#Larking

And here it is - my top find of 2023.... a teeny seventeenth century apothecary phial, concreted into place on the very edge of late December's super low-tide. Nearly perfect apart from a chip on the rim. I've wanted one of these for years and years and I couldn't believe it when I saw it locked into place just as the tide was about to turn. I found it on the north bank, where I'm not allowed to dig or scrape, but fortunately the lovely Guy, who does have permission, was there and even though he had artefacts to find and items to seek he came over and pounded away with the edge of his trowel at the rock until it finally came loose and released this beauty. I'm so happy. It is a small globe of perfection, as yet uncleaned. I'll post a picture of it in all it's unmuddy glory tomorrow. #apothecary #mudlark #mudlarking #thames #riverthames #thethames #bottles #phial #1600s #londonlife #archeology #londonhistory #finds #found #larking #londonmudlark #seaglass #beachcombing #metaldetecting

I try to be kind to the foreshore. I don’t dig or scrape in search of objects, but sometimes I find things that are just emerging. If they are easy to lift free, like this c.16th century wooden comb which would have started to disintegrate if it had been left much longer.

I was desperate to buy some of these old vintage bottle from an Antiques Market in France. I didn’t because I was worried about the contents in some of the bottles and didn’t fancy getting arrested while travel over the French /English boarder. #charityshop #antiqueshop #thiftstorefinds #thifting #mudlarkingfinds #mudlark #treasures #recycled #lovethat #crazy #hoarders #placestogo #explore #fun #shopping #vintage #vintagebottles #mudlarking #larking #bottledump #bottledumpfinds #history #frenchmarket

January has certainly brought its fair share of wild weather, and with it some fascinating finds along our local shores. After Storm Goretti, one of the Brownsea team headed out beachcombing with her family to Avon and Southbourne beaches. Amongst the tangle of seaweed and shells, they uncovered all sorts of shoreline wildlife treasures, including a possible prehistoric rib bone from an Irish elk. Winter storms often reveal things hidden beneath the sand, making this one of the most interesting times of the year for a coastal wander. Have you discovered anything unusual on your local beach this month? We would love to hear about your finds. #Beachcombing #BrownseaIsland #ShorelineCombing #WinterStorms #DorsetWildlifeTrust #NaturalTreasure #BeachForaging #Larking #Beachcombers 📷 National Trust/ Victoria V

Found on Sunday, I couldn’t believe how small this Roman intaglio is. It’s made of a type of two layer glass made to imitate onyx. I’ve still to look at it more carefully, but it looks most like a bug to me, although I suppose it could be an eye with very sparse eyelashes. Close up pics to come… #mudlarking #mudlark #mudlarkingfinds

A little green poison bottle found digging in the company of @mudika.thames. Cleaned up lovely. A mystery red stain on the inside . Over a century old. Once held harsh chemicals, designed to clean homes or kill pests (arsenic, strychnine, mercury, opiates...). The distinctive colours, unusual shapes, and raised design helped poison bottles stand out in dim and shadowy gas and candle light - necessary in a time before childproof lids, when death by accidental ingestion was all too common. Chuffed to have found this as I recently smashed a lovely blue poison while giving a Mudlarking talk... #bottles #poisons #green #found #finds #larking #vintageglass #bottlecollecting #seaglasshunting #mudlarking #myhobby #bottledumptreasures

... And the day after that, because any day is a great day to visit Lark!🍻 #larkbrewingco #larking #visitloudoun #aldieva #farmbrewery #drinkNova #loudouncounty #beerpour

Mid 18th century clay pipe, found last week on the Thames foreshore ☺️ #mudlarking #mudlark #mudlarkingfinds

So easy to turn an innocent joyful doll into a to something out of a nightmare. Exhumed today at the bottle dump with blank eyes and a mouth full of earth.... 1920s. #creepydoll #treasurehunting #finds #found #dolls #dollhead #bottledigging #larking #mudlarking #beachcombing

Can you spot the Georgian ha’penny before do? It’s completely smooth and impossible to date accurately, but the size gives away a rough date.

A little ceramic goose from the 1920s found bottle digging last weekend, and shown here in front of a cleaned up 'Steiner" Made In Germany bisque dolls head, also from the 1920s. She was once so beautifully spruced up, with a wig and jointed body, known as a Dolly Face doll. Now she is white and skeletal but at least an improvement on the as-found horror movie handful... #bottledigging #goose #digup #found #finds #lodtandfound #treasurehunting #larking #dolls #dollshead #bisque #collection #collector #collectables

There’s an iron garden on the Thames, scrap iron that’s slowly being ‘greened’ by the river…