The Dig

By: John Preston

Narrated by: Simon Vance, Kate Reading, Fiona Hardingham, Derek Perkins

Length: 6 hrs and 48 mins

Publisher's summary

In the long hot summer of 1939, Britain is preparing for war. But on a riverside farm in Suffolk there is excitement of another kind: Mrs Petty, the widowed farmer, has had her hunch proved correct that the strange mounds on her land hold buried treasure. As the dig proceeds against a background of mounting national anxiety, it becomes clear though that this is no ordinary find....

And pretty soon the discovery leads to all kinds of jealousies and tensions. John Preston's recreation of the Sutton Hoo dig - the greatest Anglo-Saxon discovery ever in Britain - brilliantly and comically dramatises three months of intense activity when locals fought outsiders, professionals thwarted amateurs and love and rivalry flourished in equal measure.

©2020 John Preston (P)2020 Penguin Audio

Loved it

I saw the movie and thoroughly enjoyed it so decided to read the book. It’s not often that one enjoys both the movie and the book but this was definitely the case for me. I don’t think it matters which way round you enjoy them. It’s a really interesting true story about an exciting archeological discovery.