Sandi Toksvig discovers Cookham monasterys Hidden Wonders

Portions of a well-preserved watermill, a considerable variety of burials from a monastic cemetery, a comb and a fraction of an Anglo-Saxon vessel glass. 

These are among the key discoveries excavated from an 8th-century monastery set to be proven in a brand new archaeology sequence offered by Sandi Toksvig, with archaeological skilled Raksha Dave.

Presenter and journalist Sandi Toksvig, who studied archaeology 40 years in the past, visited the University of Reading’s excavations at Cookham Abbey in July 2025 to study extra in regards to the website, which was as soon as dominated by the highly effective Queen Cynethryth.

TV crews captured Sandi Toksvig serving to archaeologists excavate and clear human skeletal stays from the Abbey’s cemetery, earlier than becoming a member of consultants for an evaluation of the stays on the University of Reading’s bioarchaeology lab. Her go to to Cookham is the topic of an episode of Sandi Toksvig’s Hidden Wonders, because of air on eleventh November on More4 at 9pm.

Professor Gabor Thomas, chief of the Cookham Abbey excavations, stated: “Cookham Abbey never fails to surprise us. This summer’s discoveries paint an increasingly vivid picture of monastic life in 8th-century England. What’s particularly exciting is the mounting evidence that the monastery at Cookham may have been a centre for healing and medical care, some of the earliest evidence of this kind from medieval England. Having Sandi Toksvig will help bring this nationally significant story to audiences who might never have heard of Cookham’s extraordinary past.”

Discovering embellished combs and diseased bones

Archaeologists have found a number of human stays at Cookham since excavations started in 2021, and fourteen extra skeletons have been found in 2025.

A well-preserved part of a artifical water channel often called a ‘leat’, used for powering a watermill, was additionally excavated. The base of the leat retained a timber lining manufactured from horizontal boards retained by large oak uprights often called piles. One of the latter was extracted for tree ring courting. 

The excavations have been carried out with the type permission of, and in collaboration with, Holy Trinity Church, Cookham, and are set to proceed in 2026.

The Cookham episode of Sandi Toksvig’s Hidden Wonders is ready to air on More4 at 9 pm on Tuesday, 11 November. 

Images: 

Top left: Professor Gabor Thomas (left) with Sandi Toksvig (center) and Raksha Dave (proper)

Top proper: A well-preserved part of a artifical water channel often called a ‘leat’

Bottom left: Remains found on the cemetery

Bottom proper: A comb found at Cookham