Excavation: Difference between revisions

Revision as of 18:55, 19 July 2026

Excavation is Primal Idle's fossil-digging activity, run from the Excavation panel on the Delving page. Expeditions and cave delves occasionally turn up a biome's Dig Site Map; spending a map starts a real-time dig at that biome's site, which delivers a crate of common fossils, Delving XP, and — roughly one dig in eight to twelve — the skull of a species that lives in that biome. Skulls are the keys to the Museum.

How excavation works

Get a Dig Site Map. Maps drop from that biome's patrols (uncommon), its Guardian (several times more often), and its cave delves (best rate). Each map is specific to one biome.
Start a dig. At the Excavation panel, spend a map to begin a dig in that biome's site. The biome must be unlocked.
Wait it out. A dig runs in real time on the game clock and continues while you are away — offline time counts in full. Durations climb up the biome ladder, from 30 minutes at the first site to 90 minutes at the last.
Collect. When the dig finishes it auto-delivers straight to your bank: a crate of common fossils, Delving XP scaled to the dig's length, and a chance at a species skull.

Dig slots. You can run more than one dig at a time — you start with one and unlock more at Delving 25, 50 and 75 (up to four). A fifth slot comes from the Echo of the First Warden relic (the Amber Door's unique). A finished dig can also auto-restart: if you have another map of that biome banked, it re-runs on its own, so a stack of maps digs itself.

What you find

Common fossils

Every dig delivers a crate of common fossils. The crate deepens up the biome ladder: early sites give mostly bones, mid sites add ribs, vertebrae, claws and plates, and the deepest sites can turn up amber.

Fossil	Sell value	Notes
Fossil Bone	20	The staple; every dig produces several.
Fossil Rib	35	Common from the first sites on.
Fossil Vertebra	55	From the Murkwater site onward.
Fossil Claw	80	From the Scorched site onward.
Fossil Plate	120	From the Frozen site onward.
Amberized Insect	200	Only from the two deepest sites.

Species skulls

Every completed dig has a chance to surface a species skull, drawn evenly from the creatures that live in that biome. The odds curve by site, from about 14% at the earliest sites down to about 8.6% at the deepest (the early biomes have the biggest species pools, so they're made a little kinder). There are 57 skulls in all — one per species. Skulls sell for a tidy sum, but their real purpose is the Museum.

No wasted digs: a skull-less dig instead banks a Field Journal page for that biome (a duplicate skull banks several), and the Curator's Desk trades those pages for a skull of your choice from that ground — so a bad-luck streak just becomes a guaranteed skull a little later. See Museum.

Delving XP

Each dig grants Delving XP scaled to how long it took — longer, deeper digs award more.

Dig sites

There is one dig site per biome. Longer digs at deeper sites yield richer crates.

Biome	Dig site	Duration	Delving XP	Skull chance
Grasslands	Sunken Barrow	30 min	600	14.0%
Redwood Wilds	Rootbound Boneyard	37 min	740	13.4%
Murkwater Swamp	Peatlock Trench	43 min	860	12.8%
Cavern Depths	Echoing Ossuary	50 min	1,000	12.2%
Scorched Badlands	Scorched Wash	57 min	1,140	11.6%
Coral Shallows	Reefbed Shelf	63 min	1,260	11.0%
Frozen Wastes	Permafrost Cut	70 min	1,400	10.4%
Ashen Peaks	Cinder Terraces	77 min	1,540	9.8%
Skyreach Plateau	Skyfall Scree	83 min	1,660	9.2%
the Sundered Vale	The Shattered Bed	90 min	1,800	8.6%

