Archaeology

This page was last updated for (v1.2).

Archaeology

This article is about the Archaeology skill. For a guide to leveling the skill, see Archaeology/Training.

Archaeology is a skill where dig sites located in

Error creating thumbnail: File missing

Cartography

can be excavated to discover an assortment of rare and unique items, which provide assistance for progression of many other skills.

Dig Sites

Dig sites are found all over the map of Melvor in

Error creating thumbnail: File missing

Cartography

. Dig site hexes (tiles) must be surveyed up to Level 5 before they unlock in the Archaeology skill. Some dig sites also require certain map items to be obtained before they can be surveyed. Obtaining a map item will mark the respective dig site on the map with a "" icon.

Dig Site Map Items

Found At		Dig Site Unlocked	Size	Rarity	Item	Description
	Old Village	Ancient Market	Large	Uncommon	Torn Chart	Details the location of the Ancient Market Dig Site in Cartography. An icon has now appeared displaying its location. You can sell this item.
	Old Village	Sacrificial Site	Medium	Rare	Cult Flyer	A flyer detailing the location of the Sacrificial Site (Dig Site) in Cartography. An icon has now appeared displaying its location. You can sell this item.
	Ancient Market	Bazaar	Large	Very Rare	City Chart	A map detailing the location of the Bazaar Dig Site in Cartography. An icon has now appeared displaying its location. You can sell this item.
	Monuments	Melantis	Small	Very Rare	Melantis Clue 1
	Monuments	Watchtower	Large	Uncommon	Island Chart	A chart detailing the location of the Watchtower Dig Site in Cartography. An icon has now appeared displaying its location. You can sell this item.
	Monuments	Castle Ruins	Large	Rare	Navigation Chart	A chart detailing the location of the Castle Ruins Dig Site in Cartography. An icon has now appeared displaying its location. You can sell this item.
	Secret Mines	Ancient Forge	Medium	Very Rare	Shipment Chart	A chart detailing the location of the Ancient Forge Dig Site in Cartography. An icon has now appeared displaying its location. You can sell this item.
	Ritual Site	Lost Temple	Medium	Very Rare	Old Temple Chart	A chart detailing the location of the Lost Temple Dig Site in Cartography. An icon has now appeared displaying its location. You can sell this item.
	Cathedral	Shipwreck Cove	Large	Very Rare	Ancient Wall Chart	A chart detailing the location of the Shipwreck Cove Dig Site in Cartography. An icon has now appeared displaying its location. You can sell this item.

All Dig Site Items

^[G] Generic items which can be exchanged for Museum Tokens.

