If you’re endlessly fascinated by these discoveries, you should be interested in Netflix’s new movie “The Dig”, a historical drama starring Carey Mulligan and Ralph Fiennes.
Based on a true story, “The Dig” tells the story of how a widow and a self-taught archaeologist excavated an Anglo – Saxon funeral ship in 1939 on a private piece of land in Suffolk, UK. The incredible discovery that took place when the ghost of World War II threatened Europe, became one of the most important treasures in the country and drove away the idea that the British Isles were culturally and economically locked up during the dark ages.
Ralph Fiennes as Basil Brown, the autodidic archaeologist who discovered Britain’s greatest treasure. Credit: Larry Horricks / Netflix
“The film is about time and the fragility of our existence,” screenwriter Moira Buffini, who adapted the screenplay from John Preston’s book of the same name, said in a video interview. “It’s about the brevity of life and what endures – what we leave behind.”
The film stars Mulligan as Edith Pretty, a landowner and mother whose husband died of cancer. Although part of her life was taken away from her and returned to the ground, the earth gives her something back.
Wide shots in ‘The Dig’ show a relaxation of the site where an 89-foot-long funeral ship left an imprint underground. Credit: Larry Horricks / Netflix
Pretty has a feel for the two large hills on her land, which is rumored to be a Viking cemetery. After hiring Basil Brown, played by Fiennes, to assess and excavate the site, they discover the remains of an 89-foot-long ship from the 7th century.
“We’re digging to meet the dead,” Pretty told Brown in a scene.
Persistent impressions
As the film tells us, the wooden boat buried at Sutton Hoo rotted completely, although it left a well-preserved imprint in the dirt, like the fossil of a large animal. Inside was a room filled with hundreds of valuable artifacts, including a ornate iron helmet, an intricate gold belt buckle and lush goods from the Byzantine Empire and the Middle East, which shed light on the trade and cultural exchanges that took place.
A photograph of the real Sutton Hoo location in Suffolk, taken in 1939 upon its discovery. Credit: ANL / Shutterstock
The vessel was apparently used for a ship’s burial, in which large boats were used as graves for important figures. But there was no trace of the man, who was presumably Anglo-Saxon royals, buried with the ship.
“I read the autopsy report on the king,” Buffini said. “They found nothing: not a tooth, not a hair, nothing of his body. Everything changed into dust, sand and earth. And yet you get a feeling of … the whole society of Europe from what’s buried in that boat. With him. “
The most famous treasure of the closet is this iron helmet with a full face. Edith Pretty donated all the artifacts to the British Museum. Credit: Georgie Gillard / ANL / Shutterstock
Although 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 possessions to their broader legacies.
“The digging“is available to stream on Netflix.
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