New-York tribune., 1910-10-23
TREASURES OF THE'THAMES
For Centuries River Has Been
Catch All for Valuable Things.

If some Of the things that have been
fished out of the Thames River are a fair
sample of the treasures resting in the mud
at the bottom, it might pay some Yankee
speculator 10 finance plan for a systematic
search. Everything from a coin to a
statue has been recovered from the black
waters, even the Great Seal Of England
having found resting place there. II was
thrown there purposeIy by James II on the
night he fed from whitehall but fisher
man accidentally brought it TO light some
while afterward, and it was restored TO the
government.
The largest object ever found in the
Thames was a whale. which was caught
near Blackwell Dock in 1890. This mon
sterous fish, says a contemporary account.
now reprinted in "The London Globe 'is
ST feet IN length and near 40 feet About.
he is more in hight than in BREADTH and is
taken to be a matter of so Tunn in Wight.
He was first discovered near the Bouy Of
The More, where he was 1erd at by Il
Kings Yoath so received sum wound. and
made toward the shOure so com along by
We Hoop and beat himself upon ye sand.
after that he was harpoond and taken,
then bought by a Quacor."
''One Of the most ancient and, strangely
n,
1858 near Waterloo Bridge" says q his
torian. writing in The Globe" This is
Celtic helmet of bronze, more than twenty
centuries old. The state of its preserva
tiOn IS marvellous, the OrnamentatlOn be-
ing almost unwOrn as when the helmet
was first made. In 1856 bronze shield OF
about the same date was wreSted from the
river mud near Battersea, together with
great number of swords, spears and other
weapons This shield is the finest Of its
period IN the world. II IS fourteen inches
wide and thirty long. and somewhat highly
ornamented with curious red enamel disks.
The durability OF bronze is evident when
we think of the countless tides which
swept over IL, but were Yet unable TO de-
stroy the metal, and II Is almost impossible
10 realize that the owner OF such shield
was a savage barbarian. clad only n the
skins of wolves and other wild animals
which We're harbored IN thousands by the
mighty forests which covered all England
Near London Bridge. which has always
T,roved a mine of buried treasure, two small
Roman statuettes were found in 1897 They
are bronzes Of Apollo and Mercury, Un-
fortunately somewhat mutilated and dented.
but sufficiently we'll preserved to show that
both were the work OF true artists, and
proba bly, famous sculptors OF that day. II
is possible that the early Christians, who
were responsible for a good deal OF damage
of the kind. looked upon them as devils:
cutting of an arm here and leg there
and casting them into the river they would
MANY coins of bronze. silver and gold have
been found in the Thames that II would
require mighty tome 10 catalogue them.
In IP4l A mum Der of gold coins were found
bv a Ia a5orer. who eventually sold them 10
q collector, while some twenty-five years
earlier great quantity OF angels and half
eovereiRns u1inted in the reigns OF Henry
VII and Henry VIII were thrown up by
small kind of waterspout They were
claimed bv the corporation, and what hap
nened 70 them is not known.
''At Oueenhithe the seal OF Edward the
Confaesor for the Port OF London was
brought 10 the surface by a dredger in Isle.
II is of very thick silver. in perfect condi-
fion and of most exquisite workmanship
II was bought by a private gentleman.
Not many years ago a bargee brought UP
on the end Of his anchor a gold pomander
OF the fifteenth century. Pomanders were
worn on the gtrdle and contained scent,
"a great number OF Roman relics have
been found al different times: and there
are no doubt, as many more stu hidden in
almost perfectly preserved We're disoov-
cred some years ago. and very fine head
~ tho + mperor Hadrian, well as a huge
hand which may have belonged 70 the
statue OF which the Emperor head was