Cookham Dig Showcase

A highlight of the 2024 Cookham Festival, this event will showcase the latest results of investigations by the University of Reading and other local groups of the site of a documented Anglo-Saxon royal monastery on the Thames at Cookham in Berkshire. Project director, Professor Gabor Thomas, leads a panel discussion to learn about the latest discoveries from the Dig, how they are pioneering new daily life perspectives on monastic culture at the dawn of English Christianity, and to have your questions answered by project staff and others affiliated to the dig. This will be followed by a screening of an essay-style documentary by University of Reading students Charlie Severs and Kyle Johnson. Entitled ‘Screening the Dig’, the film juxtaposes footage from the summer 2023 excavation with reflections on artistic endeavour in Cookham from Stanley Spencer to the present. Artefacts from the Dig will be on display.