The Dig Site


 * This article is about the quest. For the location east of Varrock, see Digsite.

The Digsite
Go to the Exam Centre, south of the Digsite. Talk to an Examiner and ask her about taking an exam to be eligible to do work on the important areas of the Digsite. She will then give you an unstamped letter. Bring this letter to Curator Haig Halen in Varrock Museum. After he signs it, bring the sealed letter back to the examiner, who then gives you the Level 1 test.

No matter what you answer on the test, you will get all of them wrong. You must get answers from the other students. They are all wandering in the Digsite. Leave the building and head north towards the Digsite.

The Answers
There are 3 students in the Digsite who can help you with the exam answers. They will give you the answers, only if you find a lost item of theirs. It's best when getting answers to note them down as you may forget the answers later on when you begin the exam. It is recommended to use the notes system in your interface.

Note: You can obtain the 'Special' items before talking to the students.

Teddy


The first student is in the north-west section of the Digsite. She is a blonde woman with a purple skirt and top. If you talk to her, she says that she has lost her teddy bear, which she describes as her "lucky mascot" and asks you to find it. Walk to the area between the Exam Centre and the Digsite and stop when you reach two wooden walkways on a hill. Follow the eastern walkway to the top of the hill and search the eastern most bush near the large blue urn (2) to get the teddy bear.

Use the teddy on her, and she will tell players one of the answers, "The proper health and safety points are: leather gloves and boots to be worn at all times; proper tools must be used."

Animal skull
The second student is in the southern section of the Digsite. He has a green shirt and blonde hair. He has lost his animal skull and wants you to retrieve it. Steal-from Digsite workmen (3) until an animal skull is received. This is why level 25 Thieving is a requirement. A higher level in Thieving will increase your chances of receiving it. If you happen to get a specimen brush, keep it because you will need it later. Give the skull back to the student and he will give you another answer; "Earth Science is the study of earth, its contents and its history."

Special cup
Go to the eastern area of the Digsite. First, find the student wearing a brown coloured shirt. He will tell you he has lost his special cup. Find a panning tray from inside the tent (4). Then attempt to pan with it in the river (5) near the tent. The Panning Guide will stop you and ask for a cup of tea. If there is a cup of tea in a players inventory, he will automatically take it. After gaining permission, pan in the river till you obtain a special cup. You may also find an uncut opal, which is needed for a later part of the quest. Other items you might find when you search a full pan include uncut jade, coins, gold nuggets, oysters, and just plain mud.

Return the cup to the student and he will give you the final answer, "People eligible to use the Digsite are: All that have passed the appropriate Earth Sciences Exams."

Becoming An Archaeologist
Note: You must talk to each of the students before taking each new exam, otherwise the correct answers below will not even appear as an option!

Level 1 Exam
Go back to the Exam Centre and take the exam again, this time choosing the correct answers. If you have forgotten the information, they are as follows:


 * The study of Earth Science is: "The study of the earth, its contents and history."
 * The people eligible to use the digsite are: "All that have passed the appropriate Earth Sciences exam."
 * The proper health and safety points are: "Gloves and boots to be worn at all times; proper tools must be used."

If it is done right, players will receive a Level 1 certificate and a trowel as a reward.

Level 2 Exam
Return back to the Digsite and ask the students for Level 2 answers, which are as follows:


 * Correct sample transportation: "Samples taken in rough form, kept only in sealed containers."
 * Finds handling: "Finds must be carefully handled, and gloves worn."
 * Correct rock pick usage: "Always handle with care; strike cleanly on its cleaving point."

Once again, talk to the Examiner for the test and after passing it, you will receive a Level 2 certificate.

Level 3 Exam
Speak to the three students again and obtain the answers for Level 3 Certificate. However, the female student will want an uncut opal or opal for her help this time. Pan in the river for one, if you did not receive it when you were looking for the special cup.


 * Sample preparations: "Samples cleaned, and carried only in specimen jars."
 * Specimen brush use: "Brush carefully and slowly using short strokes."
 * The proper technique for handling bones is: "Handle bones very carefully and keep them away from other samples."

Now go back to the Exam Centre. Answer the questions correctly and you will earn the final Level 3 certificate. Players can now dig anywhere they wish.

Zaros...
Make sure to get a specimen jar from the south wall in the cupboard inside the exam centre, or you cannot dig in the level 3 soil. Before you leave the Exam Centre, talk to the archaeological expert. Walk to the Digsite and pickpocket workmen until you get a specimen brush.

You now need to dig into the soil in any Level 3 digsite (players can find out what level the site is by reading the signposts) until you find an Ancient talisman. The Level 3 Digsites are:
 * 1) The north-east end of the digsite and,
 * 2) The one just north of the training spot in the southwest corner of the digsite.

When you try to dig, you will be stopped by a Digsite workman telling you that you need a specimen brush and a specimen jar, if you don't already have them. When you have the jar, use your trowel on the soil to start digging. You will probably NOT receive the talisman on your first attempt, so keep trying. It may take a long time to find the Talisman.

