With an equivalent 7.2/10 IMDb rating and 73/100 Metascore, Simon Stone's star-studded period film, The Dig, is one of the better-reviewed Netflix originals released in 2021. Ralph Fiennes and Carey Mulligan star as English archaeologists on a mission in 1939 to excavate the gravesite of Sutton Hoo, ancient grounds dating back to the 6th and 7th century.

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Of course, movies about archaeology date back to the 1930s, with The Mummy films starring Boris Karloff. And while the horror genre continues to feature the archaeological profession, the occupation has been reinvented throughout several subcategories of cinema.

Scarlett Marlowe - As Above, So Below (2014)

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In John Erick Dowdle's 2014 horror escapade, As Above, So Below, Welsh actress Perdita Weeks gives a memorable turn as Scarlett Marlowe, an archaeology scholar who must put her theory into practice when exploring the horrific catacombs beneath Paris.

Patterned after the seven layers of Hell, the labyrinthine catacombs are said to hold the famous relic, The Philosopher's Stone, which Scarlett is obsessed with discovering. However, the deeper into the catacombs she gets, the more imperiled she becomes.

Benjamin Gates - National Treasure (2004)

Nicolas Cage in National Treasure Book of Secrets

In the big-budget National Treasure series, Benjamin Franklin Gates (Nicolas Cage) is a historian and archaeological hunter on a sprawling quest to locate the Templar Treasure.

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Upon receiving clues from his grandfather (Christopher Plummer), Ben assembles a team to go on a cross-country scavenger hunt. Throughout the adventure, Ben contends with his disapproving father (Jon Voight) and a traitorous partner named Ian (Sean Bean), who sets out to steal the Declaration of Independence.

Basil Brown - The Dig (2021)

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Oscar-winner Ralph Fiennes brings dignity, grace, and elegance to the role of Basil Brown, an autodidactic English archaeologist working to exhume the remains of the ancient Sutton Hoo gravesite in The Dig.

Set in Suffolk, England, in 1939, Brown is hired by Edith Pretty (Carey Mulligan), a widow and owner of the Sutton Hoo grounds to dig up the crypt to discover what's inside. Brown slowly excavates valuable items hinting at the presence of royalty, but when he becomes injured on the job, he begins spending more time with Edith.

Lara Croft - Lara Croft: Tomb Raider (2001)

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Although based on a fictional video game character, Angelina Jolie's portrayal of Lara Croft in the Tomb Raider films remain iconic as any 21st-century cinematic archaeologist.

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In addition to making massive amounts of money and inspiring a reboot starring Alicia Vikander, Jolie is perfectly cast as the badass, gun-toting, backflipping explorer out to find an ancient artifact that controls time. Croft endures a series of harrowing adventures, pitfalls, and evil enemies while on her globetrotting quest.

Dr. Daniel Jackson - Stargate (1994)

Jack and Daniel take cover and are armed to the teeth in Stargate

Roland Emmerich's sci-fi action-adventure, Stargate combines the futuristic cosmos with ancient Egypt in a manner never before seen. The story picks up when a mysterious teleportation pod is excavated in Egypt.

Upon discovery, military commander Col. Jack O'Neill (Kurt Russell) and archaeologist Daniel Jackson (James Spader) agree to enter the pod and travel through time and space to a planet whose ancestral inhabitants worship the Egyptian Sun God, Ra.

Evelyn Carnahan - The Mummy (1999)

Evie holds a torch while in a crypt

While American adventurer Rick O'Connell (Brendan Fraser) gets all the shine, it's the brilliant but bumbling Egyptologist Evelyn Carnahan (Rachel Weisz) that uses her archaeological acumen to survive The Mummy.

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The rollicking adventure series redefines the mythic lore of the 1930s Mummy horror movies starring Boris Karloff. In the first film of the franchise, Rick and Evelyn fight for their lives when the accursed corpse of High Priest Imhotep is reanimated with murderous intent.

Percy Fawcett - The Lost City Of Z (2016)

The Lost City of Z

James Gray's The Lost City of Z tells the real-life story of famed British explorer and surveyor, Percy Fawcett (Charlie Hunnam), who set out to discover an enriched hidden jungle metropolis in 1920s South America.

Faced with stifling weather, cannibalistic natives, deadly mosquitos, false information, crew infighting, and the like, Fawcett overcomes the longest of odds to eventually locate the ancient paradise. Fawcett risked his life and forwent the lives of his loved ones to complete his mission before disappearing in 1925.

Lankester Merrin - The Exorcist (1973)

Merrin and the Pazuzu statue

Although his actions might make him one of the worst cinematic archaeologists, there is no way to omit The Exorcist's Father Lankester Merrin (Max Von Sydow) from the list.

RELATED: 10 Horror Movies To Watch If You Love The Exorcist

William Friedkin's horror masterpiece begins with Merrin traveling to Iraq to participate in an archaeological dig. Upon his search comes the discovery of a demonic relic called Pazuzu, which launches the corresponding tale of demonic possession in which 12-year-old Regan MacNeil (Linda Blair) is overtaken by a horrid and hideous spirit.

Elizabeth Shaw - Prometheus (2012)

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If Roland Emmerich was the first to blend ancient Egypt with intergalactic space travel, then Ridley Scott took the idea to new heights with his 2012 film Prometheus, a de facto sequel to his 1979 masterpiece, Alien.

Noomi Rapace plays Dr. Elizabeth Shaw in the film, a complicated archaeologist who believes in science and religion. In the year 2089, Shaw and her partner Charlie (Logan Marshall-Green) discover an ancient star map in Scotland that leads them to a distant moon where the origins of humanity are said to have begun. Alas, a malefic alien race awaits her and her team.

Indiana Jones - Raiders Of The Lost Ark (1981)

Indy uses his whip in Kingdom of the Crystal Skull

Without a doubt, Indiana Jones (Harrison Ford) is the single greatest cinematic archaeologist of all time. Through four films and counting, Indiana has endured unparalleled danger en route to discovering the Lost Ark of the Covenant, The Temple of Doom, The Holy Grail, and the Crystal Skull. In 2022, Jones will set off another perilous quest.

With his trademark charm and charisma to go with his physical prowess, Ford's Indiana is one of the most magnetic characters ever constructed. Credit is also due to George Lucas, who created the story and character, and director Steven Spielberg, for delivering one major piece of pop-entertainment after another.

NEXT: Indiana Jones 5: 10 Incredible Artifacts That Would Be Perfect For The Next Movie