The Dig

A short novel exploring the relationships between those involved in the excavation of the Sutton Hoo ship burial in the summer immediately before the Second World War. It captures the sense of magic that exciting finds can occasion without sensationalising or trivialising the labour.

I was predisposed to like this novel because of its archaeological theme and its Suffolk locale. IT so enthralled me, however, that I know that I would have been delighted by this writing without those hooks. Part of the appeal arose from the use of three narrators who speak with distinctively different voices and use individual emotional pallettes. Each narrator commands a single section of the novel: landowner Edith Pretty initiates the excavation, show more self-taught archaeologist Basil Brown finds the ship, and professional archaeologist Peggy Piggott finds the gold after the British Museum ousts Brown. This is all history but there are some changes to strengthen the narrative; as an archaeologist immersed in this history, I expected to be irked by such changes but none of them jarred me.

A truly satisfying book. show less

"The Dig" depicts the events of the excavation of Sutton Hoo in Suffolk: The tentative, hopeful beginnings, the spectacular finds, and the fight over the treasure and where it should go. However, while it includes the important persons associated with the archeological dig, it is not a faithful account, but a novel, and it is foremost about the characters. The story is narrated by alternating voices, who narrate long parts of it before the narrator changes. Like this, it is possible to experience the events from various perspectives, each with different focus.
It is also a rather quiet and slow novel, and the atmosphere is very serious. There is always the impression of impending doom: On a large scale, because it is 1939 and war is show more coming, which is never dwelt on too much, but which is visible in small details and observations. Mirroring that is the small scale of the personal relations of the characters, the way some of them treat each other, their personal disappointments and failures.
All this made for a fascinating read, although I must admit that in the end, I felt that I had wanted more - a deeper insight, more of a real conclusion, or even more of an open conflict. Because of this, it left me a little unsatisfied, although that may just be what it intended. show less

The Dig operates on two layers, the surface story about the discovery of Sutton Hoo, and a subtle layer of deep time peeking through the surface. I am a lover of Medieval history and found the book to be engaging - even though little is said about 7th England, it still feels present like the dead in a graveyard. Small details such as when the silver bowl is uncovered and the sun glints from its edge - Preston doesn't say "for the first time 1500 years", but it suggests the same sun at the same place years ago, time collapsed into the present. The literary allusions are subtle but if you look for them, like carefully sweeping away the surface layer for treasure, the book rewards. This sense of shifting history is all the more pronounced show more as the dig took place in 1939 at the start of WWII, we are stepping back in time twice. Although not entirely accurate, Preston takes some leeway with inconsequential details, this is a wonderfully well done retelling of the real people and events surrounding one of the greatest archaeological finds of all time. show less

On the surface, this is a historical novel about the 1939 Sutton Hoo Dig, an Anglo-Saxon archeological discovery so famous that it was often referred to as the British Tutankhamen. As far as based-on-real-life dramas go, the rough outlines of this story are not particularly gripping. The author had to figure out a way to make the story fascinating. He did it by emphasizing character and understated psychological depth. The result is stunning.

The book gives us a tale of decent rural folk on a collision course with scholarly archeological and legal experts from the British Museum. Tension is added to the whole through the pressure of imminent war with Germany. As Preston conceived it, the tale emerges as one of subdued rivalry and show more political career wrangling played out on a stage of personality differences. And yes, there is love…in many of its delicate and myriad guises.

What sets this novel apart and helps lift it to the level of original and exquisite literature is the standout authenticity of its main characters. They are so real, I felt as if I were there with them (inside the narrator’s shoes, so to speak). Reading the book felt like being transported across time and space.

The story is told primarily in chronological order, from April to September of 1939. There is also an epilogue dated 1965. The novel is told through three first-person narratives. The first character is Edith Pretty, the woman who owned the land. The second is Basil Brown, the self-taught “soil man” and archeologist who started the excavation on Pretty’s land at her request. However, it is the third character who rises above the rest to steal center stage. That third character is Peggy Piggott, the wife of one of the archeological experts called in to help supervise the dig after it was determined that the excavation contained historical artifacts of significant national interest. Peggy Piggott also happens to be the deceased aunt of the author.

Because the author had access to insider information about his aunt, he was able to weave a unique and dramatically significant story about her and her role in this archeological endeavor. Somehow, he knew (or imagined he knew) Peggy Piggott’s personal story. As a result, the story he tells through her first person narrative emerges as the emotional centerpiece of the novel. It is one so delicate and subtle—so incredibly understated—it took my breath away.

This novel excels through understatement. Done right, understatement can be stunning. As a literary device, understatement has enormous power. Think of the power of a whisper over a shout. If you want to convey something emotionally shattering, say it with understatement…whisper it.

Unfortunately, this literary device is often missing in our modern Western culture. Most of today’s fiction—especially popular thrillers and romances—are exercises in overstatement. It has become the norm. As a result, I fear many contemporary readers might not find much here—in this lovely novel of exquisite emotional depth—to hold their attention. What a shame and loss! Subtlety seems to be no longer highly valued or practiced. As a related sidebar: when was the last time you heard a politician whisper?

Personally, I adored this novel and will happily tuck it away on my bookshelf along with other elegant literary gems. It easily wins my five-star rating.

