Archaeological Excavations
The galaxy is littered with ruins, gates, and forgotten stations. Archaeology lets you send a dedicated archaeology ship to these sites, enter an expedition scene, and recover resources or rare artifacts — sometimes nothing at all.
This is exploration gameplay, not building on your HQ surface. You leave the colony view and step into a structured dig / dungeon flow.
What you need
- An archaeology ship built at the shipyard (a special unit type).
- Fly the ship yourself to a valid target — there is no auto-send.
- Click the site when your fleet is close enough, then choose Enter.
Where you can dig
- Excavation sites scattered on the map (repeatable after a cooldown).
- Warp gates linked to dig templates (repeatable after cooldown).
- Unoccupied space stations and old ships — one-time expeditions; after success the site is depleted for archaeology.
You cannot start a second dig on the same map while one expedition is already running.
Rewards and risks
Each successful run rolls for nothing, resources, or an artifact. Artifacts feed into your museum collection and bonuses — the museum shop is separate from the dig itself.
Your archaeology fleet stays at the site while you play inside. Hostile players, pirates, or AI can attack the exposed ship — guard the area or accept the risk.
Colonizing a location is blocked while an archaeology fleet is camped nearby or a dig is active there.
Museum connection
Build the museum at your HQ to manage equipment and bonuses from finds. Archaeology brings treasures in; the museum puts them to use.