THE photograph that accompanied Frogg Moody’s ‘Bygone Salisbury’ last week ('City litter - is history just repeating itself?' April 19) showed men picking rubbish from under Fisherton Bridge in 1956.

In 1986 I took a photograph at exactly the same spot showing ‘mudlarks’ sifting the river bed in search of medieval artefacts - litter from an earlier era, if you like.

Many objects were found, including pilgrim souvenirs, many of which found their way to Salisbury Museum, which has one of the country’s finest collections of pilgrim badges.

These may have been cast into the river from the bridge by pilgrims in thanks for having returned home safely from an arduous pilgrimage.

The bridge shown last week was constructed in 1872, its distinctive openwork metal parapet being particularly prominent.

The more bland concrete and stone structure familiar today dates from its reconstruction in 1961, work shown by coincidence in the present ‘Salisbury Snapped!’ photographic exhibition at the museum.

Memorial plaques (a cast iron one of 1872 proudly depicts the city arms) fixed to the parapet are easily overlooked as they are at knee height and your eye is naturally drawn to the river.

Peter Saunders

Salisbury