‘Mudlarking for Beginners’: My Article in The Searcher

Mudlark!

I’ve been meaning to post about this for several days now; on the 25th of March, my Thames Foreshore Permit arrived. For the next three years, I’ll be able to dig on the foreshore to a depth of seven centimeters, scouring the banks of the tidal Thames for treasure and relics. If I report enough finds to the PAS and the Museum of London over that period, I’ll be eligible to apply for one of only about fifty mudlark permits, and to become a member of the Society of Thames Mudlarks.

The permit arrived with various maps depicting in detail which areas I am eligible to detect and search. I hope that my Maldon training lends itself to the Thames search. It would be a rare and fine thing to belong to the society.

El Gato Rojo

Can anyone identify this burgundy metal? I’m wondering if it’s a lead alloy of some sort.

Ready to Detect

The Newest Detector in the Badger Sett

K&K double down with the Garrett Ace 250.

Ten-Minute Hunt Near My House

I am writing a paper, but the call of the wild proved too strong in this sunshine. The CS3MX immediately found targets: a screw; a bicycle inner tube valve, a pull tab, and a rusted old pocket knife.

Happy Hunting!

Badger Brothers at Stagsden

Flat Button (circa 17th-18th c.)

The Gato

The good luck charm of our first dig (also, the source of our collective lead poisoning).

Medieval Cast Bronze Brooch / Cloak Clasp

Stagsden Church