The great Thames treasure hunt begins again! Port of London Authority relaunches mudlarking permit scheme after two-year suspension giving amateur hunters the chance to find lost relics on the riverbanks of the capital

Hunting for historical treasures sitting at the bottom of the murky Thames is a possibility once more, as the Port of London Authority (PLA) relaunches its permit scheme.

Budding mudlarkers have had their dreams of sifting through the exposed riverbed for hidden relics put on hold for nearly two years after the PLA suspended all new permits in November 2022.

At the time, it claimed permit applications had skyrocketed from 200 to 5000 in the span of ‘four or five years’ due to social media attracting a new wave of enthusiasts, sparking fresh concerns that the hobby was impacting the environment. 

But after a two-year pause, the permit scheme for the over centuries-old hobby, which has seen a range of relics from medieval gold rings to Tudor hats unearthed, has been reopened to 4,000 hopefuls for £35 each.

Similarly to previous permit applications, there will be no automatic renewal once the year is up for anyone awarded a licence to sift through mud of the Thames in the bid for historical treasures.

The Port of London Authority is reopening its permit scheme to 4,000 mudlarking hopefuls after a two-year pause amid concern the booming hobby was impacting the environment (Pictured: A man mudlarking on the Thames)

The skull, found to belong to a teenager, was discovered on the banks of the River Thames 

A carved broken pipe bowl shaped like a bearded face lies half-buried among the pebbles

A pair of false teeth from the 18th century was also discovered by a River Thames mudlark

A Tudor knitted cap was discovered on the River Thames foreshore 500 years after it was lost

A rare magical figure from 19th century Africa after it washed up on the banks of the River Thames

For 2,000 years the murky London waters have seen a vast array of human activity – and with it a myriad of countless objects lost or intentionally thrown into the river. 

Thanks to the Thames’s dense anaerobic mud, many items have been protected and preserved at the bottom of the vast riverbed, from 18th century false teeth, a bosun whistle and even a human skull. 

With the relaunch of permit applications, James Trimmer, the PLA’s director of planning and development, said the new scheme would allow enthusiast to search the banks ‘safely’ whilst ‘continuing to preserve its unique history and heritage.’ 

‘As owners and custodians of the tidal Thames foreshore, we have a duty to protect its integrity and archaeology for future generations,’ he added. 

Last years scheme granted licences to 5,000 applicants, which has since been reduced to 4,000. 

Mr Timmer continued: ‘After an unprecedented increase in the application of Foreshore Permits, from about 200 foreshore permits issued in 2018/2019 to 5,000 in 2022, we undertook an extensive evaluation and revision of the scheme.’

Although the hobby is now a popular pastime, the original mudlarkers were the poor peasants of London, who had a tradition of tirelessly searching the banks since the 18th century in the hopes of finding items they could flog.

However today, with some treasures on the riverbed dating back all the way to 4500BC, the PLA alongside the Crown Estate regulates searches on its own land, and those taking advantage of the Thames fluctuating tides, must report any finds to the London Museum. 

In recent years as applications for permit holders has continued to flood in, and so to have the astonishing finds. 

Earlier in January, 52-year-old Steve Tomlinson finding a piece of tanned leather dating back to 2,500 BC making it the oldest ever found in the UK. 

The 600-year-old skull of a teenager, found on the banks of the Thames, had a significant head wound caused by a projectile, probably an arrow or spear

The fragments of the skull discovered on the banks of the River Thames

Mark Iglesias Vasco was searching the foreshore in central London when he found the skull

A piece tanned leather found this week which dates back to 2500 BC, the same time that Stonehenge was built 

Carbon dating determined to it to be 4,488 to 4,600 years old

Simon Bourne once found a skull washed up on the banks 

Some of the extraordinary treasures Mr Bourne has found hidden on the harsh shoreline of the River Thames

Steve Tomlinson, who discovered, the millennia-old piece of leather mudlarking in North Kent

Peggy Jones, who died in 1805 when this drawing was published, has been identified as one of the few women mudlarks. She was known for picking up coal in the Thames and selling it on

An oil painting by English landscape painter Henry Pether shows Victorian-era mudlarks

The archaeologist and father-of-two was mudlarking in North Kent when he stumbled across a piece of leather – just 21cm long – pioking out of the mud.

Carbon dating determined it to be 4,488 to 4,600 years old, dating it as being from between 2578 BC – 2466 BC, placing it in the Neolithic period, around the same time as when Stonehenge was built.

