![]() ![]() ![]() “We knew that for local Suffolk people, Sutton Hoo was a real source of pride, but it would be fair to say none of us had anticipated how much interest would be generated from this story,” says Howarth. Sutton Hoo is now managed by the National Trust, and while its new visitor centre and the Pretty house are currently closed, their website and social media channels have also been “insane”, according to Laura Howarth, the archaeology and engagement manager at the site. It has been a similar story at the site of Sutton Hoo itself, the house and grounds formerly owned by Edith Pretty, portrayed by Carey Mulligan in the film, who commissioned self-taught local archaeologist Basil Brown, played by Ralph Fiennes, to excavate the large mounds that stood on her land. “I mean, I think Sutton Hoo is worthy of trending of course, but to see it actually has been surreal in many ways.” See the full range of products inspired by Sutton Hoo.Carey Mulligan as Edith Pretty and Ralph Fiennes as Basil Brown in a scene from The Dig. Read more about the excavations at Sutton Hoo in our story The Anglo-Saxon ship burial at Sutton Hoo and in The Sutton Hoo Treasures and The Sutton Hoo Helmetbooks, available from the British Museum shop. Check the Sutton Hoo website before planning a visit. The grounds and burial site at Sutton Hoo itself, managed by the National Trust, is currently open. The Sutton Hoo finds are displayed in The Sir Paul and Lady Ruddock Gallery of Sutton Hoo and Europe AD 300–1100, which can also be visited virtually. The Dig was released on Netflix on 29 January 2021. I continued this until my return home on Sat Sept. 'This practically finishes the log of Sutton Hoo Dig for duration of war…I completed the filling up ship with the help of Spooner…and then went on with estate work. Brown closes his record of this most significant discovery – for him, for Mrs Pretty, for the excavators and for the world – with poignant pragmatism. Mrs Pretty thinks it will not come.' But come it did, just three days later. ![]() Will fill in the ship and prepare for a long period if possible should war break out. In his diary for 31 August, he writes 'Continued getting bracken etc. This was indeed his final act on site and the timing could not have been more dramatic. In The Dig's closing scenes, Basil Brown fills the ship with bracken as Britain enters the Second World War. We can only imagine what she was thinking as she did so. Needless to say I did not go home that afternoon.' Peggy Piggott's first discovery was not captured on camera, but this photo shows her excavating the great gold buckle, delicately clearing its shimmering, serpentine surface. 'So I had the honour,' he records, 'of carrying in the golden treasure…without any of the servants being aware of the fact. Basil Brown wrote in his diary, 'I must admit that I never expected to see so much gold in any dig in this country… All the objects shone in the sunshine as on the day they were buried.' Also like the film, Edith Pretty insisted that Brown be the one to convey the objects to her house for safekeeping. It took place on 21 July 1939 and kicked off days of jaw-dropping discoveries (compressed into hours in the film) as the burial chamber yielded its secrets. It's a magical moment that also happens to be completely true. One of my favourite scenes in the film is when archaeologist Peggy Piggott uncovers the first piece of gold from the burial – a garnet-encrusted scabbard mount. Lily James as Peggy Piggot (also known as Peggy Preston) in The Dig. It so closely resembled the photographs that I felt a little pang of emotion, realising that this was the closest that I would ever come to being there at the discovery that inspired me to study early medieval archaeology, putting me on the path to where I am today. In October I visited the set and was bowled over by the full-size recreation of the ship. Consequently, I found myself viewing these familiar images from a fresh perspective. Their questions were completely different to those I am usually asked, aimed at understanding the excavation's physical, practical and visual realities rather than the details of what was found. They were astonished by the number of photographs in the archive and spent hours combing through them over several visits. In summer 2019 I welcomed Oscar-nominated production designer Maria Djurkovic and art director Karen Wakefield to the British Museum. ![]()
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