Fun on the foreshore at HM Tower of London

The City of London Archaeological Society (COLAS) presents two days of free events and activities at HM Tower of London, with a rare opportunity to visit Tower Beach at low tide!

Activities(mainly but not exclusively for children) include exploring a spoil heap, making a mosaic, searching for environmental evidence, dating finds, learning a coin forger's tricks, playing an ancient board game and dressing up as a Roman Briton. As well as objects generously loaned by public and private collections, the displays include many opportunities to handle real finds from excavations in London and archaeological work on the Thames foreshore. The exhibits explore aspects of London life over two thousand years to demonstrate how archaeologists investigate the past and draw information from all kinds of evidence.

COLAS will be in ‘The Wood’ by Queen's Stairs, facing the path on the embankment between the moat and the river, outside the Tower walls.

The event is free, and does not require admission to HM Tower of London.

This weekend at the Tower is scheduled to coincide with low tide at Tower Beach, which allows about two hours' of beachcombing each day. During the morning's low tides, Thames 21 and HM Tower of London will host ‘Fun on the Foreshore’, with access to Tower Beach: provisionally, 9:30-11:30 on Saturday and 10:00-12:00 on Sunday, weather and environmental conditions permitting. To protect Tower Beach and reduce crowding, access may be restricted. A team of environmentalists and archaeologists will be on hand to answer your questions and identify your finds. Sturdy footwear is recommended, a plastic bag and wet wipes may come in handy, and metal detectors are strictly prohibited!