Error creating thumbnail: File missing Level	Dig Site	XP	Tiny		Small		Medium		Large
			Artefact	Rarity	Artefact	Rarity	Artefact	Rarity	Artefact	Rarity
1	Old Village (13, 17)	50	Ancient Wildberry Seeds	Common	Broken Trowel [G]	Common	Broken Jug [G]	Common	Old Hunting Bow	Common
			Aranite Sieve	Uncommon	Old Wooden Ladle	Uncommon	Empty Jug [G]	Uncommon	Torn Chart [G]	Uncommon
			Ancient Corn Seeds	Rare	Old Woodcutting Gloves	Rare	Cult Flyer [G]	Rare	Leather Belt [G]	Rare
			Ancient Carrot Seeds	Very Rare	Basic Barrier Gem	Very Rare	Secret Coffer [G]	Very Rare	Ancient Hunting Bow	Very Rare
6	Ancient Market (0, 14)	50	Rusted Bronze Coin [G]	Common	Crumbled Artefact [G]	Common	Old Dreamcatcher [G]	Common	Wooden Cart [G]	Common
			Barrier Gem	Uncommon	Aranite Trowel	Uncommon	Old Music Box [G]	Uncommon	Giant Clay Pot	Uncommon
			N/A		Beaded Necklace [G]	Rare	N/A		Ancient Wine Casket [G]	Rare
			N/A		Ancient Scythe	Very Rare	N/A		City Chart [G]	Very Rare
			N/A		N/A		N/A		Amphora [G]	Legendary
12	Sacrificial Site (13, 12)	72	Cursed Charm [G]	Common	Skull [G]	Common	Old Burnt Offerings [G]	Common	Stack of Small Bones	Common
			Bronze Ring	Uncommon	Harming Potion	Uncommon	Blood Chalice	Uncommon	Totem Pole [G]	Uncommon
			Bone Ring	Rare	Sacrificial Dagger	Rare	Circlet of Pain	Rare	Cult Robes	Rare
			Accuracy Gem	Very Rare	N/A		N/A		Cursed Golden Disc [G]	Very Rare
18	Stoneworkers (24, 14)	108	Broken Stone Shard [G]	Common	Crumbled Artefact [G]	Common	Bulky Gloves	Common	Large Stone	Common
			Shatter Stone	Uncommon	Whetstone Fragment	Uncommon	Chisel	Uncommon	Aranite Shovel	Uncommon
			N/A		Ancient Whetstone	Rare	Heavy Boots	Rare	Stone Hammer	Rare
			N/A		Relic Whetstone	Very Rare	N/A		N/A
24	Monuments (6, 11)	144	Chipped Marble [G]	Common	Dividers	Common	Broken Brush [G]	Common	Stone Statue [G]	Common
			Golden Leaf	Uncommon	Old Metal Plaque [G]	Uncommon	Colourful Vase [G]	Uncommon	Island Chart [G]	Uncommon
			N/A		Old Crafting Gloves	Rare	Aranite Brush	Rare	Navigation Chart [G]	Rare
			N/A		Melantis Clue 1	Very Rare	Ancient Stone Tablet [G]	Very Rare	Gold Brazier [G]	Very Rare
			N/A		N/A		N/A		Statue of Prosperity	Legendary
32	Bazaar (15, 11)	192	Tiny Spice Jar	Common	Crumbled Artefact [G]	Common	Ruined Woven Bags [G]	Common	Large Woven Rug [G]	Common
			Old Jeweled Necklace	Common
			Old Silver Coin [G]	Uncommon	Old Wooden Bowl [G]	Uncommon	Ancient Woven Bags	Uncommon	Decorative Fabric [G]	Uncommon
			Old Gold Coin [G]	Rare	Ceramic Jar	Rare	N/A		N/A
			Pristine Jeweled Necklace [G]	Very Rare	Golden Silk	Very Rare	N/A		N/A
			Evasion Gem	Legendary	Ancient Silk	Legendary	N/A		N/A
40	Secret Mines (21, 15)	240	Flint [G]	Common	Crystalized Mithril Fragment	Common	Bag of Coal	Common	Broken Pickaxe [G]	Common
			Gold Speck [G]	Uncommon	Mining Lantern	Uncommon	Aranite Ore	Uncommon	Wooden Sign [G]	Uncommon
			N/A		Rock Carving [G]	Rare	Darksteel Ore	Rare	Toppled Minecart	Rare
			Diamond Speck [G]	Very Rare	Ancient Fossil [G]	Very Rare	Shipment Chart [G]	Very Rare	N/A
48	Coral Wreckage (7, 22)	288	Rusted Ring [G]	Common	Coral	Common	Bundle of Rope	Common	Large Wooden Plank [G]	Common
			Blue Jewel [G]	Uncommon	Gold Bar Coffer	Uncommon	Trader Crate	Uncommon	Torn Fishing Net [G]	Uncommon
			Sailor's Compass	Rare	Old Pirate Treasure Chart	Rare	Broken Odd Weapon [G]	Rare	Destroyed Cannon [G]	Rare
			Lifesteal Gem	Very Rare	N/A		Old Spyglass	Very Rare	N/A
55	Quarry (20, 13)	330	Pebble [G]	Common	Marble [G]	Common	Old Bucket [G]	Common	Broken Shovel [G]	Common
			Charged Topaz Shard	Uncommon	Grinding Stone	Uncommon	Rune Mallet	Uncommon	Large Marble [G]	Uncommon
			Charged Sapphire Shard	Rare	N/A		Dirty Mining Boots	Rare	Large Fossil [G]	Rare
			Charged Ruby Shard	Very Rare	N/A		N/A		N/A
			Charged Emerald Shard	Legendary	N/A		N/A		N/A
65	Glacia City Ruins (17, 25)	390	Crumbled Artefact [G]	Common	Silver Goblet [G]	Common	Old Vase [G]	Common	Broken Door [G]	Common
			Old Fancy Quill	Uncommon	Old Plant Pot [G]	Uncommon	Old Barrel	Uncommon	"Dusty Book of Knowledge" [G]	Uncommon
