Sandi Toksvig discovers Cookham monastery’s Hidden Wonders

Portions of a well-preserved watermill, a substantial number of burials from a monastic cemetery, a comb and a fragment of an Anglo-Saxon vessel glass. 

These are some of the key discoveries excavated from an 8th-century monastery set to be shown in a new archaeology series presented by Sandi Toksvig, with archaeological expert Raksha Dave.

Presenter and journalist Sandi Toksvig, who studied archaeology 40 years ago, visited the University of Reading’s excavations at Cookham Abbey in July 2025 to learn more about the site, which was once ruled by the powerful Queen Cynethryth.

TV crews captured Sandi Toksvig helping archaeologists excavate and clean human skeletal remains from the Abbey’s cemetery, before joining experts for an analysis of the remains at the University of Reading’s bioarchaeology lab. Her visit to Cookham is the subject of an episode of Sandi Toksvig’s Hidden Wonders, due to air on 11th November on More4 at 9pm.

Professor Gabor Thomas, leader of the Cookham Abbey excavations, said: "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 decorated combs and diseased bones

Archaeologists have discovered multiple human remains at Cookham since excavations began in 2021, and fourteen more skeletons were discovered in 2025.

A well-preserved section of a manmade water channel known as a ‘leat’, used for powering a watermill, was also excavated. The base of the leat retained a timber lining made of horizontal boards retained by massive oak uprights known as piles. One of the latter was extracted for tree ring dating. 

The excavations were carried out with the kind permission of, and in collaboration with, Holy Trinity Church, Cookham, and are set to continue in 2026.

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

Images: 

Top left: Professor Gabor Thomas (left) with Sandi Toksvig (middle) and Raksha Dave (right)

Top right: A well-preserved section of a manmade water channel known as a ‘leat'

Bottom left: Remains discovered at the cemetery

Bottom right: A comb discovered at Cookham