Londoners have been throwing things into the Thames for thousands of years. Much of the medieval material was clearly thrown in as rubbish or as an accidental loss. But many Roman coins and statues have been found in one place - near the probable site of the original London bridge. Curator Jenny Hall suggests this may be because they were thrown in for luck, or as part of a religious rite. If so, they were the earliest recorded people to use the Thames in this way.

The Hindu statues are modern objects. They are made of metal and soapstone and represent the gods Ganesh, Durga, Hanuman and Vishnu. Other recovered objects include ghee burning lamps used during Diwali celebrations and ceramic pots deployed either as ceremonial water holders or cremation urns. There's also intricately painted copper Yantra plaque, a talisman to ward off evil spirits.

These items were thrown into the Thames by London's Hindu worshippers as part of a religious ceremony, just as Hindus in India throw such objects into the Ganges. Possibly those releasing the statuettes hope they will find their way back to the source waters of the sacred Indian river. But it is more likely that the Thames has become a surrogate river, with its own sacred tides, and a part of the spiritual life of Hindus in London.

After consulting with London Hindus, the Museum has put these objects into a small display which will be showing across London until the end of November 2005 - first at Brent Cross Shopping Centre, which is increasingly a venue for multicultural history. Then it goes to the Museum in Docklands and the Museum of London.

Where to see the statues:

Brent Cross Shopping Centre from Saturday 15 to Thursday 27 October 2005

Museum in Docklands from Friday 28 October to Thursday 10 November 2005

Museum of London from Friday 11 to Saturday 26 November 2005.

You can also see many medieval finds from the Thames at the Museum of London's new Medieval Gallery which opens on 25th November 2005.