"Thames Mudlarking" is a breezy overview of a hobby that seems miraculous to someone from the US Midwest--the ability to rock on over to your city's river and find, almost magically, the relics of centuries past. Throughout the book, the authors show off finds of these volunteer archaeologists (called "mudlarks"); the artifacts serve as a quick cultural history of daily life in Britain from its pre-Roman era onwards.

What's good: The overview of all the finds. Each is just stunning.

What I'd wish to see more of: More interviews with the mudlarks (how did they get into it? How often do they find things? How do they even know what they've found?

I mention that only as a wish list on my part. It seems the book's intention, though, is to give us a quick, fascinating look at what mudlarking has shown of daily life in British history, and it does that very well.

Buried treasuring spanning thousands of years is found daily on the River Thames in London by those mudlarkers who sift through the layers which constantly change with the tide. Two hours' searching per day is the small window of opportunity but what a productive and satisfying window it can be! The photographs of the discoveries are sublime...it would be a dream come true for so many of us to find even one historically or culturally important object.

So much action occurred hundreds and thousands of years ago in ports and the main method of transport was obviously boats and ships. Discoveries centuries later teach us a lot about history, archaeology and culture and wow, this book is a superb account! Thankfully the Museum of London displays finds. Discoveries of anything 300+ years old must be reported and mudlarkers require permits. The authors, mudlarkers themselves, include photographs of skull fragments, flints, Battersea shield (gorgeous!), rare Celtic coins, the Oldbury bead (fascinating!), Roman brooches, Emperor Hadrian coins, fish traps, sword pommel, military toys and ancient floor tiles, Not only are we shown these artefacts but are told stories including about memento rings tossed into the river by jilted lovers, currency, drinking from bearded stoneware jugs and smashing them after, the pins Tudor women wore to fasten clothes in place, evidence of rickets on skeletons, ornate shoe buckles and special carbonated drink bottles.

A new Thames Museum will showcase these objects and their history...a marvelous idea. In the back of the book you will also find a list of related places to visit in London. I've been to a few but need to add more to the list. Thank you!

Anyone even remotely interested in treasure hunting and reading about history needs to seek this out. Many a-ha! moments.

My sincere thank you to Osprey Publishing and NetGalley! Much appreciated.

I had only recently learned of mudlarking and was fascinated by it, and it seemed like a sign when just a day later I came across this title on NetGalley!

This was such an interesting read and was accompanied by beautiful photos of tokens, forgotten treasures and a mixture of items from ages gone by. I would love to buy a physical copy of this book soon as I know it would be perfect for a coffee table and to discuss when people visit. Half-tempted to start up mudlarking myself but think I'll leave it for the enthusiasts! This book has definitely started an interest I will be looking into more in the future!

Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Nice overview of the different ways that the people of London have used the Thames as a way of travel, worship, recreation, and more through history. I especially enjoyed the high quality images of some of the finds as another book I read on this topic had no pictures included at all.

I received a free copy of this book in exchange for a review, but all views expressed are my own.

Mudlarking is something I find incredibly interesting. I wish that I could visit the Thames right now because of this book. I found it very fascinating and loved learning about the artifacts that have been found. Great read for any history and artifact lovers!

I would give my right arm to find such wonderful artifacts here in the states! I'd bet walking any river in the old world would find history at one's feet if looking. I walk waterways here, but seldom anything as interesting as the finds listed in this book. I loved that the book was arranged by eras of history of life along the Thames. It was interesting to see what has turned up over the years. Any one interested in seeing what a river, or even a stream, can turn up will enjoy this book. Nice work authors! Loved the photos.

Fascinating look at Mudlarking at the Thames.The historical objects that are found are amazing love all the pictures of these pieces of history.This is a wonderful book full of information and gorgeous photographs of pieces of history pulled from the mud the water,#netgalley#0spreybooks

Mudlarking has seen a huge revival in recent years and, as a consequence, a few books have been published on the subject, This volume however fills a void in the published literature, with hundreds of excellent pictures and exhaustive notes.
Jason Sandy, with her fascinating Youtube videos, made a lot to revive this ancient pastime (actually a way of living up to a few years ago). The passion of Jason for this great hobby perspires from every page.
Living far from the Thames I will not probably ever go mudlarking, but as avid detectorist, I can surely share the fascination of extracting a treasure from the mud. This book will be enjoyed not only from the restricted ring of mudlarkers, but from all people fascinated with history, and in particular the small history that is narrated from everyday things. Absolutely recommended.

For a few hours each day, the River Thames in London recedes with the low tide, exposing literally millions of years of history in the mud of its banks. Hobbyists called mudlarks have brought precious artifacts to museums from the river of time, and in the pages of Thames Mudlarking you can see all this history laid before you with expert annotations.

