I'd love to see a set of skills and events surrounding archaeology. Here's what I've thought of so far:
First skill: Field Survey
- Allows discovery of new dig sites
- could require a new multi-tool (perhaps some sort of crazy metal detector/magnetometer/bore/infrared/sonar combo)
- dig sites could either be accessible to anyone or instanced to an individual (or maybe even an individual and anyone that individual invites -- could use the party system already in game for this)
Second skill (or offshoot skill): Sampling
- Allows prediction of what a given dig site contains
- inexact -- while the majority (or rarely minority) of items found may be thematically related to the sample(s), one still may find other items
Third skill: Excavation
- allows retrieval of archaeological items (see below)
- can work in teams to go faster and/or have a better chance at less common items
Fourth skill: Analysis
- allows identification of items
- this skill could increase in effectiveness with practice if such things were implemented
- it could also increase in accuracy the more it's used worldwide -- real world archaeological analysis requires comparison to other finds, so having more finds out there would make it easier
Archaeological Items:
New item type: Antiques
These could be mostly similar to or recolorings of items already available, but with a higher estimated value (this last bit is mostly relevant for donations or vendor sales). I see this as being primarily household decorations, though perhaps tools could be included. For tools, you'd want a lower maximum wear since they've already been through a lot -- they should also have a chance to break without being repairable. To balance that out, perhaps using an antique would give you a higher chance of gems when mining, bonus blocks when blockmaking, getting bonus items when cooking, etc. Furniture and decorations could require finding several pieces and reassembling them. You could have to find a certain number of pottery shards to assemble a vase, for example. This could also include some of the items seen in the rook museum such as the ancient shrine (though it would have to be non-functional).
New sub-item type: Antique Maps
These could be single-use items that take the user to one of a number of new locations. Some could be just neat (something like Plexus), others could have a one-off shot at an item (similar to the gameshow tickets, but with a different item set to choose from), some could have items laying about (much like at least one room in the tower does). Alternately or in addition, there could be single-use treasure maps that lead a player to an out-of-the-way spot in Ur that will have a guaranteed single-use dig site that has a higher than normal chance of a rare find.
New item type: Fossils
Sub-type: Whole fossils
These would be primarily smaller items embedded in rocks. Prehistoric salmon, ferns, snails, trees, herbs, etc. that could be dropped for display in homes and otherwise look neat. This could also include fossilized tools and other relics if so desired. Larger items (trees) may have to be assembled as per below.
Sub-type: Bones
These would be relics of bygone eras -- animals (and maybe even glitchlings) from imaginations past. Players would most likely have to work together to assemble a whole skeleton. The first set could go to a new museum if someone wanted to implement a new one, with a permanent plaque listing the individuals who contributed. Others could be collected in homes (but would take up a *lot* of space!)
New item sub-type: Ancient art
This could be a variety of items from past imaginings, though I expect anything in this category is likely to be rarer than the rest. It's otherwise a fairly self-descriptive category.
There's a lot of room both for interpretation and adding ongoing content here. Also, there's a lovely opportunity for a skill-launch event (mostly likely a week or three after adding the skills in to give people time to learn them). There could be an initial discovery of fossils and a museum founding to mark it, with a few days where everyone can chip in to dig and discover at the first location. (I'm deliberately leaving this vague so that if it is implemented we aren't spoiling it all here.)
So... thoughts? Comments? Additions? Rabid foaming at the mouth in hatred or anticipation? Let's hear it!