The weirdest thing? A sawn-off shotgun, with the bullets still inside.And while a wander along the water brings a peace rarely found in the city, it can be a grim task. "These little snapshots of everyday London life, that you find coming out of the mud, every tide, its like a giant history book," said Maiklem, who works in the publishing industry. "Its a treasure hunt," she told AFP, walking with her head down, eyes glued to the ground.Smells disgusting’ Although social media has fuelled interest in mudlarking, it is not for everyone. "After heavy rain on a sewage spill day the foreshore is revolting," Maiklem said, noting she wears plastic gloves."When I dont know what something is and I post it, Im always blown away by the knowledge that comes back," she said. The Thames is far cleaner than it used to be but Londons creaking 19th-century sewer system often overflows into the river.The licences stipulate how deep mudlarks are allowed to delve and geographical limits are also in place, with some areas off limits for security or archaeological reasons. Over the past two decades, 48-year-old Maiklem has found pottery, a silver coin from the 1600s from the era of King Charles I, ivory combs and 18th-century clay pipes, some still bearing the makers fingerprints.Instagram, museum interestMaiklem has just published a book, "Mudlarking", and also chronicles her finds on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram, part of a thriving social media community of mudlarks. Maiklem neither digs nor uses a metal detector, preferring to focus on what washes up on the shore. "Its covered in unmentionable things and it smells disgusting.Mudlarks also work with the Museum of London to help identify and preserve their finds, with some currently on display at its "Secret Rivers" exhibition. All findings by mudlarks are preserved in association with the Museum of London.Things lost along the wayMany of the rivers, streams and brooks that cut through London have been built over and lost but the Thames remains at its heart, its tidal waters leaving evidence of centuries of life, work and death on the shore. The PLA also warns mudlarks that they must be aware of hypodermic needles and glass. Mudlarks must first get a licence from the Port of London Authority (PLA), with around 1,500 people allowed to take part at any one time, although only a few dozen are regularly active. https://www.guangyuanpacking.com/product/slide-blisters/ unearth the past on London's riverbanks. Treading her way along the muddy banks of the River Thames, Lara Maiklem spots a 16th-century clothespin which she wipes and adds to a row of others puncturing her coat pocket. Among her favourite finds are bent sixpence coins from the 17th and 18th centuries, thrown into the river as love tokens for those who could not afford a ring. She treasures these handcrafted metal pins and other discoveries along the shore for the insight they give into those who walked there before her.One of her most valuable finds was a Tudor gold aglet, the metal tip of a shoelace, which, as a gold item more than 300 years old, she was required by law to declare to the authorities. "The Thames is the citys longest archaeological site, but it is vulnerable, it is fragile, and the mudlarks do excellent work at recording and helping to save that information," curator Kate Sumnall told AFP. "People who have been forgotten by history, who didnt leave anything of themselves other than the things they lost along the way, this is what they left behind of themselves," she said. She has also found human remains, which must be reported to the police.Maiklem says she never sells what she finds, and it is the "historical contact" that she loves." Mudlarks" # have scoured the foreshores of Londons rivers for centuries, searching out lost or discarded items to sell, and the tradition lives on today in a small band of devotees
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