In 2022 there were 1,378 discoveries in total for England and Wales, which is the highest number of finds since records began in 1996. The hobby has been more popular since lockdown.
Budding mudlarkers have had their dreams put on hold since 2022 when the Port of London Authority suspended all new permits over concerns about the impact of the hobby.
Nicola White found the rare item in the riverbed near Greenwich and experts said they believe it is a late 19th century Nkisi Nkondi from the Congo brought to London by a superstitious sailor
Bestselling author Lara Maiklem found the broken sword on the Thames foreshore in Central London on Saturday. Pictured: The sword in Ms Maiklem s hand after she salvaged it.
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A cheeky Georgian button depicting two people having sex is one of the many fascinating treasures which have emerged from the mud of the Thames.
The piece, which is believed to date back to the 18th-Century, was found by a mudlarker .
The term is given to the people who comb the 100-mile foreshore of the Thames and pick up objects and artefacts revealed in the mud by the twice daily changing tides.
Anna Borzello, 54, found the erotic miniature button, which is small enough it sits on a fingertip, earlier this year as she was walking along the river. I like the idea of someone having this really raunchy pin tucked underneath their collar that they would maybe flap up, she said.