Once a desperate 18th-century fight for survival, mudlarking has evolved into one of London’s most coveted viral pastimes. The craft of scavenging the River Thames for lost relics at low tide has surged in popularity, leaving more than 10,000 hopeful treasure hunters stuck on a permit waitlist.
WSJ joined mudlarks to learn how citizen archaeologists are unearthing London’s lost history in the mud.
Chapters:
0:00 Mudlarking on the Thames
1:16 How mudlarking works
5:24 Demand for permits and the history
6:47 The biggest finds
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