River Thames Yields Ancient Artifact TreasuresIn all honesty...I hate to let this "secret" out of the bag! Yes, the River Thames is a treasure chest of ancient artifacts and they're yours for the taking.  Kari on Thames River London
Ohhhhhhhh....now I've said it...but don't misuse this great revelation...please leave some for me when I can go back! You think its fun rummaging through old garbage dumps in the USA...I know you...you have a metal detector and can spot a gold watch a mile down or an old coin right through the dirt. Well...guess what? The River Thames has been a dumping ground not for hundreds of years...but thousands! Yes, it's true. The London area has been populated since 2,000 years BEFORE the birth of Christ...Yup...and for 4,000 years the Thames River has been its favorite dumping grounds. The great fire of London? Well, I suppose most of that refuse went straight over the banks into the river, which is why it now yields up endless hand forged nails, roof tiles, pottery pieces and the most fun of all...pieces of broken clay pipes. Yup...like the one in this painting.
 Man with Clay Pipe  Antique Clay Pipe from 1600's Apparently, these pipes were purchased already filled with tobacco and then thrown away after smoked. You're just dying to see some more photos of me scounging around in the mud for artifacts aren't you? Ok...here's some more proof that I hauled back several pounds of River Thames artifacts with me to Iowa.  Thames River Kari Picking Artifacts So...how did I get photographs of myself? Glad you asked. It was Mira, a wonderful young lady from Russia who took these. She was there too, but instead of digging in the dirt, she was photographing people.  River Thames with Kari The day I was there local archeologists (how do you spell that anyway?) were at the banks of the River Thames inviting us to go down and find some treasures for our very own.  Bridge over River Thames and Kari It was especially fun to pick up some flint for my brother, hand forged iron nails, pottery pieces, ancient glass, petrified bones, petrified oyster shells and roof tiles. We were informed that if the roof tile had a hole it was from the Tudor times. And if the oyster shells were flat they were from the Roman period. Such juicy bits of British history....and they even let us keep our finds. London...I love you. Thanks for a great day...I could hardly pull myself away. And I met a super girl, Mira, too, and we became fast friends. I had the joy of repaying her for the photos by giving her the fabulous pearl necklace I'm wearing. This fellow is selling some of his finds from the River Thames on Ebay...enjoy and pick up a few artifacts without the hassle of traveling so far. (He also sells other things...just enjoy or overlook...)
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