			Noble Jeweled Necklace [G]	Rare	Old Gold Bars [G]	Rare	Old Cooking Pot	Rare	Old Carriage	Rare
			Poisonous Gem	Very Rare	Old Scripture	Very Rare	Old Route Chart [G]	Very Rare	Broken Golden Harp [G]	Very Rare
			N/A		N/A		N/A		Old Tower Bell [G]	Legendary
75	Ancient Forge (20, 12)	450	Nails [G]	Common	Horseshoe [G]	Common	Crumbled Artefact [G]	Common	Old Anvil [G]	Common
			Aranite Arrowtips	Uncommon	Blacksmith Tongs	Uncommon	Boat Figurehead [G]	Uncommon	Old Aranite Plating	Uncommon
			Darksteel Arrowtips	Rare	Ancient Magic Hammer	Rare	Elusive Boots	Rare	Old Darksteel Plating	Rare
			Ancient Sieve	Very Rare	Ancient Trowel	Very Rare	Ancient Brush	Very Rare	Ancient Shovel	Very Rare
			N/A		N/A		Magic Anvil	Legendary	Old Relic Plating	Legendary
82	Ritual Site (2, 2)	432	Broken Gem [G]	Common	Ritual Bowl [G]	Common	Incense [G]	Common	Old Cauldron	Common
			Bag of Shards	Uncommon	Mask of Weakening	Uncommon	Cursed Rune Pouch	Uncommon	Stack Of Big Bones	Uncommon
			Old Summoning Amulet	Rare	Lost Cursed Text [G]	Rare	Old Temple Chart [G]	Rare	Magical Broomstick	Rare
			Ring of Summoning	Very Rare	Mask of Confusion	Very Rare	Old Summoning Gloves	Very Rare	N/A
			Agile Gem	Legendary	N/A		N/A		N/A
90	Lost Temple (23, 8)	540	Crystalized Dragon Fragment	Common	Torn Parchment	Common	Torn Scrolls [G]	Common	Crumbled Artefact [G]	Common
			Silver Magic Band	Uncommon	Crystal Ball [G]	Uncommon	Elemental Scroll	Uncommon	Blessed Shield	Uncommon
			Haunted Ring	Rare	Golden Idol [G]	Rare	Magic Flute	Rare	Magicburn Shield	Rare
			Burning Gem	Very Rare	Decoy Idol	Very Rare	Cursed Arcana	Very Rare	Malevolent Ward Shield	Very Rare
			Charged Diamond Shard	Legendary	Unholy Gem (m)	Legendary	N/A		N/A
95	Watchtower (10, 2)	570	Old Cell Key [G]	Common	Broken Oil Lamp [G]	Common	Broken Quiver [G]	Common	Kingdom Banners [G]	Common
			Old Headless Arrows	Uncommon	Torch	Uncommon	Insignia [G]	Uncommon	Broken Down Ballista [G]	Uncommon
			Tough Quill Feather	Rare	N/A		Charged Golden Quiver	Rare	Large War Gem	Rare
			Confusing Gem	Very Rare	N/A		Charged Ancient Quiver	Very Rare	N/A
			N/A		N/A		Charged Relic Quiver	Legendary	N/A
100	Castle Ruins (20, 3)	600	Silver Spoon [G]	Common	Candle Lamp	Common	Large Silver Plate [G]	Common	Aranite 2H Blade	Common
			Miniature Toy Horse [G]	Uncommon	Small Lockbox	Uncommon	Peasant Shirt	Uncommon	Kingdom Painting [G]	Uncommon
			Chess Piece [G]	Rare	Book of Prayers	Rare	Hunting Trophy [G]	Rare	Aranite Platebody	Rare
			N/A		Golbin Portrait [G]	Very Rare	Kings Crown	Very Rare	Golden Bow	Very Rare
			Lockbox Key [G]	Legendary	N/A		N/A		Dark Steel 2H Sword	Legendary
105	Cathedral (6, 3)	630	Bell [G]	Common	Crumbled Artefact [G]	Common	Candles	Common	Stained Glass [G]	Common
			Ring of Faith	Uncommon	Prayer Idol	Uncommon	Candelabra	Uncommon	Large Organ [G]	Uncommon
			N/A		Old Music Manuscript [G]	Rare	Cursed Idol	Rare	Prayer Statue	Rare
			N/A		Impenetrable Idol	Very Rare	N/A		Ancient Wall Chart [G]	Very Rare
			N/A		N/A		N/A		Dark Altar	Legendary
110	Shipwreck Cove (9, 3)	660	Pirate Doubloons [G]	Common	Bottle of Rum [G]	Common	Broken Ship Wood [G]	Common	Pirate Flag	Common
			N/A		Eyepatch	Uncommon	Old Pirate Pants	Uncommon	Large Anchor [G]	Uncommon
			Ring of Deception	Rare	Shackles [G]	Rare	Pirate Hook	Rare	Pirate Captains Sword	Rare
			Misty Jewel [G]	Very Rare	Captains Logbook	Very Rare	N/A		Old Pirate Treasure	Very Rare
			Decaying Gem	Legendary	Charged Jadestone Shard	Legendary	N/A		N/A
118	Melantis (2, 28)	708	A Different Shell [G]	Common	Crumbled Artefact [G]	Common	Silver Stone Brick [G]	Common	Kelp [G]	Common
			Crumbled Artefact [G]	Uncommon	Large Shell [G]	Uncommon	Silver Armband [G]	Uncommon	Water Sceptre	Uncommon
			Shell Amulet	Rare	Power Crystals	Rare	Golden Flute	Rare	Water Shield	Rare
			Pearl [G]	Very Rare	Mosaic [G]	Very Rare	Water Crown	Very Rare	Silver Statue [G]	Very Rare
			Error creating thumbnail: File missing Merman Pendant Piece (1 of 2)	Legendary	Bottle of Mystic Water	Legendary	Ancient Arcana	Legendary	Relic Shovel	Legendary
			Relic Sieve	Legendary	Relic Trowel	Legendary	Relic Brush	Legendary