I’m no student of history, so I was edified as well as gratified to read brief historical explanations of the small Anglo-Saxon village of Lundenwic that grew from the mostly-abandoned Roman city of Londinium to become a major international trading center. I had never heard of King Æthelberht of Kent (858–866 CE), but now I’ve seen his face on a penny that ended up in the Thames!

If you don’t plan to be near London or don’t want to acquire a three-year permit for £90, a copy of Thames Mudlarking is the next best thing. Better, in some ways: if you cut yourself handling the pages, you don’t have to worry about getting a disease.

I am grateful to the authors, the publisher, and NetGalley for a free advance review copy.

My thanks to the publishers for an advanced review copy of this sumptuously illustrated book. It is about the history of London’s lost treasures found by mudlarkers rather than a history of mudlarking itself, although the authors scrupulously attribute the treasures they highlight to their intrepid finders.

I was interested to discover that you need a license from the Port of London Authority to mudlark these days and that there is a Society of Mudlarks and Antiquarians too, which was founded in 1980.

Many of the finds described here mainly in chronological order are to be found in the Museum of London, which has a special relationship with today’s mudlarkers. The authors are also keen to promote a project, currently in concept, to found a Thames Museum.

The Thames is a tidal river and its foreshore is exposed twice a day for two hours at a stretch. It is from the oxygen free mud of the foreshore that this fascinating array of accidentally and deliberately discarded objects has emerged. So claggy is the mud that it has preserved items which would long ago have decayed on land - medieval leather shoes with the points still stiffened with moss come to mind.

The book introduces us to the beautiful Roman oil lamp found by Alan Suttie before taking us back into prehistory with giant shark and mammal teeth fossils and flint tools. Part of a Neolithic farmer’s skull radiocarbon dated to 3,600 BC leads on to the metal working wonders brought by the Beaker and Celtic peoples and the extraordinary Battersea shield and Waterloo helmet finds. Then we are back with the Romans, their dice and oil lamps, pots and hair clips, coins and brothel tokens not to mention a bronze bust of the Emperor Hadrian!

Toys through the ages are another notable series of finds, including miniature but lethal guns as well as real swords, daggers, guns and knives.

Trade tokens from the seventeenth century help us identify businesses destroyed by the Great Fire of London, while the eighteenth century gives us gloriously fancy shoe buckles as well as a prisoner’s ball and chain and the tragically malnourished skeleton of a twelve year old girl.

Apart from pins, watch winders and wig curlers, there are hundreds of bottles - R White carbonated drinks bottles, Hamilton torpedo bottles, Codd bottles and poison bottles.

The blitz is represented by buttons, helmets, artillery shell casings and Maconochie Brothers ration tokens and, of course, London’s present plight is delivering plenty of plastic and PPE to the mud of the Thames.

I really enjoyed this short but brilliantly illustrated volume and can recommend it unreservedly.

I will post this review on my Goodreads-account (link added) on the 7th of January 2021.

I first came across mudlarking during a deep dive on YouTube in the summer of 2019, and it intrigued me to no end! I found it so cool that you could head down to the Thames foreshore and happen upon historical artifacts just lying, or sticking up from, the mud and stones. So very, very cool and thought provoking. Make you really think about the people who stayed in the city (the world, really) before you, doesn't it?

Sandy and Stevens book is a short, but very informative, go-through of the different time periods from which different mudlarks have been able to find finds from – all from the pre-historic times to today’s garbage and religious offerings. The book is clearly separated into chapters for each of these time periods, making it easy to navigate through the book. There’s also pictures with the finds described to further illustrate the text.

The book also contains information on how to start mudlarking yourself, because you do need a permit to actually dig around the foreshore, and you also have to report any find that might be over 300 years old to the authorities.

This is a fascinating and absorbing account of Thames mudlarking. Mudlarking started with the Victorian scavengers, often children, searching for anything they could sell in order to survive. There is now a Society of Mudlarks and Antiquarians who collaborate with The Museum of London to record the tens of thousands of finds. The range of artefacts is vast - fossils, coins, jewellery, pottery, glass etc. and the finds are outlined in chronological order in twelve chapters. The book is full of wonderful photographs of found artefacts along with an explanation of their history and the name of their finder. An engrossing read that makes me want to venture along the river in search of some 'treasure' myself. Thank you to Jason Sandy and Nick Stevens, Net Galley and Bloomsbury publishing for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This is a fascinating and visually stunning book about the archaeological treasures that are found every day at low tide along the River Thames. From fossils to remnants of prehistory, Roman occupation of London and the everyday items cast aside by Georgian and Victorian Londoners, this is the best way for readers to share in the thrill of discovery without getting their feet wet