Mudlarking

Mudlarking is the practice of scavenging the banks and shores of rivers for items of value, a term used especially to describe those who scavenged this way along the River Thames in London during the late 18th and 19th centuries. The practice of searching riverbanks for items continues in the modern era as a hobby, with newer technology such as metal detectors sometimes employed to search for metal valuables that may have washed ashore, and with modern mudlarkers typically seeking historical artifacts rather than the items of everyday value the original mudlarks sought.