If you’re endlessly fascinated by these discoveries, Netflix’s new movie “The Dig,” a historical drama starring Carey Mulligan and Ralph Fiennes, should pique your interest.
Based on a true story, “The Dig” tells the story of how a widow and self-taught archaeologist excavated an Anglo-Saxon burial ship in 1939 on a private plot in Suffolk, UK, in 1939. The incredible find that took place while the ghost of the Second World War I loomed over Europe, it became one of the country’s most important treasures and helped dispel the notion that the British Isles were culturally and economically silent during the Dark Ages.
Ralph Fiennes as Basil Brown, the self-taught archaeologist who discovered Britain’s greatest treasure. Credit: Larry Horricks / Netflix
“The film is about time and the fragility of our existence,” said screenwriter Moira Buffini, who adapted the script from John Preston’s book of the same name, in a video interview. “It’s about the brevity of life and what endures – what we leave behind.”
In the film, Mulligan plays Edith Pretty, a landowner and mother whose husband has died of cancer. Although part of her life has been taken from her and returned to the ground, the earth is giving her something in return.
Wide shots in “The Dig” show a reconstruction of the place where a 28 meter long burial ship left an impression underground. Credit: Larry Horricks / Netflix
Pretty has a hunch about the two great hills on her land, which are said to be a Viking burial site. After hiring Basil Brown, played by Fiennes, to assess and excavate the site, they discover the remains of a 28-meter ship from the 7th century.
“We’re digging down to meet the dead,” Pretty Brown said in one scene.
Lasting impressions
As the film relates, the wooden boat buried in Sutton Hoo had completely rotted away, although it left a well-preserved imprint in the dirt, like the fossil of a great beast. Inside, a room was filled with hundreds of valuable artifacts, including one ornate iron helmet, an intricate gold belt buckle and lavish goods from the Byzantine Empire and the Middle East, shedding light on the trade and cultural exchange that took place.
A photo of the real Sutton Hoo site in Suffolk, taken in 1939 after its discovery. Credit: ANL / Shutterstock
The ship had apparently been used for a ship’s funeral, using large boats as tombs for important figures. But there was no trace of the man, presumably an Anglo-Saxon royalty, who had been buried with the ship.
“I read the coroner’s report on the king,” Buffini said. “They found nothing: no tooth, no hair, nothing of his body. Everything had turned to dust, sand and soil. And yet you get a sense of … the whole society of Europe from what’s buried in that boat. with him.”
The cache’s most famous treasure is this full-face iron helmet. Edith Pretty donated all artifacts to the British Museum. Credit: Georgie Gillard / ANL / Shutterstock
While the remains of the ship are a ghostly presence in “The Dig,” the film focuses on the human stories behind its discovery. Each character struggles with the things they will leave behind, from their physical assets to their wider legacies.
“The Digis available to stream on Netflix.
Add to Queue: Unearth rare discoveries
The Netflix movie is based on this 2007 novel, which mimics the summer after the discovery of the Sutton Hoo treasures from the perspective of three people at the heart of the find.
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A still image from the documentary “Secrets of the Saqqara Tomb.” Credit: Netflix
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