If you are endlessly fascinated by these discoveries, the new Netflix movie “The Dig”, a historical drama with Carey Mulligan and Ralph Fiennes, should arouse your interest.
Based on a true story, “The Dig” tells the story of how a widow and a self-taught archaeologist dug up an Anglo-Saxon burial vessel on private land in Suffolk, UK, in 1939. The incredible discovery that took place on As the specter of World War II approached Europe, it became one of the country’s most important treasures and helped dispel the notion that the British Isles were culturally and economically blocked 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 screenplay from the book of the same name by John Preston in a video interview. “It’s about the brevity of life and what lasts – what we leave behind.”
In the film, Mulligan plays Edith Pretty, a landowner and mother whose husband died of cancer. Although part of her life was taken from her and returned to earth, the earth gives her something in return.
Large photos from “The Dig” show a recreation of where an 89-foot-long burial vessel left an underground imprint. Credit: Larry Horricks / Netflix
Pretty has an understanding of the two large mounds on her land, which are rumored to be a Viking burial site. After hiring Basil Brown, played by Fiennes, to evaluate and dig the site, they discover the remains of an 89-foot ship from the 7th century.
“We’re digging to meet the dead,” Pretty tells Brown in a scene.
Sustainable impressions
According to the film, the wooden boat buried at Sutton Hoo had rotted completely, though it had left a well-preserved imprint in the dirt, like the fossil of a large beast. Inside was a room full of hundreds of valuable artifacts, including a ornate iron helmet, an intricate gold belt buckle and lavish goods from the Byzantine Empire and the Middle East, shining a 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 ship had apparently been used for the ship’s burial, whereby large boats were used as graves for important figures. But there was no trace of the man, supposed to be 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 in his body. Everything had turned to dust, sand and earth. And yet, you have the feeling … of the whole of European society of what is buried in that boat. with him.”
The most famous cache treasure is this full-face iron helmet. 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 he will leave behind, from their physical possessions to their larger legacies.
“pier“is available for streaming on Netflix.
Add to the queue: the discovery of rare discoveries
The Netflix movie is based on this 2007 novel, which recreates the summer after the discovery of the Sutton Hoo treasures from the perspective of three people at the center of the discovery.
In 2019, Egyptian archaeologists discovered a massive cache of mummified animals, including cats and snakes, in the Saqqara necropolis outside Cairo. This documentary follows a team of experts while exploring the tomb, which has remained untouched for over 4,000 years.
A static image from the documentary “Secrets of the Saqqara Tomb”. Credit: Netflix
Set in a mysterious world of endless rooms and corridors full of changing ocean tides, the novel’s protagonist, Piranesi, explores his alternative reality through thousands of enigmatic statues covering its corridors and strange ephemerals left behind by unknown visitors.
Over the course of 20 seasons, archaeologists from the British Television’s “Time Team” met the fair share of Saxon cemeteries. In this episode of season 11, the team investigates what could be a 5th century cemetery hidden under a field.