As the mounds are unearthed by Basil Brown, and later by 'professionals', we see the layers of each character peeled back. Instead, it is a poignant novel narrated by 3 main characters who all revolve around the archaeological dig at Sutton Hoo. If you are envisioning a scientific, empirical novel, this is not for you. I quite enjoyed this book even though it was quite different from what I expected. But only when they had spoken their fill could others, less frivolous and more diffident, be allowed to take their place.” - from John Preston`s The Dig. “As in life, it was the ones who were keenest to make themselves heard who invariably had the least to say. This discovery is considered the greatest treasure ever discovered in the United Kingdom ().Ī brief introduction to Sutton Hoo. After it became apparent that this discovery was of vital importance, professionals and national experts took over the project.

This site was first excavated by Mr Basil Brown, who was hired by the owner of the land, Mrs Edith Pretty. Sutton Hoo is the site where a ship burial with many Anglo-Saxon artefacts was discovered in 1939.

The work will need to be completed quickly as the country is preparing for war with Germany. When it is found that the mounds do hold a great discovery, the ‘professionals’ including Mr Phillips, Stuart and Peggy Piggott take over. She hires Mr Brown, a private archaeologist, to dig up the mounds. Mrs Pretty has a feeling that the mounds on her land hold something inside them. This story is narrated by three main characters - Mrs Pretty, Mr Brown and Peggy Piggott. John Preston has written an engaging and touching novel that is based on real events.

The Dig is a well-written and nicely narrated story that revolves around the 1939 discovery of an Anglo-Saxon ship on a riverside farm in Suffolk, which is an East Anglian county of ancient origin in England. When I saw that the sweet corn I bought was a produce of Suffolk, my immediate reaction was “I have ‘ literally’ been to this place recently!” It was of course not to buy sweet corn, but I was busy assisting (again, ‘ literally’) Mr Brown with a rather important discovery…

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