A small lead sheet 42mm x 18mm (Small Find1219) was found in a refuse deposit at the northern edge of the site.
When it was unfolded and cleaned by the conservator, it revealed Anglo-Saxon runic script. It has holes round its edge, and so might have been attached to something such as a wooden chest or casket. We do not yet know the meaning of the runes, but the find is important. The letters are in the Anglo-Saxon alphabet, called the futhorc, in use from the 8th-10th centuries. They are rare – only about 200 inscriptions are known in England. Runes mean literacy, and in this period, literacy means the church. So it is strong supporting evidence for a monastic settlement at Cookham.