Metal Detecting

Does the Thames not wash new items up on to the foreshore? The guys on http://www.thamesandfield.co.uk/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; are still finding a lot of nice bits.

Don't forget many of the T&F guys have '1 metre deep' permits, and can dig in places where you can't even kick a stone aside.

T&F find some minor finds but not of of the quality and number of the 80s heyday .
steve brooker is a johny come lately with a big gate and ego.
the london museum has early silver ,daggers and swords from the thames hotspots ,not to mention a large quantity of pilgrim badges .most of the daggers on display in the LM came from the thames and finders were paid around 2000 a pop (at 80s prices)
early silver items fetched 10s of 1000s of pounds .(80s prices)
around a dozen hoards were also found worth 10s of 1000s
and an jacobean diamond ring which sold for 20,000 to the london museum in the 80s .on display
and the star find was a medieval chain of S also sold to the museum for 25,000(on display )
T&F are unlikely to make such finds now as all the hotpsots have been dug out.
they concentrate away from the city area .
they make interesting finds but not in the quantity and quality of the boom years.

heres the chain of S that was found very deep ,maybe 7 feet down

http://www.museumoflondon.org.uk/London ... &oid=30441" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

heres the gold and enamel diamond ring

http://www.artfund.org/what-we-do/art-w ... inger-ring" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

and the fabulous purse frame thats now in the BM on display ,it was found around 6 feet deep
the finder sold it to a dealer for not much cash and it then was eventually sold for 15,000 to the BM

http://www.artfund.org/what-we-do/art-w ... urse-frame" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Targets is right, i left London in 1992, and only ever went back for building site spoilheaps, Most of the 80's diggers moved on to other things. Problem is unless you were one of the diggers who did sites like Billingsgate, Butlers wharf, Thames exchange, to name a few, you will never believe what was found. I had to cross the channel to get sites that came close

east coast stu wrote:As Targets says depends where on the thames, You may get away with it on a quiet area, But if your thinking Billingsgate etc, You would find more eyes only. The Foreshore really shows you how avarage modern detectors are, when you look at the prices asked these days

Top infos


RR

east coast stu wrote:Back in the 80's diggers were even throwing Jettons, worn Georgian coppers, and buckles etc back, You had to see the amount and Quality of what was coming out to believe it nowdays. Even at Billingsgate and Queenhythe you would dig through the Victorian buld up before even starting to detect, you were really only looking for pre 1700. Thats why nearly all the 80s diggers have moved on to other sites etc.

Got a book somewhere call treasure of the thames or something like that and they re mention of excavotor digging and coin falling like rain from the scoop(or whatever the name is ),especially around london bridge.Stu thansk for posting those infos


RR

Was showing those finds to my missus she just asked me when will i start digging more!!!!



RR

Great topic made special by the enthusiasm and experience of members who are happy to share their tales and offer advice. Although the more central part of the Thames have been detected a lot, I wonder if that river is still very productive as you move away to the east or west and into less congested areas? There would have been extensive trading along the Thames into more rural areas? Liam

if you move east it gets muddier and you cant see what you are doing ,unlike central where it has a nice foreshore .but over 40 years most areas have been checked and checked time and again.
Greenwich has been well dug over the last 40 years but you wouldn't know it if you walked along the foreshore.
Gravesend also well dug by the old hands many years ago and they were thorough.
eastern areas had big ships (ocean going liners and cargo ships )with massive drafts so dredging took place to accommodate them.

whats not realized now is diggers back in the 80s were like desperate junkies looking for their next fix as they had become accustomed to making very good finds all the time ,so to suddenly being cutoff made them more determined to try every avenue for finds, even digging at 3am if there was a low night tide. the cop boats used to see lights in the middle of the night as diggers were using lamps to dig at night ,and pull in to see what was going on !

but you never know your luck so always be optimistic. and keep on looking

Re Greenwich, I walked through that area each morning about 18 months ago, on the way to the O2 from my hotel. there was a lot of building work going on to the right of the road and lorry after lorry left the excavated land, on the way to somewhere ...
I made a topic on here about it, hoping someone local would maybe follow the lorries and see where the soil was being dumped. The land itself was very close to the river and must have seen thousands of years of habitation, still wonder where it all ended up! Opportunities lost, Liam
EDIT - I had forgotten to add west on the previous post as the river was the M1 of its day and would have been used to transport an enormous amount of cargo through Londinium and onwards to outlying garrisons and forts, castles and armies on the move, Liam

if you read Treasure in The Thames by Ivor Noel Hume published in 1956 he was searching the Thames in the 1950s and making remarkable finds on the surface .no detectors then..

Targets once again thanks for sharing those infos i know the feeling regarding the "fix" i had a spot like that in France once when part of the foreshore of the Garonne river was moved inland after massive carpark was created finds were like porn too good to be true everything tiney piece of metal was nicely decorated.Anyway,went out Sat,sun,tuesday and today and it was hard work and didnt find much ..............but i will keep looking


RR