Unearthed is a BBC Travel series that searches the world for newly discovered archaeological wonders that few people have ever seen. My mother had had a museum of her own when she was a child and would delight me with the story of the cat skull, the pride of her collection. She had found it by the side of the road in a state of partial decomposition and rather than wait for the maggots to do their job and risk losing it to another collector, she took it home and boiled it in her mother’s best milk pan to remove the remaining flesh. I loved that story, but bedtime cocoa at my grandmother’s house never tasted quite the same after I’d heard it.”

Plus, anyone in London or beyond can attend Jason's free webinar talk ahead of the event, starting at 7.30pm on Tuesday, September 21. I'm amazed that so much 'stuff' is still being found although Maiklem explains how building, erosion etc can constantly reveal new treasures. Firstly, people who are casually searching the Thames foreshore may fail to report significant finds. By regulating mudlarking with permits, it help to protects the historical integrity of the riverbed, and makes it more likely that people will respect the archeological significance of items they find.You'd think I'd find some of this Tudor item piece or James I pirate cob, or Roman scabbard shield minutia of most elemental or restoring detail surrounded grabbing my imagination. Or even deep appreciation. But I just couldn't at all. So I sped read the last 1/3rd. Time was when mudlarking was the reserve of the destitute, but these days a mudlark permit is needed, for which you have to belong to the Society of Mudlarks (founded in the 1970s), and to be eligible to join the society you need to have already held a standard permit and reported your findings to the Museum of London for two years. Even then, you may not be given membership because the society “maintains a deliberate air of mystery and exclusivity”. I was amazed at the sheer amount of things that appear out of the mud....a mud that acts as a preservative to tobacco pipes, coins, buttons and shoes, old weapons, bones and bottles, and so much more.....but this book isn’t just an account of what author Lara Maiklem has found, it’s also a truly brilliant history lesson, as she explores the provenance of her discoveries, and imagines the lives of those people who had used and lost the artefacts she uncovers.

You immediately feel comfortable with this author in her hobby, obsession and delight for Mudlarking. Armed with this information on just how much this obsession controls the author's life, I formed the opinion she'd make an unreliable friend and frustrating partner but is no doubt a highly experienced mudlarker. Nowadays, though, the activity is more of a hobby than occupation, with current day participants often looking out for pieces with interesting histories, rather than simply monetary value.One of my favourite finds from the book was the legend of the Doves Type. A bookbinder by the name of Cobden-Sanderson tipped 500,000 pieces of lead type into the river at Hammersmith. Following a dispute about the ownership of the type with Emery Walker, he bequeathed the type to the River Thames between 1913 - 1916 and mudlarks have been searching for them ever since. Such a fascinating story. So apparently I was just given and chapter sample to review, so there really isn't much to say about it. I liked it, and will probably read the entire book at some point. When you apply for a standard permit you need to upload a passport style photograph, and allow a minimum of 4 weeks for processing. I always wanted to know more. So When I saw this book, I initially thought it was about these Victorians. It turns out that Ms Maiklem is a very modern mudlark, but that didn't make the book any less fascinating - moving from the tidal head of the Thames to the Estuary, she describes what she finds on the foreshore and tells fascinating stories about the people who lived, worked and died on the river, and whose lost possessions the tides still erode out of the mud. Another thing that irked me was her belief that a portion of the shore had been taken away from her. When telling the reader about nets of stones placed against the river wall in Greenwich in an attempt to prevent erosion, she says: