I've always loved 'Seaglass', broken glass that's been rolled and tumbled by the sea until it becomes rounded and frosted.
There are whole websites about it and gathering this 'treasure' is a big hobby in America and the Carribean.
People even make fake seaglass to sell.
In the summer we had a day out around the old East End and we ended up at 'The Prospect of Whitby', a very old pub and also one of the most expensive I've ever been to.
It's not too friendly either.
We made our way down to the shoreline and had a look around. There are strict rules about picking up archaeological material along the Thames - for a start you need a 'Mudlarks' licence. I only picked up modern broken glass or what the American's call 'Beach Glass' which is found on freshwater beaches.
There's a bit of broken pottery, the two white pieces are from a wine bottle; the left one has a 'dimple' - it's the bottom of the bottle.
The brown glass at the front is probably another wine bottle, as is the green in the middle. The green glass at the top is a very modern beer bottle.
Top left ought to be exciting, yellow is a colour that is both very old and very rare....except this is clear glass with a yellow backing so I'd say it's from a 1960's bathroom.
Seaglass is smooth and frosted while this 'beach' is just a river bank so there is lots of unevenness and chips.
Then again, the Thames has massive currents and it's very dangerous. It regularly moves things like bottles up and down several miles every day. So it's still quite impressive wear for modern glass.
Neil Harris
(a don't stop till you drop production)
Contact me: neilwithpromisestokeep@gmail.com
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