The New Murrey and Blue blog

I have just watched the excellent 2021 film The Dig, about the 1939 discovery of the amazing treasures of Sutton Hoo. It stars Ralph Fiennes and Carey Mulligan and I thoroughly enjoyed it…but then, out of interest, I read more online. And lo! Yet again the truth had been tampered with from the moment the original discovery became known.

As usual, the archaeological hierarchy didn’t like ‘amateurs’ being in such an important spotlight. Even the British Museum was guilty of a glaring omission when it came to names. Then the much more recent filmmakers followed suit, changing the facts to suit their script. Yes, it was based around true events, but into that you can read spot the facts if you can.

Well now, are you reminded of anything? Yup, the discovery of Richard III’s remains and the mighty efforts of Leicester University to bask in the limelight, and elbow aside the huge input of Philippa Langley, John Ashdown-Hill, the Richard III Society, etc. In Richard’s case the subsequent film, The Lost King, righted these wrongs, but not so with The Dig.

Academics clearly treat any work by ‘amateurs’ as an infringement of their rights! How dare the hoi polloi venture onto academia’s sacred turf! Well, in The Dig the amateurs weren’t amateur at all. Carey Mulligan’s character, Edith Pretty, the wealthy lady on whose land the treasures were found, had been on a number of digs and was a post-graduate in archaeology at Cambridge and London universities. Ralph Fiennes’ character, Basil Brown, the local man Peggy engaged to commence the dig had been around digs with his father from childhood and was an experienced, if self-taught, archaeologist who knew what he was doing with a trowel! He was vital to the whole discovery, yet the British Museum omitted his name from their exhibition. Shame! Basil’s name was eventually added.

People’s ages were changed, a husband was hinted at being gay, his wife given a fictional affair with a fictional character…shall I go on?

To read more go to https://www.forbes.com/sites/robsalkowitz/2021/02/03/what-netflix-the-dig-gets-right-and-slanderously-wrong-about-the-sutton-hoo-story/ and https://www.dailymail.com/news/article-10040633/Remarkable-colour-photographs-archaeologists-uncovering-Sutton-Hoo-ship-1939.html. This Daily Mail link contains numerous fascinating original photographs of the dig and the people involved.