{"format":"murdoku-puzzle/1","id":"dig","version":1,"difficulty":"medium","level":5,"size":{"rows":8,"cols":8},"languages":["en","hu","de","fr","es","it","nl","pl","pt","ro","ca","cs","fi","vi","tr","el","ru","uk","ar","ko","ja","zh-Hans","zh-Hant"],"defaultLanguage":"en","title":"The Dig","tagline":"The Valley of the Kings · February 1923 · the seal was already broken","author":"mathace","concept":"Murdoku – Manuel Garand (murdoku.com); unofficial fan-made case","created":"2026-09-29","story":"The Valley of the Kings, February 1923. After three fruitless seasons the expedition had finally reached a sealed burial chamber, and Venetia, the wealthy patron who paid for every shovel, had travelled from London to be the first to see the sarcophagus opened. That afternoon the site was busy: crates were being packed in the finds tent, camels waited in the camp for the evening caravan, and the last steps of the pit were being cleared. When the dust had settled, Venetia was found in the burial chamber, beside the sarcophagus. Everyone on the site gives a statement – find out who was alone with her.","rules":{"standard":["Every row and every column holds exactly one person. As soon as you place someone, cross out their whole row and column.","“Beside” = directly left, right, above or below, and in the same area. Squares with objects (the stone pillars, the amphorae, the ladder, the sphinx, the sarcophagus, the wheelbarrow, the tents, the tables, the date palm and the crate) cannot be occupied; the folding stools and the camels can.","The murderer was alone with the victim: nobody else was in that area."],"special":[]},"roleNames":{"expedition":"expedition","local":"local","victim":"victim"},"personGroups":[{"id":"expedition","name":"The expedition","persons":["A","B","C","D","V"]},{"id":"locals","name":"Locals","persons":["E","F","G"]}],"map":{"groups":[],"gaps":[],"areas":[{"id":"Ruins","cells":[[1,1],[1,2],[1,3],[1,4],[1,5],[2,1],[2,2],[2,3],[3,1],[3,2],[4,2]],"fill":"#ece3cf","pattern":"marble","labelAt":[1,2],"name":"Ruins"},{"id":"Burial Chamber","cells":[[1,7],[1,8],[2,7],[2,8],[3,6],[3,7],[3,8],[4,6],[4,7],[4,8]],"fill":"#e4d6c0","pattern":"tiles","labelAt":[2,7],"name":"Burial Chamber"},{"id":"Excavation Pit","cells":[[1,6],[2,4],[2,5],[2,6],[3,3],[3,4],[3,5],[4,3],[4,4],[4,5],[5,3],[5,4],[5,5],[5,6],[5,7],[5,8],[6,4],[6,5],[6,6],[6,7],[7,5]],"fill":"#f2e6c8","pattern":"marble","labelAt":[4,5],"name":"Excavation Pit"},{"id":"Camp","cells":[[4,1],[5,1],[5,2],[6,1],[6,2],[6,3],[7,1],[7,2],[7,3],[7,4],[8,1],[8,2],[8,3],[8,4],[8,5],[8,6]],"fill":"#e9ecd6","pattern":"marble","labelAt":[7,3],"name":"Camp"},{"id":"Finds Tent","cells":[[6,8],[7,6],[7,7],[7,8],[8,7],[8,8]],"fill":"#f3e0d6","pattern":"boards","labelAt":[8,7],"name":"Finds Tent"}],"objectTypes":{"camel":{"occupiable":true,"name":"camel","icon":""},"stool":{"occupiable":true,"name":"folding stool","icon":""},"amphora":{"occupiable":false,"name":"amphora","icon":""},"crate":{"occupiable":false,"name":"crate","icon":""},"palm":{"occupiable":false,"name":"date palm","icon":""},"pillar":{"occupiable":false,"name":"stone pillar","icon":""},"sarcophagus":{"occupiable":false,"name":"sarcophagus","icon":""},"sphinx":{"occupiable":false,"name":"sphinx","icon":""},"stepladder":{"occupiable":false,"name":"ladder","icon":""},"table":{"occupiable":false,"name":"table","icon":""},"tent":{"occupiable":false,"name":"tent","icon":""},"wheelbarrow":{"occupiable":false,"name":"wheelbarrow","icon":""}},"wallTypes":{},"objects":[{"cell":[1,3],"type":"pillar"},{"cell":[1,5],"type":"pillar"},{"cell":[1,7],"type":"amphora"},{"cell":[2,2],"type":"stool"},{"cell":[2,5],"type":"stepladder"},{"cell":[3,1],"type":"sphinx"},{"cell":[3,7],"type":"sarcophagus"},{"cell":[4,4],"type":"wheelbarrow"},{"cell":[5,1],"type":"tent"},{"cell":[5,7],"type":"amphora"},{"cell":[6,1],"type":"camel"},{"cell":[6,3],"type":"camel"},{"cell":[7,2],"type":"tent"},{"cell":[7,7],"type":"table"},{"cell":[7,8],"type":"stool"},{"cell":[8,1],"type":"palm"},{"cell":[8,4],"type":"table"},{"cell":[8,5],"type":"stool"},{"cell":[8,8],"type":"crate"}],"wallFeatures":[],"extras":[],"cellSize":46},"persons":[{"id":"A","name":"Agatha","gender":"F","role":"expedition","color":"#c62828","avatar":{"bg":"#7a5a2c","skin":"#f6d8c0","hair":"#7a4a2a","style":"bun","shirt":"#e8dcc0","glasses":true},"clue":"A