Third dig to unearth 8th Century Berkshire monastery begins

The dig is taking place in Paddock Field, next to Holy Trinity Church, in Cookham, until 2 September

Archaeologists have started their next phase of works to excavate an 8th Century monastery.

The team from the University of Reading first discovered the Anglo-Saxon site in Cookham, Berkshire, in 2021.

Since then, it has conducted two full-scale digs next to Holy Trinity Church. The third dig will focus on the cemetery area in Paddock Field.

Dig director Prof Gabor Thomas hopes the excavation work will give a glimpse into daily life at the monastery.

Prof Gabor Thomas says the dig will "push the frontiers of our knowledge"

He explained: "Monastic culture was at its height then. It was absolutely essential to the Christianisation of Anglo-Saxon England but the documentary sources tell us next to nothing about how they were organised.

"Our archaeology is going to do that in really exciting new ways and push our frontiers of knowledge on daily life within these communities."

Senior archaeologists also hope the remains found in the cemetery will give insight into the health of people in Cookham at the time

During the last full-scale dig in the summer of 2022, archaeologists uncovered an industrial and craft zone, which would have supplied nuns with food and helped to transport imported items along the River Thames. This year, the teams hope to use scientific analysis of the burials found in the cemetery area to determine the social identity and health of the monastery's inhabitants and neighbouring populations buried there.Prof Thomas said: "This site is of national archaeological importance. No other monastic settlement from this period in southern England has such a good state of preservation."

During the last dig in the summer of 2022, excavators found an industrial and craft zone

The dig will run until 2 September, with free site tours being held by senior archaeologists for the public every Saturday.

Friends of Cookham Abbey charity is also raising funds for the excavation work and running an outreach programme to let residents know about the discoveries.

Archaeologists will be offering free tours of the site every Saturday over the summer