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Archaeology

According to the Seventh Doctor, the point of archaeology was to "carefully recover the past". (TV: Battlefield)

River Song once claimed that an archaeologist was "just a thief with patience". (TV: The Husbands of River Song)

According to John Viner, the first rule of archaeological work was that "nothing must be touched until it's been described and recorded". (TV: The Tomb of the Cybermen)

Animal, Vegetable, Mineral? was a successful panel game for archaeology experts that ran on British television from 1952 to 1959. (PROSE: The Time Traveller's Almanac)

Archaeology and the Doctor[]

When the Second Doctor was on Telos he was referred to as an archaeologist. (TV: The Tomb of the Cybermen) The Fifth Doctor's companion Peri Brown had at least a passing interest in archaeology. (TV: Planet of Fire)

Another of the Doctor's companions, Bernice Summerfield, was by trade an archaeologist before she met the Seventh Doctor, and had a supposed degree qualifying her as a professor in it, though not an official one. (PROSE: Love and War)

River Song held a doctorate on the subject from the Luna University. (TV: Closing Time) She eventually became a professor after knowledge of the Doctor, the person she supposedly murdered, was removed from most of the databases throughout time and space and she received a pardon as a result. (TV: The Angels Take Manhattan) She wrote an archaeological paper on Concomitant Development on the Ood Sphere and the Sense Sphere. (PROSE: The Ruby's Curse)

After using a space-time portal to defeat three Cybermen by bringing a Tyrannosaurus rex to the 2000s,[nb 1] the Tenth Doctor told Martha Jones that the dinosaur would likely leave pieces of the Cyberman it dragged back with it through the portal all over the Jurassic period. The Doctor was amused at the thought and commented that he had to "keep the archaeologists guessing." (PROSE: Made of Steel)

The Tenth Doctor once said, "I'm a time traveller. I point and laugh at archaeologists!" (TV: Silence in the Library)

The Eleventh Doctor implied that people intent on finding him pursued the discipline of archaeology. (TV: Let's Kill Hitler)

Archaeological digs, explorations and expeditions[]

At some point in the 20th century, an archaeological dig uncovered details about the siege of Masada. (PROSE: The Last Days)

In 1979, an archaeological dig in Crook Marsham found remnants of a Palaeolithic quarry. The dig was abandoned after several prominent members disappeared. (PROSE: Nightshade)

In the 1970s, an archaeological dig at the Devil's Hump awakened Azal. (TV: The Dæmons)

In 1977, an archaeological expedition by Dr Fendelman discovered "Eustace", the fossilised and dormant skull of a Fendahl Core. (TV: Image of the Fendahl)

In 1994, an archaeological dig in Alaska unearthed the Permians. (AUDIO: The Land of the Dead)

In 2017, an archaeological dig in France accidentally revived the Daleks in their ship that was buried underground in 1917 after World War I. The Eleventh Doctor arrived just in time and connected the ship up to a power line, overloading the reviving Daleks and their ship. (COMIC: The Dalek Project)

In the 25th century, an archaeological unearthing of the Cyber-tombs of Telos led by Professor Parry temporarily awoke Cybermen that were low on energy. (TV: The Tomb of the Cybermen)

In the 42nd century, the Galis Expedition and later the Walker Expedition investigated the remnants of the Disciples of the Light civilisation on the planet Krop Tor. (WC: Tardisode 8, TV: The Impossible Planet/The Satan Pit)

In the 51st century, River Song and her colleague Sssibeth worked on an archaeological excavation of Anteria XVI Cordobane. (GAME: The Eternity Clock)

River implied to Flemming that she "dug [him] up" in four hundred years as she was an archaeologist. (TV: The Husbands of River Song)

As a professor, River led an archaeological team, which included an engineer (Other Dave) and archaeologists (Anita and Proper Dave), to the Library in the 51st century. (TV: Silence in the Library / Forest of the Dead)

The Klektid archaeologist Hogoosta led the archaelogical site of the Cradle of the Gods, on the planet Gethria. The site was closed down by the Klektid Enforcers. hired by the Dalek Foundation. It was killed when he tried to re-enter the site along with the Eleventh Doctor. (PROSE: The Dalek Generation)

During the Thousand Year War on the planet Skaro, an archaeological expedition discovered the ruins of an ancient settlement that showed that the Thals and Kaleds had once lived together. (AUDIO: Purity)

Footnotes[]

  1. According to the episode The Sound of Drums, Martha Jones' present day during series 3 of Doctor Who takes place over a six-day period, with the Saxon Master being elected three days after Smith and Jones, and the Toclafane invading Earth five days after Smith and Jones. However, sources differ on which dates these stories are set. According to PROSE: The Paradox Moon, the Toclafane invasion happens on 23 June 2007, placing the events of Smith and Jones on 18 June. According to AUDIO: Hysteria, Smith and Jones takes place in 2008, with a UNIT mission log in AUDIO: Recruits referring to the recovery of moon rocks from Royal Hope Hospital in March 2008. A newspaper clipping in PROSE: The Secret Lives of Monsters places Smith and Jones on a Sunday 4 June, thus placing the Toclafane invasion on Friday 9 June. In the real world, these dates do not fall on a Sunday and Friday in either 2007 or 2008.
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