Archaeology Archaeology was the scientific discipline of excavating , studying and learning from the past . River Song once claimed that " An archaeologist is just a thief with patience . " ( TV : " The Husbands of River Song " ) When the Second Doctor was on Telos he was referred to as an archaeologist . ( TV : " The Tomb of the Cybermen " ) The Fifth Doctor ' s companion Peri Brown had at least a passing interest in archaeology . ( TV : " Planet of Fire " ) Another companion , Bernice Summerfield , was by trade an archaeologist before she met the Seventh Doctor , and had a supposed degree qualifying her as a professor in it , though not an official one . ( PROSE : " Love and War " ) Bernice specialised in archaeological studies after they parted . River Song held a doctorate on the subject from the Luna University . ( TV : " Closing Time " ) She eventually became a professor after knowledge of the Doctor , the person she supposedly murder ed , was removed from most of the databases throughout time and space . ( TV : " The Angels Take Manhattan " ) The Tenth Doctor said , " I ' m a time traveller . I point and laugh at archaeologists ! " ( TV : " Silence in the Library " ) The Eleventh Doctor implied that people intent on finding him pursued the discipline of archaeology . ( TV : " Let ' s Kill Hitler " ) Archaeological digs , explorations and expeditions . At some point in the 20th century , an archaeological dig uncovered details about the siege of Masada . ( PROSE : " The Last Days " ) In the 1970s , an archaeological dig at the Devil ' s Hump awakened Azal . ( TV : " The Dæmons " ) In 1977 , an archaeological expedition by Dr Fendelman discovered " Eustace " , the fossilised and dormant skull of a Fendahl Core . ( TV : " Image of the Fendahl " ) In 1994 , an archaeological dig in Alaska unearthed the Permian s . ( AUDIO : " The Land of the Dead " ) In 2017 , an archaeological dig on France accidentally revived the Dalek s on their ship when it was buried underground in 1917 after World War I . The Eleventh Doctor arrived just in time and connected the ship up to a power line , overloading the reviving Daleks and their ship . ( COMIC : " The Dalek Project " ) In the 25th century , an archaeological unearthing of the Cyber - tomb s of Telos led by Professor Parry temporarily awoke Cybermen that were low on energy . ( TV : " The Tomb of the Cybermen " ) In the 42nd century , the Galis Expedition and later the Walker Expedition investigated the remnants of the Disciples of the Light civilisation on the planet Krop Tor . ( WC : " Tardisode 8 " , TV : " The Impossible Planet " / " The Satan Pit " ) In the 51st century , River Song and her colleague Sssibeth worked on an archaeological excavation of Anteria XVI Cordobane . ( GAME : " The Eternity Clock " ) River implied to Flemming that she " dug [ him ] up " in four hundred years as she was an archaeologist . ( TV : " The Husbands of River Song " ) As a professor , River led an archaeological team , which included an engineer ( Other Dave ) and archaeologists ( Anita and Proper Dave ) , to the Library in the 51st century . ( TV : " Silence in the Library " / " Forest of the Dead " ) The Klektid archaeologist Hogoosta led the archaelogical site of the Cradle of the Gods , on the planet Gethria . The site was closed down by the Klektid Enforcers . hired by the Dalek Foundation . It was killed when he tried to re - enter the site along with the Eleventh Doctor . ( PROSE : " The Dalek Generation " )