Mostly urban with very limited arable land. Thames foreshore detecting (with a Port of London Authority licence) is the primary opportunity and can be highly productive.
FROM THE PORTABLE ANTIQUITIES SCHEME
Selected archaeological finds from the PAS records for Greater London.
POST MEDIEVALA worn Post-Medieval copper-alloy farthing penny trade token dating from AD 1648-1674. Williamson (1889:613 no. 1197) Obverse: L . CASHE . AT . THE…
Explore this findPhoto: The Portable Antiquities Scheme · CC-BY
Licence label and image metadata on the linked PAS record.
ROMANA copper-alloy Roman nummus of Constantius II (AD 323-361) dating to the period c. AD 355-361 (Reece Period 18).
Explore this findPhoto: The Portable Antiquities Scheme · CC-BY
Licence label and image metadata on the linked PAS record.
Thames alluvium, London Clay, gravel terraces. Urban development covers most of the county. The Thames foreshore is the main detecting environment.
Thames foreshore (PLA licence required), rural fringe fields in outer boroughs (Havering, Hillingdon, Bromley)
Thames foreshore: Roman coins and artefacts, Tudor and Stuart material, Victorian items. Rural fringe: medieval and post-medieval
The Thames foreshore is one of Europe’s richest mudlarking and detecting environments, producing material from every period of London’s history.
Thames foreshore licence is essential – apply at pla.co.uk. Tidal windows are critical – know the tide tables. Outer London rural fringe is genuinely productive for post-medieval material.
You can detect on private land in Greater London with the landowner’s permission. You must avoid scheduled monuments, SSSIs and other protected sites. Joining a local club is the easiest way to reach permissioned land.
Yes. Metal detecting is legal in Greater London on land where you have the landowner’s permission, as long as you avoid protected sites and follow the law on reporting treasure and recording finds.
Greater London is covered by a Portable Antiquities Scheme Finds Liaison Officer who records finds made by the public. See the FLO section on this page for contact details, or search finds.org.uk.
PAS lists 16,016 database records representing 17,676 recorded objects for Greater London, checked 2 November 2026. These are recorded entries rather than a count of every find made. The period and object-type categories shown in the PAS section are selected, incomplete lists.
It depends on the borough and landowner. Bexley and Hackney publish restrictions, while Tower Hamlets requires permission. Check each location individually.
PAS data from finds.org.uk. Last checked 2 November 2026.
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