Lost Delta Archaeological Expedition

The Lost Delta Archaeological Expedition is a fictional event from Indiana Jones Adventure: Temple of the Forbidden Eye.

History[]

Background[]

In the June of 1935, famed archaeologist Indiana Jones of Marshall College located the long-lost Temple of the Forbidden Eye in the Lost Delta of India. While exploring the Temple of Sherdil in Bengal, he came upon a portion of a map to the temple. Jones' friend and frequent affiliate Sallah Mohammed Faisel el-Kahir sent Jones the missing portion of the map after his brother-in-law found it on the black-market. In 1935, Indiana Jones and Sallah discovered the Temple of the Forbidden Eye and collaborated with British Colonial Affairs and the Jungle Navigation Company to excavate the ruins via the, "Lost Delta Archaeological Expedition".

Jones had to leave the Delta to go on other adventures and left Sallah in-charge of the temple. Also in 1935, Jones' rival archaeologist René Belloq learned of the excavation by manipulating Jones' contact Prof. Kauffman at the Universitatis Sigillium. To earn additional revenue, Sallah established the company, "Sallah Tours" which lead tourists through the temple.^[1] Sallah also contacted Jones' friend and frequent affiliate Trader Sam to bring patrons of his Adventureland bar to the temple. Jones objected to the high number of tourists travelling to the temple for Mara's gifts, however British Colonial Affairs forced the expedition to continue this business for profit. One of these tours went missing within the temple, sparking global outrage.

Indiana Jones returned to the temple by 1936 and had learned of the Jewel of Power from his former mentor Abner Ravenwood. On the July 6 of 1936, Indiana Jones disappeared in the temple while seeking after the missing tourists and Jewel of Power past the Gates of Doom. In his absence, Sallah amplified the number of tours brought in as a means of getting more eyes in the temple to find Jones. One of these tours happened upon Jones after gazing into the eyes of Mara and being fated to be dragged through the Gates of Doom.

Indiana Jones forced the gates of doom shut, saving the guests. The guests then navigated the temple in their jeep while pursued by Mara's forces. Ultimately, Jones and the guests were able to escape the temple with their lives. The expedition would have ended by the July of 1936 with Jones leaving to seek out the Chachapoyan Fertility Idol and later the Ark of the Covenant. The further fate of the temple is unknown but the structure stayed standing by the year 1938.

Jungle Cruise appearances[]

Attractions[]

Adventure Trading Company[]

The, "Eye of Mara" juju was earned via assisting the Lost Delta Archaeological Expedition in deciphering maraglyphs.

Indiana Jones Adventure: Temple of the Forbidden Eye[]

The Lost Delta Archaeological Expedition is a major figure in this attraction's storyline, with guests representing tourists brought in by Sallah to go on tours of the temple.

Jungle Cruise[]

There are assorted references to the expedition in the queue for Disneyland's version of the attraction. Nigel Greenwater mentioned Marcus Brody giving a lecture to the Royal Anthropological Society on how the Temple of the Forbidden Eye might be the greatest anthropological discovery of the century.

Trader Sam's Enchanted Tiki Bar[]

Trader Sam has a map of the Temple of the Forbidden Eye, sent to him by Sallah. The message accompanying has Sallah asking Sam to bring patrons of his bar to the temple and assist their tourism trade. There is also a photograph of Sam outside the Temple of the Forbidden Eye and a tag for, "Sallah Tours" .^[2]

Tropical Imports[]

There is a crate atop Tropical Imports addressed to Delhi, India coming from the Lost Delta, which being sent by Indiana Jones to British Colonial Affairs.^[3]

Printed materials[]

Skipper Survival Guide[]

This since-retconned Jungle Cruise book identified the Jungle Navigation Company as assisting Jones' expedition.

Other appearances[]

Jock Lindsey's Hangar Bar[]

A map of the temple appears in the lost & found of this bar. On a map in the bar is the Eye of Mara overtop of a region of India, implying Jock visited the Delta, possibly on the expedition.^[4]

Trivia[]

Greenwater brings up Brody speaking with the Royal Anthropological Society which has a name strikingly similar to the Royal Anthropological and Diverse Adventures Society from the Jungle Cruise film.
The expedition's logo was the Eye of Providence, a symbol affiliated with conspiracy-theories, religion and the freemasons.
One of the crates in the offices of the Temple of the Forbidden Eye was addressed to Club Obi Wan, the Shanghai nightclub of Indy's gangster enemy Lao Che from the film Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom.^[5]
- In the film, the club's name is a reference to the Star Wars character Obi Wan Kenobi.
A sign with Eeyore from Winnie the Pooh is located on excavation scaffolding in the Temple of the Forbidden Eye. This is tribute to the Eeyore parking section of Disneyland that preceded the ride's space.^[6]
There is a minor discrepancy in continuity between the Indiana Jones: Ultimate Guide and Indiana Jones Adventure as in the encyclopedia it states Indy happened upon the temple by chance directly after leaving the Pankot Palace following the events of Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom while in the ride, messages reveal he located it via a black-market map. There is a further discrepancy with Indiana Jones stating he doesn't believe in the supernatural in Raiders of the Lost Ark (set after the ride) though this continuity error is shared with countless Indiana Jones materials, including Temple of Doom.
A map added to Disneyland's Jungle Cruise in a 2021 refurbishment retcons Dr. Albert Falls into having explored the temple around 1891 on his 13 day mission to map the, "Jungle Rivers of Adventureland". Falls is identified as having applied for university funding to apparently no avail in an exploration of the temple roughly 44 years before it was rediscovered by Indiana Jones.