17 Jan Mudlarking in Year 4
Year 4 Mudlarking trip
Year 4 braved the cold weather and headed down to Greenwich for a spot of mudlarking. We became archeologists and found clues about the past on the foreshores of the River Thames.
Did you know that you can find Oyster shells from as far back as the Victorian era? They were cheap ‘Fast food’ back then and the shells were thrown into the Thames when finished with. We found some shells with holes in, it’s thought these were used as payment to cross the Thames on boats – the hole was stamped to show it was used… we still have ‘Oyster’ cards for travel today!
We also found red brick pieces from the times of Henry V111 – his palace was where the Royal Naval College stands today and crumbled into the Thames. There were animal bones from the Roman and Tudor times when slaughterhouses lined the Thames, blue and white pottery from the Victorians and parts of clay pipes which were often smoked and then dumped in the thames!
We discovered that the word ‘Thames’ is a Celtic word meaning ‘dark one’ as the Thames is quite dark, reflecting the colour of the mud on the river bed. What a day and what a lot of learning!
Sorry, the comment form is closed at this time.