What’s deep down in the River Thames?
Shocking and surprising things spotted in the Thames… including a Michael Jackson statue!
Last updated 6th May 2022
A deep dive into the River Thames reveals what’s been discovered under its surface.
The River Thames is one of London’s most popular attractions that brings in millions of overseas and local visitors each year, it’s England’s longest river and the second-longest in the UK.
Some research into the river has revealed there’s a lot that’s been found in the water over the years, including sea life, unexpected items, and a lot of waste that could’ve been recycled.
The strangest items found in the River Thames?
Some very surprising items have been discovered over the years.
In 1995, a giant Michael Jackson statue was found floating down the river, to promote his album ‘HIStory’.
The singer chose to float a giant 10-metre statue of himself down the Thames, this was one of nine counterparts found across Europe.
In 2021, a 16th century sword was discovered, it had a wooden handle and was in pristine condition.
It was thought to have survived at least 400 years in such a condition due to being buried in oxygen-free mud.
A 5,000-year-old human bone from the Stone Age is also among the list of findings, it’s reported to be dated between 3516 and 3365 BC belonging to someone around 5ft 7.
A 28-metre-long megalodon shark tooth is said to have swum the water 1.5 million years ago, and there’s been reports of a Roman brothel token being found around Putney Bridge.
As well as a skull segment from a 30,000-year-old woolly rhino, and a plastic crocodile which initially scared those nearby as they thought the toy was a real crocodile.
What sea life can be found in River Thames?
The Thames is home to a marine life, from whales and dolphins to seals, crabs, and eels.
Besides fish being the most common sea creature in the Thames, whales follow in second and have been seen in the river as early as 2006 and date all the way up to the current year.
One of the many whales spotted was nicknamed Benny by local residents, he swam about the river for three months before eventually finding his way home.
Other types of whales to have been found in the Thames are far from their usual home in the Arctic and Antarctic Oceans and North and Mediterranean seas… including the humpback, bottlenose, beluga and minke species.
There’s no definite explanation as to why these whales are roaming the Thames, but one possible theory is that they like to migrate south for the warmer waters.
Dolphins and even a range of shark species have been found, a dolphin was sighted for the first time near Barnes Bridge in West London in 2018, and a year later a harbour porpoise was seen swimming nearby.
Seals have also been seen in the river since 2013, alongside mitten crabs, eels and short-snouted seahorses.
Alongside these sea life wonders; the Loch Ness monster's dark shadow was spotted in 2016, bystanders reported that it was too big to be a shark and looked different to any creature they’d seen before.
Birds are also a popular sighting, the river is the home of many including the most common species, Redshank and Avocet birds.
According to research articles and reports of animal and unusual item sightings over the last 10 years, last year (2021) was the most popular year for animal sightings.
What waste items are found in The Thames?
Many waste items are often found in the Thames that shouldn’t have ended up there, many of them could’ve been recycled instead.
Wet wipes are the most littered item in the river, according to a report by Thames21.
Fatbergs is the name given to wet wipes that form slimy layers when mixed with mud.
One of these was reported to have grown in height by 1.4m between September 2014 and May 2019, this covers approximately 1000m2 which is the size of four tennis courts.
Hammersmith Bridge Southside is the top hotspot for wet wipes, Fulham Football club follows in second place and Battersea Bridge in third.
Newcastle Drawdock has the highest level of plastic bags, 02 flats in Greenwich is second highest and Galleons Point in third.
Small Profits, Queen Caroline Drawdock and Crabtree Wharf are the areas with the most floating waste on the Thames.
The top lightweight items found in The Thames?
Top lightweight items found on the foreshore of the Thames 2015-18, % of total litter found:
Food wrappers were found to be the most common lightweight item in the Thames, making up 20% of those floating on the foreshore between 2015-2018.
Cotton bud sticks were the second at 16%, and disposable cups third making up 9%.
Drink bottles came in sixth, despite a total of 97,019 bottles being recorded and removed between 2016-2019.
Water bottles account for almost half of bottles ever found in the river – the majority of which could have been recycled.
All pictures included at from Barrett home’s Deep Dive Study.
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