Excavating Artefacts

The primary action for Archaeology is Excavating. The default interval per Excavation action is 5 seconds.

In order to begin Excavating a Dig Site, the player must select a Dig Site Map. Dig Site Maps are created using

Error creating thumbnail: File missing

Cartography

. Players receive an Excellent quality map when they first discover a Dig Site, although future maps will start at Poor quality. Please see the Cartography page for more information on creating maps.

In addition to selecting a map, players will also have to select which tools they wish to use. The tools selected determine which sizes of Artefacts can be found. Multiple tools can be selected, but doing so will divide the chance to find a given size of artefact by the total number of tools selected. (For example, if you had a 12% chance to find a Tiny artefact with only the Sieve selected, selecting another tool will reduce the chance of finding a Tiny artefact to 6%)

Artefact Values

Each map has four Artefact values, one for each size. The lower the value is, the higher the chance of finding an Artefact of a given size. Created maps will start at Poor quality with an Artefact value of 69 for each of the four sizes. Maps found from Discovering a Dig Site start at Excellent quality with an Artefact value of 33 for each of the four sizes.

When a map is upgraded to the next tier using Map Creation in Cartography, each of the four Artefact values will be reduced by a random number from 13-23. This means a map created at Poor quality and then fully upgraded to Perfect will be reduced by 39-69, resulting in Artefact values ranging from 30-1. Note that the minimum Artefact value that can be reached is 1.

Two of the Refinements that can be added to maps further reduce Artefact values for a chosen size by 5. The player can choose whether to apply both of these to the same size or to split them between two different sizes. The minimum Artefact value of 1 can not be circumvented by Refinements.

Map Level

Each map has a level associated with it. The level is calculated based on the Artefact values of a map as follows:

[math]\displaystyle{ \text{Map Level} = \frac{19300}{\text{Sum of Artefact Values} + 124} }[/math]

Although the Map level is purely a reflection of the Artefact Values and does not convey any additional information it can be used to quickly evaluate how strong a given map is. The level of Perfect maps can range from 79-151 with an average of 105. A Poor map starts out at level 48 and an automatically provided Excellent map starts out at level 75.

