Is "The Dig" true?
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The two small pyramids next to the number 2 in the photo were the first pieces of treasure found by Peggy Piggott played by Lily James.
Netflix has recently released a brilliant film called “the Dig” where a rather rich English lady hires a self taught amateur archaeologist to excavate some mounds on her land only to discover in a rather short period of time, an Anglo-Saxon ship burial together with 263 items which can only be described as “treasure”. Some archaeologists have described the discovery as Britain’s version of the discovery of Tutanhamon’s tomb! The film is set in the year 1939 just before Nazi Germany invaded Poland and the whole of Europe embarked on World War Two. Questions immediately arise, did such an event happen? How could an amateur discover such an amazing find and was it really on the eve of World War Two. Were the main characters based on real people and did they really act according to the script. The core of the story is just as it is portrayed in the film but to add interest and excitement, the story has been tweaked! How much is under the heading “dramatic license”.
Are all the characters real?
Most of the main characters in the film are real with one major exception , Rory Lomax.
Rory Lomax, played by Johnny Flynn, is fictitious.
The scene where he tried to rescue a downed RAF pilot is likewise fictional. A plane did crash in the area but it was a much larger plane, a Flying Fortress, and it crashed towards the end of the war.
The romance between Rory and Peggy was likewise a piece of fiction.
There were two female photographers at the actual dig, Mercie Lock and Barbara Wagstaff, neither of whom featured in the film.
The remains of the amazing Anglo-Saxon helmet. Unfortunately, this wasn’t shown in the film.
Peggy Piggott played by Lily James, did participate in the excavation
However, far from being a “ditzy archaeologist” who walked all over the ship burial and didn’t really know about archaeological techniques, she had a degree from Cambridge University and had also studied at London University. She had directed digs from the age of 27 and would not have damaged the site. A National Trust article even went as far as stating, “her skills as an excavator made her a natural choicer Charles Phillip’s team to finish the excavation of the great ship burial”. As an archaeologist, she was highly respected and her career spanned 60 years, focusing in prehistory, thousands of years before the Anglo-Saxons.
She was married to Stuart Piggott as the film shows and they separated after the dig as in the film. They divorced in the mid 1950s with Peggy citing “non-consummation of marriage” as the reason for divorce. This side of their marital relationship is also suggested in the film. They did reconcile later and remained friends.
For the first scenes at the excavation site, Peggy is seen wearing skirts, again illustrating her lack of experience as an archaeologist. In the photos of the dig she is seen wearing far more practical clothing to get down in the dirt, boiler suits and dungarees.
On July 21st 1939, Peggy found the first piece of “treasure” (see the top photo) but probably not by a clumsy accident as in the film. It would have shone as in the film because gold does not tarnish unlike iron which goes rusty!
A christian bowl.
Edith Pretty was a real person and, to me, accurately played by Carey Mulligan. She was a widow, owned the land, was fascinated by archaeology and sponsored the dig.
However, Edith Pretty was 56 years old during the excavation unlike Carey Mulligan who was 35. Perhaps a very minor detail because the acting of all the characters was excellent.
Sadly she died of a stroke in 1942 and so probably was not in the best of health in 1939 as the film portrays.
She did hand the treasure over to the British Museum, but the finds went there for conserving anyway and so the discussion with regards to where the treasure was to be exhibited was probably not in doubt.
The coins that Basil found to help date the ship burial and its contents.
Basil Brown was a real person and accurately played by Ralph Fiennes. I am not from Suffolk but his accent seemed good to me as well as his demeanour and his attire.
Basil was self taught and was also interested in astronomy. He even wrote a guide to astronomy.
The film shows Basil early on being nearly suffocated when his dig collapsed on top of him. This is fiction but gave the film a little extra harmless drama. Basil was noted for his methodical approach and so a collapse would have been highly unlikely to take place.
When Charles Phillips took control of the dig, Basil Brown had very carefully excavated the ship despite being an enthusiastic amateur, the little man or non stereotype. So careful was he that he even used pen knives and pastry brushes to safeguard the site and its contents.
As the film shows, Basil worked as an archaeological contractor for Ipswich Museum from 1935.
However, the film squashes Basil’s work into a rather short period. In fact, Basil started excavating the mounds in June 1938, finding various things including the remains of a cremated man. His excavation ended in August before the weather turned wet. His second season began on May 9th 1939 and 3 days later John Jacobs, Mrs Pretty’s gardener, found the iron rivet which eventually resulted in the uncovering of the whole ship.
This is shown in the film but look at it
closely and you can admire the skilled artwork.
Robert Pretty played by Archie Barnes was a real person and apparently he was so excited about the excavation as portrayed in the film that he joined in with his toy spade.
Charles Phillips played by Ken Stott was real and did take over the excavation. Some people have suggested that although his initial relations with the amateur, Basil Brown were tense their relationship improved as time went on, a slight improvement on their relationship in the film.
In reality Charles Phillips was 38 in 1939 whereas Ken Stott was 66. The difference in age from reality hardly matters with his relationship with Basil Brown and their differing backgrounds being at the core of the film.
Gold and garnets beautifully worked.
The Ship. To make the ship accessible to the viewing public, it had to be portrayed as a much darker, easily seen outline than in reality. With all of the ships timbers having rotted away hundreds of years ago, Basil Brown had to expertly reveal a dark shadow in the sandy soil. All that was left was a stain in the sand granules. It would have been very easy to have missed such traces but Basil was more than up to the task. This is what amazed Phillips when he saw the ship for the first time. How could an amateur “country bumpkin” have done such an amazing job? This comes across well in the film and turns us all onto Basil’s side.
Conclusion. My wife and I loved this film and feel that dramatic license only adds to this wonderful story with these great characters. Various key people had visited the British Museum to get advice from experts and to discover little details that would enhance the film. All the characters are very convincing except for the role of Peggy who was possibly the opposite of what the script asked Lily James to perform. So in answer to my initial question, yes most of it is true.
👉 discover more about the finds go to: Sutton Hoo, “One of the most spectacular and important discoveries of British archaeology”', according to the British museum” on our blog.
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