The two-time Oscar winner may play amateur archaeologist Edith Pretty in the film, Screen Daily reports.
The grounds were unearthed on the Sutton Hoo House estate, near Woodbridge, Suffolk, in 1938 and 1939. Pretty owned the estate, along with her husband Frank, who died four years earlier.
During the excavations, many sixth and seventh century treasures, including a 27-metre seventh-century Saxon ship were found. Pretty donated the entire discovery to the British Museum.
According to Screen Daily, Oscar-winning Danish director Susanne Bier is set to direct the film.
