Tropers/DreamingApe: About the only thing that Indiana Jones gets right about archeology and archeologists is the fondness of hats. My girlfriend can attest to this as she is one herself, working outdoors on hot summer days will make you very fond of hats to keep you from getting sunstrokes. You will rarely see archeologists in the field without a hat.

This troper had a professor of Classics who was once an archaeologist, and while he didn't have adventures on a ''regular'' basis, things like being trapped overnight in the Temple of Asclepius occasionally happened to him. (What makes it even funnier is that the Temple of Asclepius is filled with snakes because in ancient times the snakes were believed to have healing properties and were cultivated there to such an extent that the temple is still a successful snake colony.)

This troper is an archaeology student who had a professor that worked in Mesoamerica. If you're lucky and if he's in a good mood, he'll tell you the story of when his team spotted unmapped ruins from a helicopter, jumped out of said helicopter into a bay full of sharks, and macheted their way through the jungle to get to it.

This troper has a couple friends who are amateur {{Adventurer Archaeologist}}s.

This troper, who knows full well what Archaeologists really do, still liked to joke that he didn't expect the amount of work there was in an archaeology class. He thought the only things he needed were a bullwhip, a revolver, and a cool hat.

This troper has an excellent story, and it is 100% true! Honestly, it is going to sound ridiculous, but it's entirely true. So last summer, I was in Cambodia, visiting various jungle ruin temples with my parents and a guide. We were at Ta Prohm, the jungle labyrinth (notable as where they filmed the Tomb Raider movies), and I ran off ahead. I quickly managed to lose myself in the labyrinth (quite intentionally), but ran afoul of the dreaded cordoned-off area. The Cambodian government is very corrupt, and as such you have to bribe your way into anywhere interesting, and the ruins are full of armed guards. But there were none nearby, and I knew that the most interesting parts were often cordoned off... (For example, I snuck onto the roof of Angkor Wat and went exploring at dawn. It was awesome.) So I hopped the chain, and went exploring. I quickly found some incredible things, like a room of pitch darkness where I couldn't feel walls or a floor--a bottomless pit? But then I heard a guard coming! Fuck! So I scrambled up a pile of fallen stones and onto a low wall. I lay flat against the top of the wall, and watched the guard pass underneath, complete with huge gun. It was pretty terrifying! After that I headed back to safety and the right side of the chains.

A friend's father has as his job description, "Freelance Archaeologist." He gets hired out by universities to tramp around the local area, looking for ancient artifacts and fighting off the local wildlife. Said friend literally describes it as "Indiana Jones' job."