Simply earlier than the outbreak of World Battle II, a widow and an area archaeologist staff as much as excavate giant burial mounds in Suffolk, England, and uncover priceless treasure, within the new Netflix movie, The Dig.  It is primarily based on the 2007 novel of the identical identify by John Preston, and brings to vivid life the well-known 1939 excavation at Sutton Hoo. It is a quiet, considerate movie with beautiful cinematography and fantastic performances from the solid, though in the end it feels fairly missing in depth and emotional heft.

(Some spoilers under.)

Sutton Hoo is the location of two early medieval cemeteries, incorporating a bunch of 20 or so earthen mounds. In 1937, a British widow named Edith Fairly inherited the land from her late husband, and employed an area archaeologist named Basil Brown to excavate the mounds, paying him 30 shillings per week. She was notably curious about Mound 1. However after conferring with colleagues on the Ipswich Museum, Brown opted to excavate three smaller mounds (designated 2, 3, and 4) first, over the summer season of 1938.