The Dig Site
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| Release date | 9 July 2003 (Update) |
|---|---|
| Members only? | Yes |
| Quest series | Return of Zaros |
| Official difficulty | Intermediate |
| Official length | Long |
| Developer | Ian T, Marion C |
Official description
| “ | Feeling uneducated? Desperate for buried treasure?
"There's gold in them there hills" (well stream actually), as well as many other items that can be found at the Digsite. Join the students in their attempts to be a qualified archaeologist, and become experienced in making the earth move! Have you got what it takes to unearth the hidden altar to one of Runescape's lesser-known Gods? |
” |
Walkthrough
| Start point: |  Talk to an Examiner in the Exam Centre south of the Digsite, which is past a members gate east of Varrock.
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| Members only: | Yes |
| Official difficulty: |  Intermediate
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| Description: | None |
| Length: | Medium-Long (About 1-2 Hours) |
| Requirements: |
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| Items required: |
Recommended:
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| Enemies to defeat: | None |
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 the players answer on the test, they will get all of them wrong. Players 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:
- The north-east end of the digsite and,
- 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.
Note: Unless you have searched them before, the option about the large pile of bricks will not appear.
You need to mix ammonium nitrate, nitroglycerin, ground charcoal, and arcenia root to get a chemical compound that can blow up the bricks blocking the path.
- Use the chest key that Doug Deeping gave you on the chest in the tent near the panning site to get a 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! (While the dialogue box is up with "You fill the vial with liquid", click on each of your other vials in your pack. This will save you having to use the trowel each time to fill each vial. These like the "Chemical substance/s" WILL ALL have to be named by the "archaeology expert" before turning into "a Chemical Compound")
- 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.) This might take several tries. 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, but you will not take damage.
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 give 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 possibly to show off your damage with Dharok's. (You DO NOT need to keep getting a key from Doug, you can just keep clicking on the chest whilst it is open)
Boom!
You will now need a tinderbox or a Dwarven Army Axe, so go and get one if you do not already have it in your inventory. Go down the west winch again and use the chemical compound on the brick (not the rocks). Now use the tinderbox on the brick to blow it up; you will automatically run away. Enter the central chamber. If your combat is 45+ you won't be attacked and armour isn't necessary. Pick up the stone tablet in the centre of the Zaros sign. Go back to the archaeological expert and use the stone tablet on him to finish the quest.
Reward
- 2 quest points
- 15,300
Experience - 2,000
Experience + 7 experience from making the Chemical compound - 2 gold bars
- Show the museum curator the 3 certificates to choose between something to drink (fruit blast) or something to eat (chocolate cake)
- With the Varrock Museum update on 29 May 2007, the talisman can be viewed in the Digsite Exhibit at the Museum.
- 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
Required for completing
Completion of The Dig Site is required for the following:
Trivia
- When this quest was first released, a glitch prevented players from getting the specimen brush so no one was able to complete it.
- When returning to the Exam Centre with the sealed letter, you do not need to talk to the same examiner that you talked to when you received the unstamped letter. If you do happen to talk to a different examiner, the dialogue will be said as if you had spoken to each other before. This is also the same situation with taking the exams.
- After completing the quest you can pickpocket the female student to get the teddy bear again.
- Players can show the Museum Curator the three certificates (only the level three certificate is required) and he will reward you with either a chocolate cake or a fruit blast. (once only)
- If a player has completed Romeo and Juliet quest, when taking the letter to be sealed, the curator will be pleased about what you did about Romeo and Juliet. The same is true for other quests, such as Shield of Arrav.
- 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."
- Having completed this quest will give an alternate ending to Demon Slayer.
- Players can still get the unidentified liquid from the barrel to inflict damage on themselves, during and after the quest.
- 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.
| Mysteries of the Mahjarrat |
1. The Tale of the Muspah • 2. Missing My Mummy • 3. The Curse of Arrav • 4. The Temple at Senntisten • 5. Ritual of the Mahjarrat |
| Rise of Lucien |
1. Temple of Ikov • 2. While Guthix Sleeps • 3. Ritual of the Mahjarrat |
| Rise of Zaros |
1. The Dig Site • 2. Desert Treasure • (Devious Minds) • 3. The Temple at Senntisten • (Ritual of the Mahjarrat) |
| Arrav |
1. Shield of Arrav • 2. Defender of Varrock • 3. The Curse of Arrav • 4. Ritual of the Mahjarrat |
| Other quests |
Hazeel Cult • Fight Arena • Enakhra's Lament • The Firemaker's Curse |
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