Happy new year!

I would like to wish you a happy new year, and may 2016 be the year we all find gold, (or cool bits of pottery... either works.) I have already managed to sneak in the first lark of the year, and I have to say one item is particularly exciting! Stay tuned for plenty more articles, and snippets of history.

Thornback Ray Spine

  This next find is one which has taken me a really long time to identify. At first I thought it was a bent safety pin, for a while I thought it was a whistling acacia seed from Africa, then I thought it was an animal claw, and finally I saw it had been identified on the London Mudlark facebook page. And I am so happy it was. Because it turns out it's much cooler! It's a Thornback Ray spine.

Mudlarking find: Thornback Ray spine

  Thornback Rays are widespread in coastal waters from Iceland to Norway. Its geographic ranges extends into the North Sea, The Meditteranean Sea, the Black Sea, Madeira Island, the Atlantic coasts of Africa, as well as the waters off the coast of South Africa and the South-Western Indian Ocean.
They inhabit a range of sea floor habitats, including mud, sand, gravel, and rocky areas.

Map of Thornback Ray territory

 As the name denotes, the upper portion of the body and tail are covered with thorn-like projections. When Thornback Rays reach sexual maturity the bases of the thorns thicken to resemble small button like projections called buckler. The snout and small portions of the body are covered in thorns in sub adults and the underside may be thorny in large females. Adults typically have between 21 and 25 large thorns running from the nape to its first pectoral fin.

Thornback Ray photo with detail of spines similar to my find

  The largest specimen ever recorded weighed 18 kg. Females can grow up to 130 cm long and live to 12 years of age. 

Thornback Ray Raja Clavata diagram

Images from Sharktrust and animaldiversity.org

Midlands Blackware Tyg

I found this pretty early on in my mudlarking career and had a mini heart attack as I was digging it up. It was together in the ground, but was fractured in many places. I dug it up the best I could trying not to cause any further damage and put it in my bag. That evening I enjoyed trying to fit the pieces back together, and was delighted to see that I could reassemble all the shards. 

Mudlarking Find: Blackware tyg shards

   This is the result of my efforts: Some of the glaze was chipped off in places, so this is the best I could do with my amateur gluing skills. I know its not perfect but I still love it. I remember the feeling of trying to lift it carefully out of the mud, rejoicing in the fact the shape of the vessel could somewhat be recognised. This wasnt just a fragment, but a LARGE fragment.

Mudlarking find: Blackware tyg after assemblage  

  With a bit of digging around, (see what I did there?) I have been able to identify the find as Midlands Blackware which makes me very happy as I am originally a Midlander myself. I like to think that we found each other. 

  Midlands Blackware developed from the earlier Medieval Cistercian ware, named so due to the pottery first being recorded in runied monastories inhabited by Cistercian monks in the 16th Century. After the dissolution, the ware evolved into Post medieval Blackware. Blackware is lead glazed English earthernware, which has a red body, and a black metallic looking glaze. The pottery forms usually consist of drinking vessels, including tall mugs, trumpet shaped drinking tygs, with two four, and sometimes up to eight handles, and tankards. One of the distinguishing features is the horizontal ribbing, and sometimes the vessels also have white decoration.  

   It was a finer ware, and would have been owned by wealthier people, such as well-off farmers,

Midlands Blackware tyg, 1500-1600, Fitzwilliam Museum Collection

Midlands Blackware Flagon, 1640-1660, Fitzwilliam Museum Collection

Mudlarking finds: Blackware shards

Mudlarking find: Blackware handle with hole

Mudlarking Haul

I was excited to show my friend Flora the wonders of the lark life, so I got the train down and we headed off to the foreshore. She was well prepared with old shoes and gloves, and I had an endless supply of carrier bags- basically we were in it for the long haul. Despite our enthusiasm, overall, I was pretty disappointed with my finds. I was looking forward to finding bits and bobs that I thought were guaranteed to be there so I could talk her through explaining what things are, what to look for, but there was scarcely anything to be had.
   Added to that, there were a couple of guys there with metal detectors and huge spades, digging in the no dig zone, and not even having the decency to fill in the holes afterwards. I dunno, maybe they just put me in a bad mood. But anyways,

Above: mudlarking haul

Here are the finds. On the bright side, at least my bag wasn't heavy for the journey home. Finds include raked slipware, green and blue transferware, green Tudor glazed shard, Chinese import porcelain, floor tile, stoneware bottle top with cork, broken decorated pipe bowls, a fossil of some type of algae, decorated bellarmine, hand painted delft fragments, and my saving grace- some Tudor dress pins.