(One last note: it’s best if you know little about the dig before you begin. But sometime during the reading—perhaps two-thirds of the way through—it would be a good idea to search on the Internet for photographs. That will enhance the realism and heighten your interest and intellectual pleasure.) show less

Plodding but thoughtful fictionalised account of the Sutton Hoo Anglo Saxon burial site, first excavated in 1939. The narrative is shared between Mrs Edith Pretty, the landowner whose health is failing, local archaeologist Basil Brown, and female archaeologist Peggy Piggot who is drafted in with her husband Stuart to aid with 'the dig'. I watched the Netflix film adaptation first and I was dismayed to discover that the portrayal of Peggy by Lily James - never a good sign! - as a young archaeology 'amateur' who is rebuffed by her husband and finds love with Edith Pretty's nephew, the site photographer - played by Johnny Flynn, equally poor casting - is both inaccurate and insulting. I understand that the book doesn't really have a lot of show more action beyond discoveries made at the excavation, but why waste the only female archaeologist on a romantic subplot?

Adaptation aside, I really enjoyed spending time with the characters in the book - all based on real people. Edith is a widower who welcomes the dig as a distraction from worries about the future and the welfare of her young son. She is distant but caring with her staff and wonderfully imperious with officials interfering on her property, yet forms an intellectual bond with gruff archaeologist Basil Brown. He and lead archaeologist Charles Phillips provide helpful exposition on the history of the site and the treasures unearthed. Not sure why John Preston suggests that Phillips was obese and a threat to the fragile excavation, however! Peggy is happy to cut short her dismal honeymoon to join the dig and finds the first artefact. She is initially dismissed by Phillips but they later form a working alliance over the artefacts from the burial chamber.

I also liked the fragile nostalgia of the pre war years in which the book is set, and was shocked by how Sutton Hoo was treated during WW2! According to the epilogue, the burial site was used for training and target practice, which beggars belief.

A pleasant introduction to a historical discovery which I must admit to knowing little about. show less

I only recently discovered John Preston’s 2007 novel The Dig via the movie version of the same title being so prominently featured on Netflix right now. I knew almost nothing about England’s famous 1939 Sutton Hoo excavation, but as I’ve always had an interest in archaeology, the movie immediately caught my attention. I ended up so thoroughly enjoying the film that I decided to track down a copy of the book it is based upon to learn more about the dig and the people involved. Surprisingly, because in my experience it so seldom happens this way, the movie version of The Dig left me with a better feel for what the dig must have been like for those who experienced it than the book managed to do.

The Sutton Hoo site is home to show more thirteen ancient burial mounds, but the book and film focus on the initial excavation of only the first of them. England was, of course, on the brink of war with Germany in 1939, so the discovery of a burial chamber dating back to the late sixth century, came at a precarious time. If the finds were going to excavated and safeguarded from the perils of open warfare with a neighboring country, time was of the essence and someone was going to have to step on toes to get it all done in time. There were also rather petty jealousies between the regional museum and the British Museum in London that had to be negotiated, although the national museum was always likely to be the winner in any dispute over which museum should permanently house the finds.

Preston’s novel focuses on some of the key people in the story: Edith Pretty, on whose property the burial mounds were located; Basil Brown, the proficient “amateur” archaeologist originally hired by Pretty to begin the excavation; Peggy Piggott, a freshly-minted professional archeologist who accompanied her husband to the dig; and Robert Pretty, the little boy who saw the whole thing as the greatest adventure of his young life. With the exception of the little boy - who only serves as narrator for the novel’s short epilogue - the main characters are given long sections of the book to narrate what they personally experience as the dig proceeds over much of 1939.

Those looking for much detail about the finds and the burials are likely to be disappointed as The Dig is more a character study than an accounting of the archeological finds and conclusions. What the novel does well - and what the film does even better - is give a feel for the period and exploration methods of the day. Preston uses the characters to humanize the efforts required and to portray how it all comes together in the end despite the factional rivalries. Edith Pretty, owner of the property, deservedly comes across as the real heroine of the piece because of her insistence, in the first place, that the mounds be explored. Basil Brown is the story’s underdog because of the way that his initial work on the mound is denigrated by those who come later to the project, and Peggy Piggott, being a female archeologist, is treated much the same as Brown.

Bottom Line: Novels based on true events often leave the reader wanting to know more, and The Dig is certainly one of those. Just as the film led me to the novel, the combination of the two makes me want to read much more about the Sutton Hoo excavations and what was ultimately discovered there. I do suggest that both the film and the book be experienced if that is possible because they supplement each other well. My only reservation about the film is that, even though I understand it was done for dramatic effect, I do think the film focuses too much on the supposed sex life of Peggy Piggott. I suppose that is the kind of thing that is unavoidable when a movie is based on a novel that is based upon a true story. show less

This is a fictionalized account of the excavation of the Sutton Hoo ship burial in southern England on the outbreak of World War II. It's told from the perspective of 3 characters: the landowner, Edith Pretty; Basil Brown, the first, amateur archaeologist to begin the dig; and Peggy Piggott, a young woman who's just been married to an archaeologist who is called in to help once the professionals take over. Peggy's perspective chapter was absolutely wonderful, but the rest didn't fit together well for me. Her reflections on the finding of the beautiful artifacts, war, nature, and the human dimension are sublime, as well as her understated one-day platonic relationship with another hanger-on of the dig. These are rendered beautifully and show more I got a great sense of Peggy as a person (also, the only character to whom the author has a personal relationship). The other characters were very dull, to me, and their chapters really only served to set up the context of the dig. The middle section was delightful, but I found some of the rest of this novel slow going. show less