This is a picture of me taken several years ago in London, England alongside the Thames River. While much of the Thames is just between two walls, there are areas in town were there is a semblance of beach. If you’re ever there, find the stairs and go look around. As you can see behind me on the ground, the beach is littered with the debris of thousands of years of human habitation.
The collection in my hands includes everything from Roman to Twentieth Century pot sherds. There isn’t really any context to the sherds along the Thames – they’re probably bits and pieces that sunk with ships or were thrown in the river as trash. It is illegal to remove artifacts from the country though, so don’t take them with you. But have a look around, there’s ancient craftsmanship everywhere.
