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Robert Dempster Elizabeth Dempster (née Brunton) Edith May Pretty (née Dempster ; 1 August 1883 – 17 December 1942) was an English landowner on whose land the Sutton Hoo ship burial was discovered after she hired Basil Brown , a local excavator and amateur archeologist, to find out if anything lay beneath the mounds on her property.
- Why Was The Location called "Sutton hoo"?
- Was Edith Pretty A Widow?
- Was Basil Brown A Professional Archaeologist?
- Does Actress Carey Mulligan Resemble Edith pretty?
- Is The Movie's Romance Between Peggy Piggott and Rory Lomax Real?
- Was Edith Pretty Involved in Spiritualism?
- Is The Fleeting Romance Between Edith Pretty and Basil Brown Real?
- Did Basil Brown Really Discover A 7Th-Century Anglo-Saxon Burial Ship?
- Did Journalists Really Descend on The Sutton Hoo Dig site?
- Did A Burial Mound Cave in on Basil Brown?
In researching The Dig's historical accuracy, we learned that the name "Sutton" is a compound noun derived from the Old English words sut (south) and tun (a settlement or farm). "Hoo" means hill or a raised area of land often overlooking water, and the land was referred to as the Hoo Farm by the mid-19th century. This was likely due to the burial m...
Yes. At the time Edith Pretty (portrayed by Carey Mulligan) hired local archaeologist Basil Brown to excavate the mounds on her Sutton Hoo estate in southeast Suffolk, she had been a widow for several years. Her husband, Frank Pretty, had died of stomach cancer on his 56th birthday in 1934. They had one son, Robert Dempster Pretty, who she had give...
Like in The Digmovie, the true story confirms that Basil Brown was not considered to be a professional archaeologist. He was a local, self-taught, amateur archaeologist. However, it could be argued that in terms of experience, he was just as qualified as the professionals who would later end up taking over the Sutton Hoo dig. He had spent years exp...
In researching The Digtrue story, we immediately discovered that one of the biggest liberties the movie takes is that despite aging her a little with makeup, actress Carey Mulligan is approximately 20 years younger than the real Edith Pretty was at the time of the excavation of the Sutton Hoo burial mounds. Mulligan was approximately 34 at the time...
No. In conducting The Dig fact check, we discovered that Johnny Flynn's character, photographer Rory Lomax, who is the cousin of Edith Pretty (Carey Mulligan), is entirely fictional. The romance with Peggy Piggott (Lily James) is fictional as well. It was likely inspired by the fact that Peggy Piggott's 1936 marriage to Stuart Piggott (portrayed by...
Yes. The movie only alludes to Edith's interest in spiritualism when she asks Basil Brown (Ralph Fiennes) if he saw anything while he was momentarily buried alive following a cave-in at the site. The informal religious movement known as spiritualism was still popular in the 1930s, and Edith had befriended a faith healer named William Parish. Spirit...
No. The flirtations with romance that we see between Edith Pretty (Carey Mulligan) and Basil Brown (Ralph Fiennes) in The Digmovie appear to have no basis in history. From what we can tell, their relationship was never more than platonic. Basil was married to Dorothy 'May' Brown, who worked as a domestic servant. May even wrote a letter to Edith Pr...
Yes. Among the 18 ancient burial mounds on Edith Pretty's 526-acre Sutton Hoo estate was a 7th-century Anglo-Saxon ship, which is thought to have been the final resting place of King Rædwald of East Anglia (c. 560 - c. 624). Unlike in the movie, the discovery of the Anglo-Saxon burial ship in Mound 1 didn't come as a complete surprise. In real life...
Yes. While it's not highlighted in the movie, the excavation of the Sutton Hoo burial mounds sparked significant interest and resulted in a flood of journalists descending on the site. This happened after Ipswich Museum curator Guy Maynard gave the story to the press without the permission of archaeologist Charles Phillips, who had taken over leadi...
No. While it makes for a suspenseful moment in The Digmovie and novel, the true story seems to lack any record of Basil Brown being nearly buried alive. As John Preston stated in his novel's author's note, "Certain changes have been made for dramatic effect." While there was no mention of a cave-in happening in real life, there was worry that a hil...
Jan 29, 2021 · The Sutton Hoo estate sits on 526-acres of land. Their son, Robert Dempster Pretty, was born in 1930 and was only 4-years-old when Frank passed away from stomach cancer. Who Was Edith Pretty’s Son? Robert Pretty was born when Edith was 47 years old; he was the only child of Edith and Frank Pretty.
Jan 17, 2021 · Mrs Pretty had travelled extensively and seen excavations in the Nile Valley in Egypt. Her father Robert Dempster, an amateur archaeologist, had revealed a Cistercian abbey in the grounds of...
In 1934, Pretty died, leaving a widow, Edith Pretty, and young son, Robert Dempster Pretty. Following her bereavement, Edith became interested in Spiritualism , a popular religious movement that purported to enable the living to communicate with the dead.
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Feb 2, 2021 · She was a lifelong explorer. Born Edith Dempster in 1883, Pretty and her family traveled extensively throughout her childhood, thanks to her father and grandfather's immense success as ...
Portrait of Robert Pretty | © National Trust/Cor Visser Edith Pretty (née Dempster, 1883-1942) Edith Pretty was the owner of the estate and instigated the excavation.
