The goal of Galactic Archaeology is to reconstruct the lost stellar substructures of the protogalaxy, thereby obtaining a detailed physical picture of the formation and evolution of the Galaxy. Chemical and dynamical fossil stellar substructures are signposts to an array of evolutionary events, from in-falling satellites and dissolving stellar aggregates to effects of spiral arm resonances. Disentangling their relative contribution is fundamental for developing a physical sequence of events that formed the Milky Way, and other large spiral galaxies.

The GALAH survey is a Large Observing Program to commence in 2013 using the Anglo-Australian Telescope of the Australian Astronomical Observatory. It will use the new state-of-the-art HERMES instrument to obtain high resolution spectra of over a million Galactic disk stars. HERMES provides simultaneous spectra in four wavelength bands tailored to obtaining a range of chemical element lines, from light elements up to heavy neutron-capture elements. Final data products will include abundances of over 15 different chemical elements per star - making the GALAH survey the first of its kind.