Review: The Dig brings to life a famous archaeological find

Just before the outbreak of World War II, a widow and local archaeologist team up to excavate large burial mounds in Suffolk, England, and uncover a priceless treasure in the new Netflix movie. The Dig. Based on John Preston’s 2007 novel of the same name, it brings to life the famous 1939 dig at Sutton Hoo. It is a calm, thoughtful film with beautiful cinematography and fine cast performances, although in the end it lacks depth and emotional weight.

(Some spoilers below.)

Sutton Hoo is the site of two early medieval burial grounds, with a group of about 20 earthen mounds. In 1937, a British widow named Edith Pretty inherited her late husband’s land and hired a local archaeologist named Basil Brown to excavate the hills and paid him 30 shillings a week. She was particularly interested in hill 1. But after consulting with colleagues at the Ipswich Museum, Brown chose to first excavate three smaller hills (designated 2, 3 and 4) in the summer of 1938.

They found that looters had already left with most of the valuable artifacts, but the discovery of iron ship rivets and a burial chamber with metal and glass fragments in Hill 2 looked promising to Brown. He concluded that the hills dated much earlier than previously thought, to Anglo-Saxon times.

The following May, Brown and his crew began excavating Hill 1. Edith Pretty’s intuition turned out to be correct. Brown and his crew not only discovered more iron rivets in Hill 1, they were still in place. Over the following weeks, they excavated the remains of an Anglo-Saxon ship, complete with a burial chamber that probably once housed an ancient king. Scholars are divided as to the identity of this king, with the most likely candidate being Rædwald of East Anglia, or perhaps his son, Eorpwald. All human remains had long been buried in the ground, but among the priceless items recovered were a gold belt buckle, part of a sword belt, a ceremonial helmet, a lyre and a silver plate that date back to the Byzantine Empire.

Once the significance of the site became known, the British Museum, Science Museum, and Office of Works assumed responsibility for the excavations. Charles Phillips, an archaeologist at Cambridge University, took over from Brown and brought in additional colleagues, most notably a married team, Stuart and Peggy Piggott. Considered the rightful owner of the treasures, Edith Pretty decided to leave the items to the British Museum on the condition that Brown received credit for his work. The artifacts were safely stored for the duration of World War II, which broke out in September 1939, and first exhibited nine years after Edith’s death (she died in 1942). Unfortunately, no mention was made of Brown at the time, although his name is now included in the permanent exhibit.

Former television critic for The Sunday Telegraph, John Preston is also the cousin of Peggy Piggott (later known as Margaret Guido within the archaeological community), but he apparently never heard the story of the Sutton Hoo excavation until 2004. So Preston’s novel isn’t based on his aunt’s first-hand stories, although it mainly highlights Peggy’s role in the dig (she becomes the narrator at some point). Like any good fiction writer, he takes its fair share of literary license with history – as he freely admits.

For example, in the book, it’s Pretty’s cousin, Rory, who photographs the site; in reality, two women named Mercie Lack and Barbara Wagstaff were the photographers. Rory is mainly there to provide a romantic subplot for Peggy, who is trapped in an unhappy marriage. In the book, Peggy and Stuart are newlyweds interrupting their honeymoon for the Sutton Hoo dig. In reality, they had been married for nearly three years, and their marriage did not end until 1956. Preston also shortened the excavation timeline significantly for illuminating clarity, reducing it to one season from April to September 1939. The report of the The Excavation of Hill 2 merges with that of Hill 1, and a landslide scene at the site is likely from earlier excavations.

The filming began as a BBC Films production before moving to Netflix, with Cary Mulligan and Ralph Fiennes on board as co-stars, playing Edith Pretty and Basil Brown, respectively. The cast also includes Lily James as Peggy Piggott, Ben Chaplin as Stuart Piggott, Ken Stott as Charles Phillips, Archie Barnes as Edith’s son, Robert, Monica Dolan as Brown’s long-suffering wife, May, and Johnny Flynn as Rory Lomax. According to the official premise: “As World War II approaches, a wealthy widow (Carey Mulligan) hires an amateur archaeologist (Ralph Fiennes) to excavate the burial mounds on her estate. When they make a historic discovery, the echoes of British past in the face of its uncertain future. “

The plot is largely based on the book, with the same creative deviations from history. Mulligan and Fiennes play off each other beautifully as a close friendship develops between the outsider archaeologist and the ailing widow – their relationship is the heart that anchors the film. Director Simon Stone wastes no time getting to the dig, and those parts of the film are beautifully rendered with great attention to historical detail (despite the freedoms mentioned earlier).

The focus shifts a bit in the second half, with the introduction of the love triangle between the Piggotts and Rory. Stuart Piggott is portrayed as a closet homosexual who is repelled by the mere sight of his young wife’s naked body, and it is to Chaplin’s credit that this does not come across as a superficial caricature. James is very good as Peggy, but I should note that some archaeologists have been critical of how the film portrays her as inexperienced, usually hired because she was light enough to climb around the vulnerable spot without causing damage.

The Dig is a pleasant film to watch, which tells its story in a calm, but never slow pace. But it never really penetrates its beautiful surface, and that makes it ultimately more forgettable than it actually should be. If nothing else, there is hope here The Dig rekindles public interest in Sutton Hoo – still one of the most important archaeological finds in England – and the nearly forgotten archaeologist who first discovered its secrets.

The Dig is now streaming on Netflix.

List with image provided by Netflix