Mr Tomlinson from Birchington said: ‘Extraordinary, to think that this dates Stonehenge is absolutely incredible. These items just don’t survive unless they are in anaerobic conditions.

‘This is a really big and amazing discovery. To find the Bronze Age shoe and then a bit of Neolithic leather is extremely rare.

‘It is so rare that it is on the top rarity scale. To find those was just amazing and what a future they have. They will be researched by future generations.’

Analysis is still ongoing, but experts believe that the leather is likely from an old bag or water bottle due to the red staining which suggests it has been waterproofed.

Six months earlier he had found the shoe just 60ft away from the spot on the Thames Estuary where he made his latest discovery.

Carbon dating revealed that the piece was a 3,000-year-old shoe from 888-781 BC, in the late Bronze Age, which would make it the oldest shoe ever found in the British Isles.

It was a toddler’s shoe measuring in at around 15 centimetres and is the smallest shoe from this period found in the world.

More recently, a history buff made a gruesome discovery on the bottom of the river bed after mistaking a 600-year-old skull for a cocunut. 

Experienced mudlarker Mark Iglesias Vasco, 50, was searching the foreshore at low tide in central London when he made the grisly find.

Police forensic scientists have since revealed the secrets of the young person’s life after months of research.

The scientists found the skull belonged to a young person, likely to have been aged around 16, who ate a mainly marine diet – suggesting they could have been a sailor.

Monika Buttling-Smith, 33, found the longbow arrowhead downstream from the fortress in the River Thames

The reverse angle of the gold finger ring discovered in the River Thames by a mudlark

A medieval gold ring inscribed with the message: ‘For love I am given’ was also discovered

An early Bronze Age arrowhead is among the remarkable finds from the River Thames bank

A Viking-era dagger will also form part of the exhibition at London Museum Docklands

An item described as a ‘medieval phallus comb’ which was also discovered by a mudlark

A decorated bosun’s whistle was also discovered by a mudlark on the River Thames foreshore 

The reverse angle of the Bosun’s whistle which is among the items featuring in the exhibition

A pair of medieval spectacles were also discovered on the Thames foreshore by a mudlark 

A tripod cauldron will feature in ‘Secrets of the Thames: Mudlarking London’s Lost Treasures’

A tobacco clay pipe is also among the discoveries which will go on show in the exhibition

The skull also had a significant head wound caused by a projectile, probably an arrow or spear, as tests showed it dates back to between 1405 and 1530.

It has now been passed along to the Museum of London, who will conduct further research to learn where the teenager was from and their gender.

A vast array of object, which were found in the Thames, have also been put on display for the first time in the London Museum Docklands. 

The year-long display, which will run from April 2025 to March 2026, will also look at the role of mudlarks in uncovering thousands of years of human history. 

Among the objects set for display will be a Tudor knitted cap, discovered on the foreshore 500 years after it was lost. 

Inspired by similar velvet designs worn by the wealthy during this period, the more affordable wool version is a rare survivor preserved by the unique conditions of the river.

It will sit alongside a medieval gold ring inscribed with the message: ‘For love I am given’; an ancient Viking era dagger personalised with the name of its owner, Osmund; and more everyday objects such as clay pipes.

The exhibition will recreate an ‘experiential foreshore studded with cases of mudlarked objects’, including many never-before-seen finds that the museum has recently acquired.

There will be a behind-the-scenes glimpse at how finds are recorded and researched at the museum and insights from mudlarks about how they investigate and curate their discoveries.

Mudlark Monika Buttling-Smith kneels on the shore of the Thames as she looks for objects 

Mudlark Monika Buttling-Smith finds a fork while searching the River Thames foreshore

Mudlark Monika Buttling-Smith examines an old, green glass bottle with embossed text

A mudlark kneels on the shore of the River Thames as they look for objects 

London Museum curator Kate Sumnall said: ‘We are lucky in London to have this amazing tidal river environment that has preserved so much of our past.

‘It is the longest archaeological site in London and here we find an unbelievably rich selection of finds, from this astonishingly well preserved Tudor hat to the ubiquitous clay pipes that were very much the disposable vapes of their day.

‘Thanks to the dedication and expertise of today’s mudlarks, we are constantly uncovering new objects that inform our understanding of history.

‘Secrets of the Thames will showcase some of these fascinating objects and their journey from discovery to joining the museum.

‘Above all, it will be an exploration of love and desire, faith and loss, migration, community and culture. The stories of generations of people who have visited the city or called it home.’