For over 200 years there have been a series of archaeological revivals in jewelry inspired by discoveries in Italy, Egypt, Greece, and the Near East. Beginning in the late 18th century with discoveries in Pompeii and continuing with Napoleonic-era finds in Egypt, there were waves of revivals as archaeologists excavated new sites. During the mid-to-late 19th century there was a major Etruscan revival and the rediscovery of how to do gold granulation.

Revivals continued into the 20th century, with the discovery of King Tut's tomb in 1922. There was even a revival of Egyptian revival in the 1970's when a major exhibit of artifacts from King Tut's tomb resulted in Tut-mania 2.0.

A lot of archaeological revival jewelry is eclectic, with scarabs hanging from Etruscan-style chains, Etruscan-style granulation and filigree embellishing otherwise-typical Victorian jewelry, and Egyptian motifs and artifacts embedded in classic Art Deco geometry. There are even some contemporary jewelry designers working in archaeological revival styles.