John Preston - The Dig

reviewed by Babs Simpson on show 27th Jan
This is another book that attracted me firstly by its cover design - a coloured lithograph of brown fields, green trees, an old-fashioned hut on wheels and two men, one in a flat cap leaning on a spade, the other wearing a trilby hat looking up from a ladder. The subject of the book is the famous excavation of an Anglo-Saxon ship that was found at Sutton Ho in Suffolk in 1939.
Set against the back-drop of impending war, the story is told by some of the people involved - Mrs Edith Pretty, the landowner, her young son Robert, Mr Basil Brown, a local archaeologist who is the first to realise the magnitude of what he has found, and Peggy Piggott, wife of a University lecturer who becomes involved while on honeymoon. Through their accounts we meet the others involved from various august bodies who, of course, take over the excavation.
The story is told quite simply very effectively is exciting and makes compulsive reading as the dig progresses and wonderful treasures are exposed. There are tensions between the representatives of the University, the local museum and the Ministry of Works, all of whom are vying for glory. Also, that long, hot summer that was to be the last in peacetime for six years is beautifully described.
I can thoroughly recommend it to anyone who wants to know more about this hugely important discovery, anyone who enjoys Time Team and anyone who appreciates a very well-written novel on a fascinating subject. John Preston is a fine writer.
review by Babs