Living
my entire life on or near the coast of Massa-chusetts, I’ve kind of taken it for
granted that any walk on a beach of my home state might turn up treasures beyond
a pretty scallop shell or a tumbled piece of rose quartz. This part of the US
has been settled since the early 1600s, and over years of beach strolling, I’ve
found my share of prizes: clay pipe stems, shards of pottery and glass (and a
few intact pieces!), interesting bits of metal from fishing weights to the
working mechanism of an oil lamp. My favorite finds include a tiny plate from a
doll’s tea set, several ink bottles, and a large piece of early seventeenth
century redware pottery.
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6j_qO2AJ8VJQf845yXzNm8Sh6fDdWOG1sAjJGFZeJJhTJZGQmakXqAXZXXBdZOIng9gHSFyvTQa8jICWTLo2elV1YXP862tmVYOgOvAipV_xVv3jKMOn_fj0M4jOEO0hYlZPKsEG3FlDY/s320/Mudlarking.jpg)
And
what bits and bobs she finds! The Thames has hosted human settlements back to
the Neolithic, so her collection spans everything from stone tools to Bronze and
Iron Age finds, through Roman coins and mosaic tiles to medieval potsherds,
Tudor jewelry, eighteenth century Chinese porcelain, and so on up to the
present era.
The
book is divided into sections about each stretch of the Thames. In each, Ms.
Maiklem entwines the history of that part of the river with accounts of some of
her visits and what she has found, juxtaposed with snippets of autobiographical
and family history that lend a personal and often moving edge to the narrative.
It’s a lovely, absorbing read, and I know that when I finally get back to visit
London, I’m going to find a mudlarking trip to join. In the meanwhile, however,
there’s always the beach right here…
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