Golden God

Golden God is a novel by Jeanne DuPrau published in 1981. In the novel, four American archaeologists flee Kalim when hostile rebel forces overthrow the government. When main character Dr. Selk (one of the archaeologists) finds himself deep into a tunnel while mining, he claims he found something valuable. The valuable item could be worth up to 800,000 dollars so he must decide whether to turn it in or keep it a secret from the rest of the archaeologists he was exploring with.