Details

Release year: 2021

Storyline

An archaeologist embarks on the historically important excavation of Sutton Hoo in 1938.

Top credits

Directors

Simon Stone

Writers

Cast

Carey Mulligan — Edith Pretty
Ralph Fiennes — Basil Brown
Lily James — Peggy Piggott
Johnny Flynn — Rory Lomax

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Awards

0 wins & 5 nominations

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Did you know

• The ship burial is thought to be of King Rædwald (560 to 624) although this is not certain. This discovery is by far the most important Anglo-Saxon find ever made. The British Museum displays the finds, including a recreation of the famous helmet. The value of the finds is inestimable not just in monetary terms but in understanding the period. Little can be written about the Anglo-Saxons without reference to this find.

• Reimagines the events of the 1939 excavation of Sutton Hoo near Woodbridge, in Suffolk, England. It is the site of two early medieval cemeteries that date from the 6th to 7th centuries. One cemetery had an undisturbed ship burial with a wealth of Anglo-Saxon artifacts. Most of these objects are now held by the British Museum.

• Ralph Fiennes, with his brother, helped establish an archaeological field school based in Cheshire. The "Poulton Research Project" is a multi-period site with a significant medieval cemetery that archaeology students and volunteers help excavate every spring/summer.

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