Arab Diggers (Tanis excavation laborers)

diligent cooperative practical

Local Arab diggers working at the Tanis excavation who provide manual labor across multiple scenes and supervisors. They operate trucks and bulldozers, unearth foundations and passageways, push stuck vehicles from desert sand, and are mobilized by Omar (with Sallah and Indiana Jones) to sweep dunes and support reconnaissance. They also appear as local hires working under German supervision during the Nazi excavation and airstrip construction, contributing to the broader search for the Well of Souls.

5 appearances

Desert Excavation

Also known as: Arab Diggers, Arab Workers, three Arab Diggers, Diggers

Arab Diggers …'s Journey

A timeline through the narrative

5 moments

S1E1 · RAIDERS OF THE LOST ARK

Desert Deployment — Omar's Diggers Fan Out

Work-minded and alert — prepared to follow orders and begin labor immediately.

A group of Arab diggers sits in Omar's truck beds (and three are later seen in Sallah's truck bed); they receive direction as Omar turns into the dunes and promptly …

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S1E1 · RAIDERS OF THE LOST ARK

Map Room Identified — Race to the Well

Industrious and absorbed in work — largely unalert to the larger strategic implications unfolding above them.

Arab diggers and workers are visible across the Tanis digs, laboring under the excavation — their presence fills out the scope of activity and provides cover and context for the …

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S1E1 · RAIDERS OF THE LOST ARK

Coerced to the Jeep: Sallah Pressed into Service

Frustrated and weary — struggling physically and aware of limited agency under occupation.

A group of Arab Workers strains at the jammed jeep's wheels in the sand, exerting physical labor under German supervision but failing to budge the vehicle as tension mounts overhead.

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S1E1 · RAIDERS OF THE LOST ARK

Ark Guarded as Camp Explodes

Anxious curiosity turning into alarm as authority figures abandon routine to investigate the fireball, leaving the diggers bewildered.

A group of Arab Diggers mill among the tents near the command area, pressing for a view of the Ark; curiosity and helplessness mark their presence as the explosion pulls …

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S1E1 · RAIDERS OF THE LOST ARK

Hold the Ark — Fireball at the Airstrip

Alarmed curiosity — anxious about danger but compelled to witness the spectacle together.

The Arab Diggers mill among the tents, drawn to the Ark and then swept up by the explosion; many leave their posts and run toward the rise to watch the …

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