Top 5 Finds of Series 2

1. Live World War II bomb
As the most explosive find of the series, the men find a live bomb from the site of a battleground between the Nazis and Russians in Poland. Luckily, they have a bomb disposal expert on hand to prevent the curious men from any harm…

2. 1910 German Mauser handgun
Found on the Isle of Dogs, the third episode sees Johnny proudly find this classic weapon, thought to have been a souvenir of war. For safety reasons, the men must hand it over to the police and clear the area. Used during both World War I and II, the find leads the Mud Men on an explosive quest to find out more about the firearms and weapons of the 20th Century.

3. 17th century mortar cannon ball
Whilst on the foreshore near a former major shipping yard in Deptford, the pair comes across a cannon ball that may have fallen off a war ship in the boat yard 400 years ago.

4. Drill grenade from World War II
Found near a German fort in Poland, Steve stumbles across this drill grenade with a fake used for training and practice ahead of battle during the war.

5. Roman quern stones
Along with Rock God, Steve and Johnny discover rare Roman quern stones in Folkestone used to grind wheat to make bread, potentially dating back as far as the 1st Century AD – almost 2,000 years ago!

An interview with Johnny Vaughn

What are the best things you have found this series?

On a sheer personal level, I’m always really pleased with everything I find. I find the whole experience thrilling. I know it sounds dull, but this series I found an original J Schweppes sparkling mineral water bottle; the famous torpedo bottle designed by William Hamilton. There was nothing in it, but it looked like a rugby ball and is designed to be put on its side so that the gas doesn’t escape, and I love it. I’ve found bits of them before, but I’ve never found a whole one. I also found a bomb in Poland. You know when you’ve found something good when they have to get a bomb disposal expert in! It’s always been my dream to find something so dangerous it could go off. Suddenly everyone was being told to stand back, it was brilliant.”

Was that the best moment of the series for you?

The best moment was probably when I found a 1910 Mauser hand gun lurking in the mud down in the East End. That was really exciting but the River Police had to confiscate it and take it to be decommissioned. That gun was probably brought home by a soldier in World War I. The reason you get a lot of kit around that area was because the soldiers coming back would literally have kit bags full of guns they’d nicked from the enemy, and they were court marshalled if they brought any of them ashore. So they used to just chuck the lot over before they landed.”

Watch the next series of Mud Men from January 26th 2012 on the History Channel!