So much being said and written about The Dig! Amazing. Is this hyping for the sake of hyping when news is slow? I like the following pieces: Bede, The Dig and Sutton Hoo (BL blog), Inside The Dig (BM blog), and the four blog posts professor Howard Williams has already devoted to the movie.
1002 – Death of Otto III.
1045 – Marriage of Edward the Confessor and Edith of Wessex.
22 January 871 – Battle of Basing
Someone pointed out the Netflix documentary of the Saqqara excavations to me recently. Not long after, I read that Netflix will shortly be airing a movie about the excavation at Sutton Hoo, called The Dig. It’s based on the novel by John Preston. The casting looks impressive enough (Ralph Fiennes, Carey Mulligan, Lily James), but I think I’m more interested in the HistoryExtra podcast with professor Carver who led excavations on site himself during the 1980s.
Sorry for the alliteration pun – just couldn’t resist. But before you turn away! I have good news! The British Library has been digitising more manuscripts and among them are Viking Age grants, for example from king Æthelstan and bishop Oswald. The list feels like being the kid in the candy shop. Have a look and enjoy, the BL post is here.
858 – Death of Æthelwulf