Tool Level

Each of the Archaeology tools starts at level 0. This level can be increased in several ways:

• Each Tool can be upgraded in the
  Error creating thumbnail: File missing
  Shop, receiving +1 Tool level per upgrade purchased, up to a maximum of +11
• Every 50 donations to the
  Error creating thumbnail: File missing
  Museum will provide +1 Tool level for all tools, up to a maximum of +5 (at 250 donations)
• The 50% Mastery Pool checkpoint for Archaeology provides +3 Tool level for all tools
• The Archaeology Skillcape provides +1 Tool level for all tools
• The Superior Archaeology Skillcape provides +3 Tool level for all tools

This makes the maximum Tool level that can be reached 22 (since the Skillcape and Superior Skillcape can't be equipped simultaneously).

Artefact Chance

The base chance to discover an Artefact of a given size is as follows:

[math]\displaystyle{ \text{% Chance} = \frac{5 \times (1 + (\text{Tool Level} + 1) \times 0.25)}{\text{Artefact Value} + 31} }[/math]

This chance is divided by the number of tools selected to determine the actual chance to discover an artefact of a given size.

Excavation Actions

Each map has a limited number of actions before it is depleted. Poor maps have a random number of actions ranging from 2,000-4,000. Every tier upgrade randomly adds an additional 2,000-4,000 actions to the map. Newly created Perfect maps may be used 8,000-12,000 times.

Tools

Sieve

Name		Error creating thumbnail: File missing Level	Cost	Increased SieveTool Level
				This Sieve	Total
	Iron Sieve	5	500 25	+1	+1
	Steel Sieve	10	2,500 25	+1	+2
	Mithril Sieve	20	10,000 25	+1	+3
	Aranite Sieve	25	20,000 25	+1	+4
	Adamant Sieve	35	50,000 25	+1	+5
	Rune Sieve	50	200,000 25	+1	+6
	Dragon Sieve	60	2,000,000 25	+1	+7
	Ancient Sieve	75	4,000,000 15	+1	+8
	Dark Steel Sieve	85	7,500,000 100	+1	+9
	Crystal Sieve	95	10,000,000 200	+1	+10
	Relic Sieve	118	20,000,000 1	+1	+11

Trowels

Name		Error creating thumbnail: File missing Level	Cost	Increased TrowelTool Level
				This Trowel	Total
	Iron Trowel	5	500 25	+1	+1
	Steel Trowel	10	2,500 25	+1	+2
	Mithril Trowel	20	10,000 25	+1	+3
	Aranite Trowel	25	20,000 25	+1	+4
	Adamant Trowel	35	50,000 25	+1	+5
	Rune Trowel	50	200,000 25	+1	+6
	Dragon Trowel	60	2,000,000 25	+1	+7
	Ancient Trowel	75	4,000,000 15	+1	+8
	Dark Steel Trowel	85	7,500,000 100	+1	+9
	Crystal Trowel	95	10,000,000 200	+1	+10
	Relic Trowel	118	20,000,000 1	+1	+11

Brushes

Name		Error creating thumbnail: File missing Level	Cost	Increased BrushTool Level
				This Brush	Total
	Iron Brush	5	500 25	+1	+1
	Steel Brush	10	2,500 25	+1	+2
	Mithril Brush	20	10,000 25	+1	+3
	Aranite Brush	25	20,000 5	+1	+4
	Adamant Brush	35	50,000 25	+1	+5
	Rune Brush	50	200,000 25	+1	+6
	Dragon Brush	60	2,000,000 25	+1	+7
	Ancient Brush	75	4,000,000 15	+1	+8
	Dark Steel Brush	85	7,500,000 100	+1	+9
	Crystal Brush	95	10,000,000 200	+1	+10
	Relic Brush	118	20,000,000 1	+1	+11

Shovels

Name		Error creating thumbnail: File missing Level	Cost	Increased ShovelTool Level
				This Shovel	Total
	Iron Shovel	5	500 25	+1	+1
	Steel Shovel	10	2,500 25	+1	+2
	Mithril Shovel	20	10,000 25	+1	+3
	Aranite Shovel	25	20,000 25	+1	+4
	Adamant Shovel	35	50,000 25	+1	+5
	Rune Shovel	50	200,000 25	+1	+6
	Dragon Shovel	60	2,000,000 25	+1	+7
	Ancient Shovel	75	4,000,000 15	+1	+8
	Dark Steel Shovel	85	7,500,000 100	+1	+9
	Crystal Shovel	95	10,000,000 200	+1	+10
	Relic Shovel	118	20,000,000 1	+1	+11

Skillcape

The Archaeology Skillcape can be purchased from the store for 1,000,000 after the player reaches

Error creating thumbnail: File missing

Level 99

. The Superior Archaeology Skillcape can be purchased from the store for 10,000,000 after the player reaches

Error creating thumbnail: File missing

Level 120

.