Better luck next time MudChan!

Gob/Snobs gaming piece

I really really really love this find. I'm not sure why, perhaps it was because when I first found it, I knew exactly what it was. It is from a game called snobs, also known as gobs, knucklestones, dibs, dabs, fivestones and others, depending on where you were.

Above: Mudlarking find- gob/snob stone games piece.

Along with the name, the rules also varied from place to place. Here is one version of the rules which I came across on forgottentoyshop.co.uk:

"To start a turn, the player throws five snobs into the air with one hand and tries to catch as many as possible on the back of the same hand.  The snobs that were caught are then thrown up again from the back of the hand where they came to rest and as many as possible are caught in the palm of the same hand.  If no snobs end up being caught, the player's turn is over.

  If, however, at least one snob was caught, the player prepares for the next throw by keeping one of the caught snobs in the same hand and throwing all remaining snobs on the ground.  The player then tosses the single snob into the air, attempts to pick up one of the snobs that was missed and then catches the snob that was tossed, all with the same hand.  The player repeats this until all the snobs have been picked up. 

  That done, the player throws down four of the snobs again, throws the single snob in the air, attempts to pick up two snobs with the same hand before catching the tossed snob.  This is repeated again and a final toss sees the player picking up the last snob.  The process is then repeated for three snobs followed by one snob and finally, all four snobs are picked up before catching the single tossed snob.
For skilful players, the game can continue in an agreed way with further permutations and challenges according to the player's whims.  For instance, the other hand could be used to throw, the player may have to clap hands before doing the pick up or perhaps slap both knees."

Above: children playing, forgottentoyshop.co.uk

The game sounds pretty difficult to me! What do you think?



NUTZ

At least I think it's a nut? Some kind of seed perhaps, I'm not sure. I find it cool though. I wonder where what plant or tree it came from.

Above: mystery mudlarking find

Pan Yan Pickle

One of my more recent ceramic finds is this lid from a Pan Yan Pickle jar. Although I had never heard of this brand before, after researching it, it seems like it used to be a household favourite.

Mudlarking find: Pan Yan Pickle lid

Pan Yan Pickle was part of an era of food inspired by exotic spices and fruits, which were being shipped through the West India Docks in the East End. Even the name of the pickle was chosen to reflect its oriental tastes. Pan Yan Pickle was registered in 1903 and production continued until 2002.
Here is how the whole jar might have looked:

Complete Pan Yan jar with lid

Pan Yan Pickle has an interesting story, as in 2004 the only known recipe for the pickle was destroyed in a fire. The fire at the factory took over 150 fire fighters over 12 hours to extinguish, and with it, the recipe was lost. Premium Foods launched a public appeal for anyone with a Pan Yan pickle jar to come forward, so the ingredients list could be recovered.

   In 2008, after clearing out her late husbands workshop, Sheila Cracknell discovered a Pan Yan jar which he was using to keep nails in- and the label was still intact. The recipe for the pickle is rutabaga, sugar, carrots, vinegar, thickener (modified starch), gherkins, acertic acid, peppers, onions, spices, colour (caramel), flavourings.

So there you go.

Pan Yan Pickle advert, 1915

Pan Yan Pickle advert, 1934

Pan Yan Pickle advert, 1954

If you fancy trying some Pan Yan deliciousness, there is a recipe that you can make yourself here:

                         http://www.food.com/recipe/a-british-classic-pan-yan-pickle-246663