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The Muck of Millennia

2020-02-21 · documentary visit · Hank, Nicola · 4:00 · watch on YouTube

Topic: History & curiosities · mode: Personal essay · tags: on location, guest or collab

In London for VidCon, Hank explains that the tidal Thames was everyone's garbage dump for millennia, visits a mudlark YouTuber and her collection of river finds, and reflects that it is good to think about what we are leaving behind and what it will mean to whoever finds it.

What is said

The parts of the video and what is said in each (★ — how much it matters to the video).

00:00:00 — The Thames: its ancient name, millennia as a garbage dump, a tidal river exposing its shore

  • ★★ Hank says the River Thames was named by the Celts, or something close to that, and the name literally comes from a Sanskrit word. — 00:00:00
  • ★ Hank says the word 'linguistics' is rooted in a word for tongue that stretches back even before Sanskrit. — 00:00:00
  • ★★ Hank says the Thames, there since the first people, through the Celts, Romans and Normans, was everyone's default garbage dump until about 50 years ago. — 00:00:29
  • ★★ Hank says the Thames is a tidal river, close enough to the ocean that tides change its level, exposing the shore when it empties. — 00:00:29

00:01:03 — Finds in the mud; visiting a mudlark YouTuber and her secret room of finds

  • ★★ Hank says the exposed mud holds the leavings of millennia: coins, pipes, bottles, pottery shards, musket balls, toothbrushes and human remains. — 00:01:03
  • ★★ Hank says 'mudlark' is the self-assigned name for people who walk muddy places in England to see what they can find. — 00:01:03 · England
  • ★★★ Hank goes to meet a mudlark whose YouTube channel he watches and loves, saying he is in the enviable position of easily meeting YouTube creators he loves. — 00:01:03 · YouTube
  • ★ Nicola: The mudlark says a horse skull in her collection could well be Roman. (hedged) — 00:01:33
  • ★★ Nicola: The mudlark says about 90% of her collection was washed up by the river. — 00:01:33
  • ★ Nicola: The mudlark shows a Roman pot, probably from 200, marvelling that it survived so long. (hedged) — 00:02:03
  • ★★ Nicola: The mudlark shows an old Victorian baby bottle, a perfect breeding ground for bacteria and terrible for babies' milk. — 00:02:03

00:02:42 — In London for VidCon: feeling history, and what we will leave behind

  • ★★ Hank says he is in London for VidCon and it is hard not to feel the context of history there. — 00:02:42 · London
  • ★★ Hank says at VidCon it is also hard not to feel the history of his own life, industry and work. — 00:02:42
  • ★★★ Hank says it is good to think about what we will leave and are leaving behind, how much more we create, and what pieces will be found and mean to future finders. — 00:02:42

00:03:20 — Close of the reflection, sign-off and an airport-hotel song

  • ★★ Hank says he doesn't think about that much, and it's probably best not to think about it too much, but maybe he should some. (hedged) — 00:03:20
  • ★ After the sign-off, a song from the airport hotel about waiting for the plane to go by. (playful) — 00:03:20

In the description and comments

  • ★★ The description recommends Nicola's YouTube channel, calling her amazing. — video description · YouTube
  • ★★ In a comment, Hank says Nicola has found several human bones, which must be reported to police, and showed him the jaw of a man probably tossed off a prison barge. — creator comment

Threads in this video

Mentioned

Central: mudlark · Nicola · River Thames

Also: Celts · England · London · Sanskrit · Teletubbies · VidCon Europe · YouTube

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