folding stool was somewhere in her row.","job":"the epigrapher","avatarSvg":"","solverRole":"expedition","constraints":[{"type":"row_has","obj":"stool"}]},{"id":"B","name":"Bernard","gender":"M","role":"expedition","color":"#2e7d32","avatar":{"bg":"#5d4037","skin":"#f1c8a5","hair":"#8a5a2b","style":"short","shirt":"#c9b78a","mustache":true,"mustacheColor":"#8a5a2b"},"clue":"He was not with Ezzat.","job":"the archaeologist","avatarSvg":"","solverRole":"expedition","constraints":[{"type":"not_with","q":"E"}]},{"id":"C","name":"Clementine","gender":"F","role":"expedition","color":"#1565c0","avatar":{"bg":"#6e2c4b","skin":"#f3d3b5","hair":"#1c1a1a","style":"bob","shirt":"#f4efe6","headband":"#c0392b"},"clue":"She was in the Finds Tent.","job":"the photographer","avatarSvg":"","solverRole":"expedition","constraints":[{"type":"area","areas":["Finds Tent"]}]},{"id":"D","name":"Douglas","gender":"M","role":"expedition","color":"#6a1b9a","avatar":{"bg":"#2f4858","skin":"#e7b98f","hair":"#b7482c","style":"slick","shirt":"#8b7a5a","beard":true},"clue":"An amphora was somewhere in his row.","job":"the surveyor","avatarSvg":"","solverRole":"expedition","constraints":[{"type":"row_has","obj":"amphora"}]},{"id":"E","name":"Ezzat","gender":"M","role":"local","color":"#e65100","avatar":{"bg":"#8b5a2b","skin":"#b97a50","hair":"#1c1a1a","style":"short","shirt":"#f4efe6","turban":"#f4efe6","mustache":true,"mustacheColor":"#1c1a1a"},"clue":"Somebody in his area was beside the wheelbarrow.","job":"the foreman","avatarSvg":"","solverRole":"local","constraints":[{"type":"with_beside","obj":"wheelbarrow"}]},{"id":"F","name":"Farida","gender":"F","role":"local","color":"#00838f","avatar":{"bg":"#00695c","skin":"#c68a5e","hair":"#1c1a1a","style":"long","shirt":"#2a6f6f","scarf":"#e0b050","earrings":true},"clue":"She was beside a tent.","job":"the interpreter","avatarSvg":"","solverRole":"local","constraints":[{"type":"beside","obj":"tent"}]},{"id":"G","name":"Gamal","gender":"M","role":"local","color":"#ad1457","avatar":{"bg":"#1b2a33","skin":"#b97a50","hair":"#1c1a1a","style":"slick","shirt":"#2f3b4c","beard":true,"glasses":true},"clue":"He was beside the date palm. He was alone with somebody sitting on a camel.","job":"the antiquities inspector","avatarSvg":"","solverRole":"local","constraints":[{"type":"beside","obj":"palm"},{"type":"alone_with_on","obj":"camel"}]},{"id":"V","name":"Venetia","gender":"F","role":"victim","color":"#1b1b1b","avatar":{"bg":"#5a2a2a","skin":"#f6d8c0","hair":"#d9d4cc","style":"bun","shirt":"#5b2c6f","necklace":true,"earrings":true},"clue":"The victim. She was found in the Burial Chamber, beside the sarcophagus – alone with the murderer.","job":"the patron of the expedition","avatarSvg":"","solverRole":"expedition","constraints":[{"type":"area","areas":["Burial Chamber"]},{"type":"beside","obj":"sarcophagus"}]}],"victim":"V","murderer":"B","solution":{"B":[1,8],"A":[2,3],"E":[3,5],"V":[4,7],"D":[5,4],"F":[6,1],"C":[7,6],"G":[8,2]},"walkthrough":[{"place":["F","G"],"cand":{"A":[[2,3],[2,4],[2,6],[2,7],[2,8],[7,5],[7,6],[7,8]],"B":[[1,4],[1,6],[1,8],[2,3],[2,4],[2,6],[2,7],[2,8],[3,3],[3,4],[3,5],[3,6],[3,8],[4,3],[4,5],[4,6],[4,7],[4,8],[5,3],[5,4],[5,5],[5,6],[5,8],[7,5],[7,6],[7,8]],"C":[[7,6],[7,8]],"D":[[1,4],[1,6],[1,8],[5,3],[5,4],[5,5],[5,6],[5,8]],"E":[[1,4],[1,6],[1,8],[2,3],[2,4],[2,6],[2,7],[2,8],[3,3],[3,4],[3,5],[3,6],[3,8],[4,3],[4,5],[4,6],[4,7],[4,8],[5,3],[5,4],[5,5],[5,6],[5,8],[7,5],[7,6],[7,8]],"V":[[2,7],[3,6],[3,8],[4,7]]},"text":"Venetia