Take the talisman to the archaeological expert in the Exam Centre. He will be impressed by it and say that it's a talisman of the god Zaros. He will give you an invitation letter, which must be shown to workers to get permission to go down the boreholes, or private dig shafts.

Chemical Compound
Bring extra vials for this section if you want more chemical compounds for later use.

Also, watch out for left-clicking on the vial when you show the archaeology expert the "unidentified liquid" as this will "carefully empty out the liquid" and you will have to go and recollect the liquid.

Go to the western digging area of the Digsite, and you will see a winch in the middle of it. Use your Invitation Letter on a Digsite Workman that's working (NOT on the Workman that's standing next to the rocks at the winch, nor the one with the wheelbarrow) in order to gain access to the sublevels of the Digsite. Use a rope on the winch, then climb down to go into the subterranean Digsite Dungeon.

Now go east and search the bricks blocking the path. It is impossible to pass through until the bricks are cleared.

Return to the surface and head to the other winch, located to the north-east. Once again, use your rope and go down the winch. Grab an arcenia root near the west wall while you're there because you'll need it later. Speak to Doug Deeping, and ask him how you can move a large pile of rocks and he gives you a chest key. (Use the 'drop trick' here with the key if you want more keys for making more compounds)

He will suggest blowing the bricks up, and also speaks about a former colleague who had discovered what chemical substances to use for that process. However he was scared by his findings and scattered his notes all over the site. His book on chemicals can be found in the Exam Centre, in the south-eastern bookshelf against the wall, facing south. After the quest is completed the book can be found in your player owned house.


 * Use the chest key that Doug gave you on the chest in the tent near the panning site to get some chemical powder.
 * Use your trowel on the barrel on the west side of the tent to open it. Use your vial on the barrel to get an unidentified liquid. You will get hit for 350 damage if you drop the vial!
 * Grab an arcenia root from one of the caves, if you don't already have one.
 * Search the specimen tray north of the tent to find the charcoal. (You must have a specimen jar in inventory to do this) Once you find it, grind it with a pestle and mortar to get ground charcoal.

Then, go back to the Exam Centre. Show the chemical powder and the unidentified liquid to the archaeology expert to learn that they are ammonium nitrate and nitroglycerin respectively. Make sure you right-click and use the vial with the expert; a left click will empty the vial.

Mix the nitroglycerin and the ammonium nitrate. Add ground charcoal first to the mixture, and then the arcenia root. (You will need level 10 herblore to do this step.) You will then receive a chemical compound.

The nitroglycerin, after being recognized and named by the archaeological expert, will hit for 350'' damage when dropped. If you drop the resulting chemical compound it will do 650 damage!''

''After the quest you will not be able to get more ammonium nitrate since Doug Deeping will not give you another key, so be sure to get a lot of it if you want more chemical compounds. You do NOT need to keep getting a key from Doug, you can just keep clicking on the chest whilst it's open.''

Boom!
Go down the west winch again and use the chemical compound on the brick (not the rocks). Now search the bricks and use the tinderbox option to blow it up; you will automatically run away. Enter the central chamber. Pick up the stone tablet in the centre of the Zaros sign and go back to the archaeological expert. Show the stone tablet to him to finish the quest.

Reward

 * 2 quest points
 * 15,300 Experience
 * 2,000 Experience
 * 2 gold bars
 * Show the museum curator the 3 certificates to choose between something to drink (fruit blast) or something to eat (chocolate cake)
 * Ability to do Varrock Museum Specimen Cleaning to obtain Kudos and a Digsite pendant.
 * You are now allowed to go through the back door of the museum and the gate in the museum.
 * 2 extra spins on the Squeal of Fortune

Music unlocked

 * Venture
 * Venture2

Required for completing
Completion of The Dig Site is required for the following:


 * Another Slice of H.A.M.
 * Desert Treasure
 * Varrock Tasks:
 * Easy: "It Belongs in a Museum"
 * Medium: "Return to Senntisten"

Trivia

 * When this quest was first released, a glitch prevented players from getting the specimen brush so no one was able to complete it.
 * After completing the quest you can pickpocket the female student to get the teddy bear again.
 * After you have broken the barrel that contains the Unidentifiable Liquid, your character will say, "It's opened it!" Interestingly, the Danger! symbol on the barrel disappears when you do this.
 * Upon completing this quest one's Adventurer's Log will read: "I'm now a qualified archaeologist, having learned from the best at the Digsite and found a mysterious cavern with strange symbols."
 * After completing the quest, if you talk to Juna, your character will say, "...And the examiner was very impressed that I had discovered an ancient altar of Zaros." to which she replies, "Zaros? I had not heard that name for a thousand years even before the start of my sojourn here."
 * If you show the archaeology expert your vial, he will think you are crazy, and when it's fully made, he will tell you not to play with concoctions and will ask you what you plan to do with it.

Digsite Quest The Dig Site The Dig Site