MUNCIE, Ind. - On a nearby big screen this summer archeologists are unearthing lost cities in the jungle or are being chased by evil forces through the desert.

These types of movies make field-tested professionals shudder, says an archeologist at Ball State University.

In reality, archeology is about uncovering mysteries while sitting in the dirt in some forgotten place - sometimes a pretty boring life, said Kim Zunker, a graduate assistant at Ball State.

“When we were in the field, we used to joke about finding the portal to hell - just like in the movies,” she said. “What they are doing in the movies is technically not archeology.

“They have to make those movies exciting so that people will watch them. I think it is kind of sad.”

The biggest movies this summer focus on archeology and related fields, including such block busters as “Tomb Raider,” “Jurassic Park III” and “The Mummy Returns.”

However, sometimes a movie or book gets a portion of the life in proper context. Zunker likes “Timeline” by Michael Crichton. In the book, time travel must be used to retrieve a professor lost in the past.

“That was very well researched,” she said. “Someday I think they’ll make a movie that will make archeology seem exciting. You just need the right script.”

Movie makers have always blurred reality and fiction when it comes to ancient artifacts, cities and cults, Zunker said.

“Actually, where I see the problems the most are the old, cheesy horror films,” she said. “Archeologists always seem to be looking for things they shouldn’t be. There is always something evil to be found, which is very silly.”

Zunker, a 26-year-old from West Bend, Wis., has spent summers working in Greece to unearth an acropolis, a small temple and market area in an ancient community.

The work is nearly always tedious. Hundreds of hours are spent in the dirt, scraping layer by layer for a glimpse at the past. There are no monsters, portals or secret objects - just dirt, she said.

“The excitement is in the discovery,” Zunker said. “It is very much like a puzzle because you are trying to put together a picture in your mind about what went on in that culture from the things you find.”

By Marc Ransford, Communications Manager

(NOTE TO EDITORS: For more information, contact Zunker at kazunker@bsu.edu.)