Get Involved
What is the FROG?
The FROG is the Foreshore Recording & Observation Group. It is made up of over 700 volunteers who have been trained in foreshore recording techniques and foreshore health & safety.
Since 2008, our FROG members have been monitoring, recording and researching the archaeology of the Thames foreshore across London.
FROG members work with our team of archaeologists to:
- • record the archaeology of the Thames foreshore
- • help research the archaeology and history of the river
- • take part in outreach events
- • monitor key sites of archaeological interest
You can find out more about what’s involved in our FROG Training and what you could be doing as a FROG Member in our New FROG FAQs
How to join
Our Training Programme is being Updated.
Training for FROG volunteers is currently being redesigned to cover expanded volunteer roles and to make it accessible to a wider range of people. Please watch this space for announcements in the summer of 2022.
Searching for artefacts
We don’t regularly collect artefacts, our focus is on how people have used the foreshore in the past and the structures and features exposed by the movement of sediment on the foreshore. We keep in touch with the Portable Antiquities Scheme, mudlarks and mudlarking groups to share information about significant discoveries.
We work closely with the Port of London Authority, and all FROG members must comply with their requirements to access the foreshore. You don’t need a PLA Permit to Search (a mudlarking permit) to be a FROG member and take part in volunteer activities with Thames Discovery Programme. However, visiting the foreshore solely to search for artefacts is not part of a FROG member’s role, and if you intend to do this you will be acting independently and must have a permit.
Health and Safety
We have very strict health and safety requirements, and all FROG members are covered by MOLA (Museum of London Archaeology) insurance during FROG activities. You can find out more about foreshore Health and Safety essentials on the foreshore safety page.
Our foreshore work is timed to fit with the tides and maybe affected by the weather, our activities may be early in the morning and at weekends, or cancelled at short notice. Some of the foreshore sites are only exposed at certain times of the year when there are very low tides. Rainfall affects the tide levels on the river, including rain along the Thames and its tributaries outside of the city.
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