ARCHAEOlOGISTS are continuing efforts to unearth the remains of an Anglo-Saxon monastery in a quiet Berkshire village and local community members have been invited to roll up their sleeves to get involved.

The excavation next to Cookham’s Holy Trinity Church has attracted volunteers from different walks of life who are working alongside the professionals and students from the University of Reading until this year's dig concludes in September.

It is the third year that archaeologists have taken a deep dive into the history of the church and its surroundings and returned to the efforts on August 7.

It is hoped that the group will learn more about an Anglo-Saxon settlement, with an old cemetery being uncovered alongside evidence of a road, housing structures, and cooking equipment.

One of the many volunteers helping out is Stewart Kay, from Maidenhead, who has been busy getting stuck in digging up and identifying artifacts that have been hidden beneath the ground for more than a millennium.

Mr Kay, who recently retired from a career in the pharmaceutical industry, had no prior archaeological experience before beginning to work on the site. But after seeing the project advertised locally, he joined the Friends of Cookham Abbey and first got involved with last year's excavations.

The local resident expressed his enjoyment for participating in a community project, adding: "It’s unusual to get an archaeology dig on your doorstep." 

Mr Kay has now joined his local archaeological society and hopes to participate in digs elsewhere if an opportunity arises in the future.

Another Maidenhead resident working on the site is the projects logistics manager, 68-year-old David Mudd who previously worked on digs in Kurdistan.

The 68 year old said he jumped at the opportunity to work closer to home and described the excavation as ‘really great archaeology’ and ‘a great bit of English history'.

First found in 2021, the University has a permit to return to the site in Cookham each summer until 2024. 

Excavators have already uncovered an industrial and craft zone that would have supplied nuns with food and helped to transport imported items along the River Thames.

It is hoped that the group will be able to also recover human remains, which will aid the researchers in understanding the population of the settlement.

Artist-in-residence Phyllida Shelley, aged 57, was also on-site as the newspaper team visited on August 9.

After hearing rumours that the area could be of archaeological importance in a talk two decades ago, Ms Shelley was ‘delighted that it was being investigated’ by the University of Reading.

The artist was keen to take part so that she could respond to whatever is found and develop her work, some of which is displayed on-site, including drawings, prints, and rubbings, inspired by the dig.

But it is her piece titled ‘Refreshed’ which takes centre stage. Made of shower heads sourced from a local company that supplies the NHS, ‘Refreshed’ is laid out on the grass in the shape of a symbol found on an eighth-century coin issued by Queen Cynethryth of Mercia.  It is the same symbol adopted by Friends of Cookham Abbey as their logo. 

The latest excavation of the area next to Cookham’s Holy Trinity Church is expected to conclude in September. Anyone wishing to be involved with the dig or show their support need only reach out to Friends of Cookham Abbey or join their own local archaeological society.