{"id":18423,"date":"2022-10-07T13:59:14","date_gmt":"2022-10-07T11:59:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.historyextra.com\/?p=217152"},"modified":"2022-10-07T14:15:15","modified_gmt":"2022-10-07T12:15:15","slug":"opinion-the-trouble-with-the-lost-king-and-it-isnt-richard-iii","status":"publish","type":"rss_feed","link":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbchistory\/rss_feed\/opinion-the-trouble-with-the-lost-king-and-it-isnt-richard-iii\/","title":{"rendered":"Opinion: The trouble with The Lost King, and it isn\u2019t Richard III"},"content":{"rendered":"

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By Mike Pitts\n \t\t<\/p>

Published: Friday, 07 October 2022 at 12:00 am<\/p>

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I\u2019m an archaeologist, I love drama, and I am spoiled: in less than two years we have been given an unprecedented two movies about real excavations. Both are billed as being \u201cbased on a true story\u201d. The Dig<\/em><\/a>, released by Netflix in 2021, is about the uncovering in 1939 of an Anglo-Saxon king\u2019s treasure ship at Sutton Hoo<\/a>. The Lost King<\/em>, appearing now in cinemas, features the extraordinary discovery of Richard III<\/a>\u2019s grave ten years ago. Kings, lost and found.<\/p>\n

Yet I find myself in a curious position. I loved The Dig<\/em> for its cinematography and direction, and its evocative portrayal of archaeologists entering a past as the imminence of war shocked a country with an unknown future. I enjoyed The Lost King<\/em> too. It has some strong performances and comic turns, and at its heart is the inspirational journey of a scorned visionary who is proved right.<\/p>\n

But I also found its storyline misleading, its portrayal of living people contentious, and its treatment of science and academia so off the wall that it could be accused of stoking deep state conspiracy theories about experts. Academics criticised The Dig<\/em> for misrepresenting distinguished archaeologists, and they are doing the same of The Lost King<\/em>. So here\u2019s my predicament. Already I am being called out by colleagues: how could I defend The Dig<\/em>, yet complain about The Lost King<\/em>?<\/p>\n

Car park king: a timeline of the discovery of Richard III<\/a><\/h2>\n

In 2012, researchers and archaeologists found a skeleton under a car park in the city of Leicester. The remains were believed to be Richard III, the Plantagenet king who was killed at the battle of Bosworth in 1485<\/strong><\/p>\n

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\""King\"<\/div><\/div> <\/div> <\/section>

The two stories have much in common, apart from the obvious focus on an excavation. Both digs began with a woman with an instinct about a site.<\/p>\n

Edith Pretty, who owned the land at Sutton Hoo, had been visiting a spiritualist medium after the death of her husband, and it was said the experience had prompted her to investigate the mounds she could see from her house. Philippa Langley had a \u201csensation\u201d in a carpark: she knew she was standing on the king\u2019s grave, and at that moment determined to open it.<\/p>\n

Neither woman was an archaeologist, so they engaged specialists to do the work (Pretty sat in a chair beside the trench to watch the archaeologists, and Langley kept a close eye on the Leicester team. The results of both projects were unexpectedly dramatic, and news of the discoveries went around the world. Today there are site museums dedicated to the two digs\u2019 stories.<\/p>\n

\"""\"<\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/picture><\/div>
Sally Hawkins as Philippa Langley in The Lost King<\/span><\/figcaption><\/div>\n

They also have in common an individual who felt wronged in the buzz that exploded over the sensational finds. Both films highlight the narrative gift of a lone amateur pushed aside by institutions, who wins through in the end. In The Dig<\/em>, this is Basil Brown (played by Ralph Fiennes), a local self-taught archaeologist employed by Pretty (Carey Mulligan). He identifies the Anglo-Saxon ship through skilled excavation, but when news gets out, archaeologists from the University of Cambridge and London institutions take over.<\/p>\n