LEVEL 11: ARCHAEOLOGICAL DIG | Updated: 1/16/07(†) |
Items: 2 ancient symbols
Weapons & Ammo: 2 ammo items
Enemies: museum guards
Upgrades: none
RIM OF THE EXCAVATION: Go around the fenced in excavation to the right. A guard emerges from the trailer as you approach. Take him out, pick up the Impactor batteries he drops and enter the trailer. Use the switch to turn on the power. This activates the ventilation system, turns on a machine elsewhere, and powers up a hydraulic lift in the excavation area. Exit the trailer and go right. There's another guard under the tent ahead. Deal with him, pick up the M-V9 clip he drops, and then go through the big metal doors to the right.
X-RAY MACHINE: If you've turned on the power (above), you can use the machine. Face the desk with the controls and press Action. Use the cursor keys/mouse or left analog stick to move the scanner. Lara can see bones and other objects under the ground here. Scan near the top right to locate the first ancient symbol. When you have seen it, press Duck to disengage from the machine. Be sure to pick up the First Ancient Symbol printout from the printer on the left side of the desk. Then you have it in your inventory.
Exit this room and go right. Inside the second trailer, you can pick up a printout of the Second Ancient Symbol. After picking it up, examine the computer terminal on the desk to the left to find some information about the Nephilim race, a hybrid of human and angel that is now extinct. Then go back outside. Another guard waits on the left to ambush Lara.
Go around to the side of the fence, toward where you entered the level. There's a break in the fence with a short ladder leading down. Climb down this ladder.
NOTE: You can take a shortcut here. On the top level of the scaffolding, go to the left toward the first long ladder. Save your game in case you fall. Now take a running jump over the railing to land on the rock ledge below the left end of the stone walkway. Use the small wooden platform to reach the walkway. Continue below with the 'Puzzle Door' section.
To climb down the usual way, after coming down that first short ladder, turn to face out over the pit. Head to the left and climb down the next ladder. Follow the scaffolding past another yellow ladder, hop across the gap and continue to another ladder. Climb down to the lowest level of scaffolding.
EXCAVATION SITE: Take out the guard and go to the right side of the dig area. Climb onto the ledge below the rough-surfaced wall, then climb the wall itself. In order to make the climb without Lara getting stuck, it helps to climb as though following the larger protruding stones. So, start at the far left side, then climb straight up a bit and then diagonally up and to the right. When Lara reaches the right edge, climb diagonally up and to the left. If necessary, you can pause to refresh your grip here on the small ledge halfway up. Then climb straight up, then over to the ledge at the top left. (This screenshot shows the climbing sequence.)
When you reach the upper ledge, turn and walk to the edge. Jump straight up to grab the underside of the rock arch. Traverse all the way across. (Lara is just strong enough to make it.) Climb onto the small wooden platform and from there to the top of the walkway that runs along the top side of the stone arch.
PUZZLE DOOR: Go to the middle of the walkway and turn left. Just before the ramp made of planks, there's a wire mesh door and a switch. Use the switch to lower the hydraulic lift. Note the circular trapdoor ahead near the yellow enclosure. This is the level exit. You'll need to solve a puzzle to open it.
Return to the stone walkway, go back to the right and climb down to the small wooden platform. From there, drop down onto the ledge below the end of the stone walkway. Save your game because the next jump, from the ledge to the lift platform, can be a little tricky. If you jump forward from the edge, Lara grabs the underside of the walkway instead. So either position Lara near the edge of the ledge and side-flip onto the lift platform or face the lift platform, take a few steps back from the edge and then jump forward to land on the lift. (The locations for both jumps are shown in this screenshot.) Approach the symbol wheel.
To solve the puzzle, you need to manipulate the puzzle wheel and the four levers around the corner to the right. The crank on the puzzle wheel rotates the symbols. Each of the levers allows you to lock one of the symbol wheels in place. The goal is to get the right sequence of symbols lined up between the metal brackets on the left side of the wheel. You (hopefully) located two of the symbols in your explorations above. The other two are among Von Croy's notes in your notebook. Flip through the pages to the right to see Von Croy's notes; Lara's notes are to the left. The page on the symbol wheel, along with the two symbols Lara discovers in this level, look like this.
To select the correct symbols, use the crank until the crescent moon symbol on the outer wheel is lined up in the brackets. Now follow the scaffolding around to the side and use the leftmost lever to lock the first symbol in place. Return to the puzzle wheel and use the crank until the First Ancient Symbol (the one you found using the x-ray machine) on the second wheel is lined up in the brackets. Go back to the levers and use the second lever from the left to lock the second symbol in place. Crank the wheels again to get the Second Ancient Symbol (the one from the printer in the trailer) in position. Use the third lever to lock it. Finally, crank the inner wheel to select the palm tree/scorpion looking symbol. This should open the circular trapdoor up above. (This screenshot shows the symbols in the proper positions.)
Jump back to the stone ledge below the walkway and climb back up to the trapdoor. Drop through to the next level.
†UPDATE HISTORY: 1/16/07 - Added useful bug for getting respirators early, rephrased a few sections for clarity and added some minor tips and screenshots.
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