The Dig (novel) facts for kids
First edition
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| Author | John Preston |
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| Illustrator | Clifford Harper |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Language | English |
| Genre | Historical/Romance novel |
| Publisher | Viking Press |
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Publication date
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May 2007 |
| Media type | Print (Hardback & Paperback) |
| Pages | vi & 231 pp |
| ISBN | 978-0-670-91491-3 |
| OCLC | 77540876 |
The Dig is a historical novel written by John Preston. It was published in May 2007. The story takes place in 1939, focusing on the famous Anglo-Saxon ship burial that was found at Sutton Hoo in Suffolk, England. The book's cover calls it a "brilliantly realized account of the most famous archaeological dig in Britain in modern times."
It's important to know that the author used some literary licence. This means he changed some facts to make the story more exciting. So, the events in the book are a bit different from what really happened at Sutton Hoo.
Contents
The Author's Connection
John Preston, the author, used to be a TV critic for The Sunday Telegraph newspaper. He is also related to one of the people who helped with the Sutton Hoo dig. His aunt, Mrs. Peggy Piggott (who was later known as Margaret Guido), was an archaeologist there.
Preston didn't know much about the Sutton Hoo story until around 2004. So, his book isn't based on his aunt's direct memories. However, his novel is one of the first stories to really highlight Mrs. Piggott's important role.
Even though she didn't lead the dig, Peggy Piggott was the first person to find gold items in the ship's burial chamber. This made her a key part of the discovery. The book shows how this amazing find affected her. She even tells parts of the story about the chamber excavation herself in the book.
Fact vs. Fiction in the Book
The Dig is a historical novel. This means it uses real archaeology, real people, and real events as its base. But, as the author explains, some facts were changed to make the story better. In a note at the end of the book, Preston says, "Certain changes have been made for dramatic effect."
These changes affect when and where the dig happened, the methods used, and what the archaeologists knew at the time. They also change details about the burial mounds and, to some extent, the personalities of the real people involved. So, it's good to remember that not everything in the book is exactly how it happened in history.
Changes to the Timeline
The real Sutton Hoo excavations happened over two years: 1938 and 1939.
- In 1938, three mounds were opened.
- In 1939, the famous ship-burial mound (Mound 1) was explored.
In the novel, these two years are combined into one. The story starts in April 1939 and ends when World War II began in September 1939. The book describes the digging of one of the 1938 mounds. Another mound in the novel is probably based on a different 1938 mound, which was a disturbed burial. A dramatic landslide scene in the book might be inspired by other parts of the real excavation that aren't fully described.
The second mound found in 1938 (called Mound 2) contained a disturbed ship burial. This part of the story is not told in the novel. Instead, it's combined with the famous Mound 1 excavation from 1939. This means the book doesn't show how the archaeologists learned from the 1938 dig and used that knowledge in 1939.
For example, the real archaeologists found and studied iron ship-rivets from Mound 2 in 1938. This meant they knew what to look for when they found more rivets in 1939. They also realized the items were from an early Anglo-Saxon period in 1938. In the novel, finding a ship is a complete surprise. Also, the credit for recognizing the Anglo-Saxon date is given to the "professional" archaeologists who took over, not to Basil Brown, who actually figured it out in 1938.
Other Historical Changes
- In the book, Charles Phillips explains a whetstone as a "sceptre" while it's being dug up. In reality, this idea came much later.
- Some descriptions of how items were removed from the burial chamber don't match the real photos. For instance, the whetstone was left partly upright for a while, not removed as described. The purse lid was carefully cleaned with other gold items, not "prised out."
- The novel says Peggy and Stuart Piggott interrupted their honeymoon for the dig. However, they had actually been married since November 1936, long before the main dig.
Poetic Connections
In the novel, Peggy talks about the English cellist Beatrice Harrison. Harrison was famous for playing her cello in her garden while nightingales sang, and these performances were broadcast on the radio in the 1920s and 1930s. This part of the story seems to be a tribute to a poem called "The Nightingale Broadcasts" by Robert Saxton. The book uses similar words to describe the nightingales' singing.
Book to Screen and Radio
The Dig has been adapted for different media:
- Radio: A radio drama based on Preston's novel was broadcast on BBC Radio 4. It started on September 15, 2008.
- Film: A film adaptation was made in 2019. It was directed by Simon Stone and the screenplay was written by Moira Buffini. The movie stars Carey Mulligan as Edith Pretty, Ralph Fiennes as Basil Brown, and Lily James as Peggy Piggott. Netflix distributed the film. It had a limited release in cinemas on January 15, 2021, and then became available for streaming on Netflix on January 29, 2021.
