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The Dig
In 1939, Suffolk landowner Edith Pretty hires local self-taught archaeologist Basil Brown to tackle the large burial mounds at her rural estate in Sutton Hoo near Woodbridge. At first, she offers the same money he received from the Ipswich Museum, the agricultural wage, but he says it is inadequate; so she increases her offer by 12% to £2 a week which he accepts.
His former employers fail to persuade Brown to work on a Roman villa they deem more important. They ignore Brown, who left school aged 12, when he suggests the mounds could be Anglo-Saxon rather than the more common Viking era.
Working with assistants from Pretty's estate, Brown slowly excavates the more promising of the mounds. One day the trench collapses on him, but they dig him out in time. He spends more time with Edith, a widow, and her young son Robert, finding common interest in archaeology and astronomy with them. Brown's wife, May, supports his jobs as excavator despite the poor pay. Edith struggles with her health, warned by her doctor to avoid stress.
Brown is astonished to uncover iron rivets from a ship, suggesting that it is the burial site of someone of tremendous distinction, such as a king. Prominent local archaeologist James Reid Moir attempts to join the dig but is rebuffed; Edith instead hires her cousin Rory Lomax to join the project. News of the discovery soon spreads, and Cambridge archaeologist Charles Phillips arrives, declares the site to be of national importance, and takes over the dig by order of the Office of Works.
As the Second World War approaches, Phillips brings in a large team, including Stuart Piggott, and his wife Peggy Piggott who uncovers proof that it is Anglo-Saxon in origin. Brown is demoted to only keep the site in order but Edith intervenes and he resumes digging. Brown discovers a Merovingian Tremissis, a small gold coin of Late Antiquity and Phillips declares the site to be of major historical significance. Phillips wants to send all the artefacts to the British Museum but Edith, concerned about air raids in London, asserts her rights. An inquest finding confirms that she is the owner of the ship and its priceless treasure trove of grave goods but she despairs as her health continues to decline.
Peggy, neglected by her husband Stuart, is attracted to Rory, but he is soon called up by the Royal Air Force; Peggy ends her marriage and sleeps with Rory before he leaves. Edith decides to donate the Sutton Hoo treasure to the British Museum, requesting that Brown be given recognition for his work. The film ends with Brown and his co-workers replacing earth over the ship to preserve it.
As the end credits begin, text explains the fate of Edith and the recovered objects. The treasure was hidden in the London Underground during the war and first exhibited — without any mention of Basil Brown — nine years after Edith's death. Only much later was Brown given full credit for his contribution and his name is now displayed permanently alongside Pretty's at the British Museum.