was found in the Burial Chamber, beside the sarcophagus (R3C7): R2C7, R3C6, R3C8 or R4C7 – and the murderer was alone with her, so the Burial Chamber holds exactly two people. Gamal was beside the date palm (R8C1): R7C1 or R8C2, both in the Camp. He was alone with somebody sitting on a camel, so the Camp holds exactly two people as well: Gamal and a camel rider. Farida was beside a tent; both tents (R5C1 and R7C2) are in the Camp, and “beside” means in the same area – she is in the Camp, so she is the camel rider. The camels are at R6C1 and R6C3: R6C3 touches neither tent, R6C1 lies right below the tent at R5C1. Farida is at R6C1. R7C1 is in her column, so Gamal is at R8C2. Rows 6 and 8 and columns 1 and 2 are taken, and nobody else is in the Camp."},{"place":["D"],"cand":{"A":[[2,3],[2,6],[2,7],[2,8],[7,5],[7,6],[7,8]],"B":[[1,8],[2,3],[2,7],[2,8],[3,6],[3,8],[4,6],[4,7],[4,8],[7,6],[7,8]],"C":[[7,6],[7,8]],"E":[[1,6],[2,6],[3,3],[3,5],[4,3],[4,5],[7,5]],"V":[[2,7],[3,6],[3,8],[4,7]]},"text":"Ezzat said that somebody in his area was beside the wheelbarrow (R4C4). The four squares around it – R3C4, R4C3, R4C5 and R5C4 – all lie in the Excavation Pit, so Ezzat is in the Pit and another person is on one of these four squares. Who? Farida and Gamal are in the Camp, Clementine was in the Finds Tent, Venetia in the Burial Chamber. Bernard was not with Ezzat, so he is nowhere in the Pit. Agatha had a folding stool in her row: the folding stools are at R2C2, R7C8 and R8C5, so she is in row 2, 7 or 8, while the four squares lie in rows 3, 4 and 5. Only Douglas is left. An amphora was in his row: the amphorae are at R1C7 and R5C7, so he is in row 1 or row 5, and of the four squares only R5C4 fits. Douglas is at R5C4. Row 5 and column 4 are his."},{"place":["A","E"],"cand":{"B":[[1,8],[4,7]],"C":[[7,6],[7,8]],"V":[[4,7]]},"text":"Clementine was in the Finds Tent: R6C8 is in Farida’s row and R8C7 in Gamal’s, so she is at R7C6 or R7C8 – row 7 is hers. Agatha (row 2, 7 or 8) is therefore in row 2. Look at column 5: R1C5 holds a stone pillar and R2C5 the ladder, rows 5, 6 and 8 are taken and row 7 is Clementine’s, so the person in column 5 is at R3C5 or R4C5, in the Excavation Pit. Bernard is nowhere in the Pit, Agatha is in row 2, Clementine and Venetia are in other areas: it is Ezzat. Now column 3: rows 5, 6 and 8 are taken, R1C3 holds a stone pillar, R7C3 lies in the Camp, and R3C3 and R4C3 are squares of the Pit in rows 3 and 4, where only Ezzat could be – but he is in column 5. Only R2C3 is left, and row 2 is Agatha’s: Agatha is at R2C3, in the Ruins. Column 7: R1C7 and R5C7 hold amphorae, R3C7 the sarcophagus and R7C7 a table, and R2C7, R6C7 and R8C7 lie in the rows of Agatha, Farida and Gamal. The only free square is R4C7, so somebody is there and row 4 is taken: Ezzat is at R3C5."},{"place":["V","B","C"],"cand":{},"text":"Venetia cannot be at R2C7 (Agatha’s row) or at R3C6 or R3C8 (Ezzat’s row): Venetia is at R4C7. Who was alone with her in the Burial Chamber? Farida and Gamal are in the Camp, Douglas and Ezzat in the Excavation Pit, Agatha is in the Ruins and Clementine in the Finds Tent – so the only person who can be alone with Venetia in the Burial Chamber is Bernard. Only rows 1 and 7 and columns 6 and 8 are still free: R1C6 lies in the Pit, R7C6 and R7C8 in the Finds Tent, so Bernard is at R1C8. Column 8 is his, so Clementine is at R7C6. Everyone is placed."},{"final":true,"text":"Case closed: Venetia was alone in the Burial Chamber with the archaeologist of the expedition. Bernard is the murderer!"}],"solver":{"rules":[],"occupiable":["camel","stool"]},"verification":{"tool":"tools/murdoku_solver.py","unique":true,"guessFree":true,"checked":"2026-09-29"}}