of place pieces of plastic, iron bolts, shards, packets, packages are all noted and sometimes obsessed over..
Hunting for out of place lines or circles has both the thrill of the unexpected find amplified by the lottery feeling of potential treasure. What exact treasures are hard to know ancient coins Neolithic axes, beads, coins, toys, pots anything that might of fallen in the river over the last thousand years might appear.
Mud larking now for fills a social anthropology and archaeology purpose as well as a sense of adventure and fun although in previous centuries it was a way for the poor to earn money and much the way that rubbish dumps now provide that same job for poor people around the world.
We found lots of pottery bits, a part of a modern day watering can, bolts and aged iron pieces.
The best finds: an old clay smoking pipe with the head intact and a half penny dated to 1960. The Halfpenny is a form of real treasure although not worth very much perhaps 5p in today’s money if it was in very good condition. The pipe although a common find on the river has a richer history. This is what I’ve found out about pipes:
“...Pipe finds are so common because over the centuries they tended to be only used once and then were thrown away. They were often sold prefilled with tobacco (called 'Penny Pipes') and were redundant once smoked. Sailors, dockers, ship-builders and passers-by would fish their pipe out at break time or even worktime, have a good twenty minutes puffing and then, perhaps, snap the stem when finished, rather like people today crush a coke can once they've drained it.
...pipes were probably originated by native Americans around the middle of the 16thcentury with clay pipes being made in England in the 1570s for men, women and children who wanted to take up the art and pleasure of 'tobacco drinking'. You can recognise the early pipes of the 17th century because they usually had a small bowl with a flat base, the stems were still chunky and there was often milling/indentations around the rim of the bowl. By 1650 there were a thousand itinerant pipemakers in London, it was a highly competitive trade with vastly varying standards of quality. …Shortly after 1700, pipes were being made with a smoother finish, a thinner bowl, a more slender stem and a higher degree of brittleness. In 1750s extra long pipes became fashionable and these were called aldermen, and then later, simply straws. In the 1800s, decoration of the bowls became more widespread featuring hearts, faces and decorations and later in the century adverts appeared on them. In the 1800s, factory production started which saw the decline of the pipe trade as a cottage industry.
It was also during this century that short clay pipes became popular. The shorter pipe had the advantage of reducing the load on the teeth which allowed a man to smoke and work at the same time. This changed the tendency of the longer pipes which were more likely to be smoked at leisure with the stem supported in the hand. The shorter clays were often referred to as nose warmers.
A few details here. My friend Florence has been mudlarking for years and has a great collection on instagram.
You need a license now to be on the thames foreshore, and you must check the tides, but it’s a very worthwhile adventure for the day. Both to feel connected to natural elements in the city and for a chance of treasure!