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The Dig is a novel by John Preston, published May 2007, set in the context of the 1939 Anglo-Saxon ship burial excavation at Sutton Hoo, Suffolk, England. The novel has been widely reviewed as ‘an account of the excavation at Sutton Hoo in 1939’. The sleevenote advertises it as 'a brilliantly realized account of the most famous archaeological dig in Britain in modern times.' However the account in the book differs in various ways from the real events of the Sutton Hoo excavations. A radio serial drama based upon Preston's fictionalized account was broadcast on UK BBC Radio 4 commencing 15 September 2008. == Nature of the work == John Preston has for many years been chief television critic for ''The Sunday Telegraph'' newspaper.〔Sleevenote.〕 He is also the nephew of one of the excavators,〔see external link below〕 Mrs Peggy Piggott, (wife of Stuart Piggott, afterwards Edinburgh Professor of Archaeology) later known to the archaeological world as Margaret Guido, but born Cecily Margaret Preston (1912–1994).〔Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Stuart Ernest Piggott.〕 However, by his own account the author only became aware of the story surrounding the excavation three years ago (i.e. c. 2004) and therefore the content is not derived directly from Mrs Piggott’s narration. The novel is the first account of these events in which the role of Mrs Piggott is particularly emphasised. Although she did not lead the excavation, she was the first of the excavators to discover gold items in the burial chamber within the ship, and therefore was at the forefront of it. The effect of the wonderful discovery on her, in particular, forms an important thread in this version of the story. She becomes the narrator of the chamber excavation part of the story, pp 119–202. Another telling of the controversy and personalities surrounding the discovery, based on unpublished letters and Ipswich Museum MS documentation, was published by Robert Markham (2002) in an illustrated and readable form. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「The Dig (novel)」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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