Have you watched The Dig? The new movie tells the true story of a hugely important archeological find in Suffolk, England when, in the late 1930s, Edith Pretty encouraged archeologists to explore burial mounds located on her property.
The exploration led to the discovery of settlements on the site going back to the Neolithic and Bronze ages and is considered one of the most important archeological discoveries ever made. Of the many objects recovered at the site known as Sutton Hoo, the most significant was the perfectly preserved form of an Anglo-Saxon king’s burial ship and the regalia contained within it. You can read more about it on the British Museum’s website.
Well-reviewed and another big hit for Netflix, the film nonetheless has two major flaws when it comes to the portrayal of women: first, it completely erases the contributions of two pioneering women photographers who documented the excavation and it underplays the professional qualifications and experience of a female archeologist who worked on the site.
Mercie Lack and Barbara Wagstaff photographed the discoveries at Sutton Hoo. According to Forbes, they produced the first color excavation photographs ever taken. (You can see a few of them here). Neither is represented in the film. Instead, they have been ‘ghosted,’ represented by a single, male character.
And, although already a recognized professional by the time of her participation in the excavation at Sutton Hoo, Peggy Piggot is portrayed in the film as young and inexperienced and spends much of the story engaged in a romantic triangle for which there is no evidence. You can read more about the real Piggot and her illustrious career in this piece from Bustle.
Sheer Ghosts 