Mudlarks and mudlarks
By Judy Evans
@JudyEv (380079)
Rockingham, Australia
May 18, 2026 7:43am CST
On the Antiques Roadshow, someone was showing shards of a plate they’d found and the term ‘mudlarking’ was mentioned. The only mudlark I’m familiar with is an Australian black-and-white bird.
However, mudlarking refers to those who fossick along the sides of the River Thames, which runs through London. The practice started in the 18th and 19th centuries, when poor Londoners would search through the mud to find anything of value that they could sell. The treacherous mud and fast tides made it a dangerous activity.
Today’s mudlarks need a permit to go searching. Four thousand licences are issued each year, and all objects mst be reported to the authorities. Metal detectors and trowels are used nowadays in the hunt for artefacts.
I don't have a photo of a human mudlark but here is one of an Australian mudlark, more correctly called the Magpie Lark (Grallina cyanoleuca). It is from Wikimedia courtesy fir0002 flagstaffotos.
8 people like this
8 responses
@FourWalls (85996)
• United States
Just now
Thanks for expanding my vocabulary. It’s interesting that they regulate it like that. In our national parks and battlefields, metal detectors and hunting artifacts are strictly prohibited.
@rebelann (117087)
• El Paso, Texas
Just now
I just added a new word to my vocabulary, before this discussion I had never heard the word 'fossick' before.
My mom would have been one if she'd known about it, she always tried to find gold or whatnot in our desert areas and mostly we just laughed about it.
@snowy22315 (207640)
• United States
28m
I think I have heard of the term but I didn't know what it meant.
@Juliaacv (55916)
• Canada
36m
I am not familiar with this saying, nor the practice of searching muddy edges of the Thames in England.
We have a Thames River that runs through southwestern Ontario, and through my city, of London.
It's real 'attraction' these days seems to be for the homeless to live in their tented encampments.
I feel so sorry for that sector of our society, as they have found a quiet place, away from the majority of people, but not necessarily a safe, secure or clean place. They can easily move from one side of the city to another, just by following the river.
I wish that politicians would do more to help the need of homelessness, it has become quite a serious issue here.
@luisadannointed (11504)
• Philippines
51m
When I was little, it was a normal thing to do, especially for kids and they really found real coins.
