WiltshireFLO

The latest addition to our plastic body parts assemblage

As found, washed up from the sea floor with the kelp.

Memories of childhood, lost to the waves. Found on a beach clean with my dear pal @FLOWilts #plasticarchaeology #anthropocene

The Lego shark found by Richard West, the first from the spill we have ever seen.

CATCH OF THE DAY! Oh my goodness – our very first Lego shark from the Great Lego Spill of 1997 has just been hauled up from the deep! Caught in a fisherman’s net and somewhat battered and bruised after 27 years at the bottom of the ocean, this Lego shark is one of 51,800 lost overboard from the Tokio Express and the only one we’ve ever seen. “Sharky trawled up 20 miles south of Penzance on fishing vessel FY848 Defiant,” wrote fisherman Richard West in a message to us late Tuesday night. “I’m so happy about it - it’s way better than any fish I’ve caught all week. Credits to vessel skipper Andrew Shaw, who thinks I am insane for how excited I got about finding it.” These Lego sharks featured in several Lego sets from 1997, including Shark Cage Cove, Shark Attack and Deep Sea Bounty. Much seaworn, this Lego shark is missing its dorsal fin. Even Lego sharks gradually break apart into smaller and smaller fragments, eventually becoming microplastics. Only another 51,799 to find.

Is the story of the Lego Lost At Sea a good way to capture young future archaeologists? Many thanks to our great friend @FLOWilts for alerting us to this letter in @CurrentArchaeo and to the wonderful @joeflatman who wrote the original article.