Mixed observations of archaeology / archaeologists in games

[Godofhellfire]

This thread should collect all our observations of archaeology and/or archaeologists in games we have played.

There is nothing to take care of. Just post your remarks and opinions to various games in any order. But it would be great, if everyone writes a bit about the context of the observation and provides a link to the store page of the game.

Everyone is invited to take part in, every little something is welcomed; it can be something you recognized by yourself or you've read elsewhere on the internet; you can think of:

• Archaeological remains (architecture, objects, etc.) the game presents, either in ruins or restored.
  
• Archaeological quests you have to solve.
  
• Archaeologists that you meet in the game, how they are portrayed, what they do etc.
  
• Literary referencies that lead back to antiquity or hide a meaning: Names, inscriptions etc.

[Godofhellfire]

To start with: In the game Stories Untold, which deals with questions about guilt and responsibility, the main character is called: J. Aition - a strange name, isn't it.
https://store.steampowered.com/app/558420/Stories_Untold/
So I tried to remember my bad knowledge of ancient Greek and here we have it:
αιτια or αιτιον means: guilt, the cause for the guilt, and also the cause for a legal allegation - all of the three covered in the main statement of the game.

[In another (cannot find it now) thread I read about the name of a "ship" which is presented in the game: OMNIA TUA CULPA, which is Latin for "Everything is your fault"]

[Bubo the Owl]

I'm sure everyone here is already aware of heaven's vault, but if not it is a great game within the archaeology genre. It is beautiful with a good storyline, lots of dialogue and a rich world to explore.
The main character Aliya is an archaeologist who has been sent out by her supervisor to solve a problem.
Aliya seems to have a challenging relationship with her supervisor, which I think many of us will recognise.
I love that this game portrays Aliya as an explorer but not in the Indiana Jones/Lara Croft sense, giving a more realistic impression of what it means to be an archaeologist, someone who is curious about the past, and passionate about their research.
The archaeology isn't based on excavation but much more exploration and translation, but it does a good job in simulating basic epigraphy and the discussions show some knowledge of how archaeologists analyse and categorise objects.
The game highlights some of the ethical aspects of archaeology, the power relationships involved and the connection between archaeology and collecting.
Link to game: https://store.steampowered.com/app/774201/Heavens_Vault/
For more info some additional reviews by archaeologists:
https://archaeogaming.com/2019/04/16/the-archaeology-of-heavens-vault/
https://archaeogaming.com/2019/01/25/an-interview-with-jon-ingold-of-heavens-vault/

[Insurgent Korrah]

Half-Life 1/Black Mesa remake is not a game about Archaeology, although it has this blatant scientific style incorporated in it. Anyway, certain attributes of the Xen world reminded me of Archaeology, although one needs vivid imagination to get the things connected.
Here is a 1m grid square in a cave. Had these in a Paleolithic cave.
https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2365318046

And here is a bifacialy shaped Handaxe or a Pick made of unknown silicious material. See the conchoidal shock waves
https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2365317817

Besides that the game takes place in a canyon known for its rich and lovely geology and is simply a nice game.

[Godofhellfire]

Originally posted by Insurgent Korrah:

Half-Life 1/Black Mesa remake is not a game about Archaeology, although it has this blatant scientific style incorporated in it.

Thanks for your contribution, these are great finds!

[Insurgent Korrah]

There are even more stuff in the alien world.

[Insurgent Korrah]

It was surprising to see how the game represented the alien houses and their material culture. Somewhat anachronistic compared to their public architecture
https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2366453231
https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2366453672
https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2366454019
https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2366453442

[Keks]

I played Tomb Raider 1 (yes, the very first one) again and looked out for some archaeological items and found these:

Skarabäus[de.wikipedia.org]
https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2386347902

Senet[de.wikipedia.org]
https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2386350753

[Insurgent Korrah]

A (semi-correct) representation of a traditional stone axe on the cover of Green Hell. The artist did not represent the visual traits of a flaked stone very well. Still a nice game

https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2614359399

[Godofhellfire]

Originally posted by Insurgent Korrah:

A (semi-correct) representation of a traditional stone axe on the cover of Green Hell. The artist did not represent the visual traits of a flaked stone very well. Still a nice game

Great comparison, at least the artist tried to give some structure to the stone ;-).

[Godofhellfire]

I played Layers of Fear this Halloween and everywhere in the house are images of known painters like Goya or Rembrandt.

But there are also busts and this one seemed to me like a typical Roman emperor - but I was not able to identify him, maybe because most of the art pieces are a bit alienated to fit the narrative of the game.

https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2656140113

[Keks]

Sehr interessant. Ich konnte es auch nicht näher identifizieren. Seltsam, dass es eine recht beschädigt und etwas verschwommen wirkende Figur ist, wo es doch eigentlich sehr gut erhaltene Büsten aus römischer Zeit gibt.

Very interesting. I couldn't identify it either. It is strange, in my opinion, to use such damaged and undistinctive bust. There are a lot of busts in better quality. So maybe they didn't mean to show a special person?

[Klesk 🌈 Нептун 🇺🇦]

Originally posted by Godofhellfire:

I played Layers of Fear this Halloween and everywhere in the house are images of known painters like Goya or Rembrandt.

But there are also busts and this one seemed to me like a typical Roman emperor - but I was not able to identify him, maybe because most of the art pieces are a bit alienated to fit the narrative of the game.

https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2656140113

...
https://steamcommunity.com/app/214950/discussions/0/3196988242365683916/?tscn=1637131546#c3196988242365862446
Posted the Screenshot in another Forum, let's see.

[Godofhellfire]

Originally posted by Einherjer:

...
https://steamcommunity.com/app/214950/discussions/0/3196988242365683916/?tscn=1637131546#c3196988242365862446
Posted the Screenshot in another Forum, let's see.

Ah, good idea, thank you for posting it! It could be Vitellius, I found a stock photo with similarities, but not the exact one, yet.

[Klesk 🌈 Нептун 🇺🇦]

Originally posted by Godofhellfire:

Ah, good idea, thank you for posting it! It could be Vitellius, I found a stock photo with similarities, but not the exact one, yet.

The bust of Aulus Vitellius looks a lot like the one in the screenshot you posted.

[Keks]

Glückwunsch für die Lösung dieser Frage.