@@ Line 1: / Line 1: @@
-'''Excavation''' is Primal Idle's fossil-digging activity, run from the Excavation panel on the [[Delving]] page. [[Expeditions]] and [[Caves|cave delves]] occasionally turn up a biome's '''Dig Site Map'''; spending a map starts a real-time dig at that biome's site, which delivers a crate of common fossils, [[Delving]] XP, and — about one dig in twelve — the '''skull''' of a species that lives in that biome. Skulls are the keys to the [[Museum]].
+'''Excavation''' is Primal Idle's fossil-digging activity, run from the Excavation panel on the [[Delving]] page. [[Expeditions]] and [[Caves|cave delves]] occasionally turn up a biome's '''Dig Site Map'''; spending a map starts a real-time dig at that biome's site, which delivers a crate of common fossils, [[Delving]] XP, and — roughly one dig in eight to twelve — the '''skull''' of a species that lives in that biome. Skulls are the keys to the [[Museum]].
 == How excavation works ==
@@ Line 8: / Line 8: @@
 # '''Collect.''' When the dig finishes it auto-delivers straight to your bank: a crate of common fossils, Delving XP scaled to the dig's length, and a chance at a species skull.
-'''Dig slots.''' You can run more than one dig at a time. The number of slots grows with your [[Delving]] level, starting at one and increasing as you level up (to a maximum of four).
+'''Dig slots.''' You can run more than one dig at a time — you start with one and unlock more at '''Delving 25, 50 and 75''' (up to four). A fifth slot comes from the '''Echo of the First Warden''' relic (the [[Caves#The Amber Door|Amber Door]]'s unique). A finished dig can also '''auto-restart''': if you have another map of that biome banked, it re-runs on its own, so a stack of maps digs itself.
 == What you find ==
@@ Line 34: / Line 34: @@
 === Species skulls ===
-Every completed dig has about an '''8% chance''' to surface a species skull, drawn evenly from the [[Creatures|creatures]] that live in that biome. There are 42 skulls in all — one per species. Skulls sell for a tidy sum, but their real purpose is the [[Museum]], where a skull plus the right common fossils assembles that species' skeleton.
+Every completed dig has a chance to surface a species skull, drawn evenly from the [[Creatures|creatures]] that live in that biome. The odds '''curve by site''', from about '''14%''' at the earliest sites down to about '''8.6%''' at the deepest (the early biomes have the biggest species pools, so they're made a little kinder). There are '''57 skulls''' in all — one per species. Skulls sell for a tidy sum, but their real purpose is the [[Museum]].
+'''No wasted digs:''' a skull-less dig instead banks a '''Field Journal page''' for that biome (a duplicate skull banks several), and the '''Curator's Desk''' trades those pages for a skull '''of your choice''' from that ground — so a bad-luck streak just becomes a guaranteed skull a little later. See [[Museum]].
 === Delving XP ===
@@ Line 47: / Line 49: @@
 ! Biome !! Dig site !! Duration !! Delving XP !! Skull chance
 |-
-| {{Icon|grasslands}} Grasslands || Sunken Barrow || 30 min || 60 || ~8%
+| {{Icon|grasslands}} Grasslands || Sunken Barrow || 30 min || 600 || 14.0%
 |-
-| {{Icon|redwood-wilds}} Redwood Wilds || Rootbound Boneyard || 37 min || 74 || ~8%
+| {{Icon|redwood-wilds}} Redwood Wilds || Rootbound Boneyard || 37 min || 740 || 13.4%
 |-
-| {{Icon|murkwater-swamp}} Murkwater Swamp || Peatlock Trench || 43 min || 86 || ~8%
+| {{Icon|murkwater-swamp}} Murkwater Swamp || Peatlock Trench || 43 min || 860 || 12.8%
 |-
-| {{Icon|cavern-depths}} Cavern Depths || Echoing Ossuary || 50 min || 100 || ~8%
+| {{Icon|cavern-depths}} Cavern Depths || Echoing Ossuary || 50 min || 1,000 || 12.2%
 |-
-| {{Icon|scorched-badlands}} Scorched Badlands || Scorched Wash || 57 min || 114 || ~8%
+| {{Icon|scorched-badlands}} Scorched Badlands || Scorched Wash || 57 min || 1,140 || 11.6%
 |-
-| {{Icon|coral-shallows}} Coral Shallows || Reefbed Shelf || 63 min || 126 || ~8%
+| {{Icon|coral-shallows}} Coral Shallows || Reefbed Shelf || 63 min || 1,260 || 11.0%
 |-
-| {{Icon|frozen-wastes}} Frozen Wastes || Permafrost Cut || 70 min || 140 || ~8%
+| {{Icon|frozen-wastes}} Frozen Wastes || Permafrost Cut || 70 min || 1,400 || 10.4%
 |-
-| {{Icon|ashen-peaks}} Ashen Peaks || Cinder Terraces || 77 min || 154 || ~8%
+| {{Icon|ashen-peaks}} Ashen Peaks || Cinder Terraces || 77 min || 1,540 || 9.8%
 |-
-| {{Icon|skyreach-plateau}} Skyreach Plateau || Skyfall Scree || 83 min || 166 || ~8%
+| {{Icon|skyreach-plateau}} Skyreach Plateau || Skyfall Scree || 83 min || 1,660 || 9.2%
 |-
-| the Sundered Vale || The Shattered Bed || 90 min || 180 || ~8%
+| the Sundered Vale || The Shattered Bed || 90 min || 1,800 || 8.6%
 |}