8/9/21 Report - The History of Mudlarking. Storms This Week.

  

Written by the TreasureGuide for the exclusive use of the Treasure Beaches Report.

Source: AncientOrigins web site.  Link below.

A young street urchin, half-starved and homeless, finds a cameo containing the likeness of Queen Victoria. Not recognizing her, he is told that she is the "mother of all England". Taking the remark literally, he journeys to Windsor Castle to see her.

When he is caught by the palace guards, the boy is mistakenly thought to be part of an assassination plot against the Queen. Prime Minister Benjamin Disraeli realizes that the boy is innocent and pleads for him in Parliament, delivering a speech that indirectly criticizes the Queen for withdrawing from public life. The Queen is infuriated by the speech, but she is genuinely moved upon meeting the boy for the first time, and once again enters public life.  That is the plot of a 1950 movie, "The Mudlark."

 

As early as the 18th century the term "Mudlark" was used to describe the lowest of society, including the ragamuffins and decrepit alike, who spent their full measure of white privilege to scour the toxic mixture of mud and sewage along the banks of the Thames hoping to find a nail, bit of coal, or piece of rope that might be sold to maintain their daily survival.  

Dirt and smell were facts of urban life that equally contributed to the poor health of Londoners. People could not cross a road without the benefit of a crossing sweeper who cleared dust and horse manure from their path. The ‘summer diarrhea' that occurred annually and killed many, particularly infants was largely caused by swarms of flies feeding on manure, rotting food and human waste left exposed in the hot, steaming streets.

Smell was a potent characteristic of London life. In the 1850s London experienced the Great Stink, when the River Thames became a giant sewer overflowing not only with human waste but also dead animals, rotting food and toxic raw materials from the riverside factories.

Source: Air pollution, the Great Stink & the Great Smog | Museum of London

The mudlark's song is happier one these day.  The rhythmic percussion of boots and mud are punctuated by the joyful exclamations of discovery.  Today mudlarking is a recreational activity, and the banks of the Thames has become one of the largest and most productive archaeological sites in the world.

See Mudlarking the Thames: How a Riverbed Became the World’s Biggest Archaeological Site | Ancient Origins (ancient-origins.net),

Below are a few excerpts from that Ancient Origins article.  

For much of its history, the Thames was used by the people of London as a convenient place to dispose of their rubbish. Over the centuries, artifacts from all eras were deposited in the foreshore of the river. As the mud of the Thames is anaerobic (without oxygen), objects thrown into it are well-preserved. The Thames foreshore is regarded to be one of the richest archaeological sites in Britain, and perhaps one of the largest in the world...

An account of an unnamed 13-year-old mudlark can be found in the extra volume of" London Labour and the London Poor", published by the journalist Henry Mayhew in 1861. In his work, Mayhew considers mudlarks to be ‘Those who will not work’, and places them under the chapter of ‘Thieves and Swindlers’. Mudlarks belong to the sub-chapter ‘Felonies on the River Thames’, alongside river pirates and smugglers. Needless to say, mudlarking was regarded to be an activity of ill-repute during the 19 th century...

Mudlarking has changed much since then. Unlike their predecessors, today’s mudlarks are not destitute children who are forced to do such a job in order to earn some money. Instead, they are individuals who are enthusiastic about the history and archaeology of the city. In addition, modern day mudlarks have their own society, the Society of Thames Mudlarks, which has been in operation since 1976, and works closely with the Museum of London and the Portable Antiquities Scheme. Under this scheme, today’s mudlarks record their finds meticulously. Members of the public are also allowed to mudlark, provided they purchase a permit, and report any find that is over 300 years old. They are, however, only allowed to dig to a depth of several centimeters on the southern shore.

You can find any number of YouTube videos produced by mudlarks.  Anywhere there are waterways you can do something similar, but no place else can you find the same number of historic finds so well preserved by a protective anaerobic covering of mud.

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It is that time of year, and something could be coming our way.

Source: nhc.noaa.gov.

A low pressure system located about 400 miles east-southeast of the 
Leeward Islands is producing disorganized showers and thunderstorms. 
However, environmental conditions are expected to be conducive for 
gradual development over the next few days, and a tropical 
depression could form while the low moves west-northwestward at 
about 15 mph.  The disturbance is forecast to reach portions of the 
Lesser Antilles by late Monday, and then move near the Virgin 
Islands and Puerto Rico on Tuesday, and be near Hispaniola around 
the middle of this week.  Tropical storm watches or warnings could 
be required with shorter-than-normal lead times for the Leeward 
Islands, Virgin Islands, and Puerto Rico.

Keep watching.

Monday Morning Update:

Source: nhc.noaa.gov

Keep watching this one.

The Treasure Coast surf this week is predicted to be two to three feet.

Happy hunting,

TreasureGuide@comcast.net