Regular Skillcape

The Archaeology Skillcape is the skillcape for the Archaeology skill. It can be purchased for 1,000,000 from the Shop once the player reaches

Error creating thumbnail: File missing

Level 99

in the Archaeology skill. The Archaeology Skillcape offers the following benefits when worn:

+10% chance to preserve dig site map excavation actions, +1 level of the Sieve Tool in Archaeology, +1 level of the Trowel Tool in Archaeology, +1 level of the Brush Tool in Archaeology, and +1 level of the Shovel Tool in Archaeology

Superior Skillcape

The Superior Archaeology Skillcape is the superior skillcape for the Archaeology skill. It can be purchased for 10,000,000 from the Shop once the player reaches

Error creating thumbnail: File missing

Level 120

in the Archaeology skill.

Error creating thumbnail: File missing

Level 120

can only be reached if the player owns the Throne of the Herald expansion. Likewise, the superior skillcape can only be purchased if the player owns this expansion. The superior skillcape offers the following benefits when worn:

+1 base primary resource quantity gained in Archaeology, +15% chance to preserve dig site map excavation actions, +3 levels of the Sieve Tool in Archaeology, +3 levels of the Trowel Tool in Archaeology, +3 levels of the Brush Tool in Archaeology, and +3 levels of the Shovel Tool in Archaeology

Pet

Pet	Name	DLC	Effect
	Warren		+5% chance to preserve dig site map excavation actions

Skill Boosts

This table lists most sources of Archaeology-specific modifier boosts. For a list of boosts that apply to all skills, see the Skill Boosts page. This list does not contain boosts provided from

Error creating thumbnail: File missing

Mastery

rewards.

Melvor Idle version v1.3.1 (Released: 30th October 2024)
Error creating thumbnail: File missing Combat: Error creating thumbnail: File missing Attack • Error creating thumbnail: File missing Strength • Error creating thumbnail: File missing Defence • Error creating thumbnail: File missing Hitpoints • Error creating thumbnail: File missing Ranged • Error creating thumbnail: File missing Magic • Error creating thumbnail: File missing Prayer • Error creating thumbnail: File missing Slayer • Error creating thumbnail: File missing Corruption
Skills: Error creating thumbnail: File missing Farming • Error creating thumbnail: File missing Township • Error creating thumbnail: File missing Woodcutting • Error creating thumbnail: File missing Fishing • Error creating thumbnail: File missing Firemaking • Error creating thumbnail: File missing Cooking • Error creating thumbnail: File missing Mining • Error creating thumbnail: File missing Smithing • Error creating thumbnail: File missing Thieving • Error creating thumbnail: File missing Fletching • Error creating thumbnail: File missing Crafting • Error creating thumbnail: File missing Runecrafting • Error creating thumbnail: File missing Herblore • Error creating thumbnail: File missing Agility • Error creating thumbnail: File missing Summoning • Error creating thumbnail: File missing Astrology • Error creating thumbnail: File missing Alternative Magic • Error creating thumbnail: File missing Cartography • Error creating thumbnail: File missing Archaeology • Error creating thumbnail: File missing Harvesting
Other: Error creating thumbnail: File missing Beginners Guide • Guides • Error creating thumbnail: File missing Bank • Error creating thumbnail: File missing Combat • Error creating thumbnail: File missing Mastery • Error creating thumbnail: File missing Money Making • Error creating thumbnail: File missing Shop • Easter Eggs • Pets • Error creating thumbnail: File missing Golbin Raid • Error creating thumbnail: File missing Full Version • Throne of the Herald • Atlas of Discovery • Error creating thumbnail: File missing Into the Abyss
Reference Tables: Items, Equipment, Experience Table, Upgrading Items, Combat Areas, Slayer Areas, Dungeons, Strongholds, The Abyss, Monsters