diff --git a/crates/uv-cache/src/lib.rs b/crates/uv-cache/src/lib.rs
index 4049d3f4b4f9b..202aab7cdbd9b 100644
--- a/crates/uv-cache/src/lib.rs
+++ b/crates/uv-cache/src/lib.rs
@@ -792,17 +792,19 @@ impl CacheBucket {
     fn to_str(self) -> &'static str {
         match self {
             // Note that when bumping this, you'll also need to bump it
-            // in crates/uv/tests/cache_prune.rs.
+            // in `crates/uv/tests/it/cache_prune.rs`.
             Self::SourceDistributions => "sdists-v7",
             Self::FlatIndex => "flat-index-v2",
             Self::Git => "git-v0",
             Self::Interpreter => "interpreter-v4",
             // Note that when bumping this, you'll also need to bump it
-            // in crates/uv/tests/cache_clean.rs.
+            // in `crates/uv/tests/it/cache_clean.rs`.
             Self::Simple => "simple-v15",
             // Note that when bumping this, you'll also need to bump it
-            // in crates/uv/tests/cache_prune.rs.
-            Self::Wheels => "wheels-v3",
+            // in `crates/uv/tests/it/cache_prune.rs`.
+            Self::Wheels => "wheels-v4",
+            // Note that when bumping this, you'll also need to bump it
+            // in `crates/uv-distribution/src/archive.rs`.
             Self::Archive => "archive-v0",
             Self::Builds => "builds-v0",
             Self::Environments => "environments-v1",
diff --git a/crates/uv-distribution/src/archive.rs b/crates/uv-distribution/src/archive.rs
index cde4b220497fb..591699de75c5d 100644
--- a/crates/uv-distribution/src/archive.rs
+++ b/crates/uv-distribution/src/archive.rs
@@ -2,6 +2,11 @@ use uv_cache::{ArchiveId, Cache};
 use uv_distribution_types::Hashed;
 use uv_pypi_types::HashDigest;
 
+/// The version of the archive bucket.
+///
+/// Must be kept in-sync with the version in [`uv_cache::CacheBucket::to_str`].
+const ARCHIVE_VERSION: u8 = 0;
+
 /// An archive (unzipped wheel) that exists in the local cache.
 #[derive(Debug, Clone, serde::Serialize, serde::Deserialize)]
 pub struct Archive {
@@ -9,17 +14,23 @@ pub struct Archive {
     pub id: ArchiveId,
     /// The computed hashes of the archive.
     pub hashes: Vec<HashDigest>,
+    /// The version of the archive bucket.
+    pub version: u8,
 }
 
 impl Archive {
     /// Create a new [`Archive`] with the given ID and hashes.
     pub(crate) fn new(id: ArchiveId, hashes: Vec<HashDigest>) -> Self {
-        Self { id, hashes }
+        Self {
+            id,
+            hashes,
+            version: ARCHIVE_VERSION,
+        }
     }
 
     /// Returns `true` if the archive exists in the cache.
     pub(crate) fn exists(&self, cache: &Cache) -> bool {
-        cache.archive(&self.id).exists()
+        self.version == ARCHIVE_VERSION && cache.archive(&self.id).exists()
     }
 }
 
diff --git a/crates/uv-distribution/src/index/cached_wheel.rs b/crates/uv-distribution/src/index/cached_wheel.rs
index c8186ce6f3211..fbe4186825901 100644
--- a/crates/uv-distribution/src/index/cached_wheel.rs
+++ b/crates/uv-distribution/src/index/cached_wheel.rs
@@ -127,7 +127,14 @@ impl CachedWheel {
         // Read the pointer.
         let pointer = HttpArchivePointer::read_from(path).ok()??;
         let cache_info = pointer.to_cache_info();
-        let Archive { id, hashes } = pointer.into_archive();
+        let archive = pointer.into_archive();
+
+        // Ignore stale pointers.
+        if !archive.exists(cache) {
+            return None;
+        }
+
+        let Archive { id, hashes, .. } = archive;
 
         let entry = cache.entry(CacheBucket::Archive, "", id);
 
@@ -151,7 +158,14 @@ impl CachedWheel {
         // Read the pointer.
         let pointer = LocalArchivePointer::read_from(path).ok()??;
         let cache_info = pointer.to_cache_info();
-        let Archive { id, hashes } = pointer.into_archive();
+        let archive = pointer.into_archive();
+
+        // Ignore stale pointers.
+        if !archive.exists(cache) {
+            return None;
+        }
+
+        let Archive { id, hashes, .. } = archive;
 
         // Convert to a cached wheel.
         let entry = cache.entry(CacheBucket::Archive, "", id);
diff --git a/crates/uv/tests/it/cache_prune.rs b/crates/uv/tests/it/cache_prune.rs
index 4cf8642eca523..9dc75294a108e 100644
--- a/crates/uv/tests/it/cache_prune.rs
+++ b/crates/uv/tests/it/cache_prune.rs
@@ -158,7 +158,7 @@ fn prune_stale_symlink() -> Result<()> {
         .success();
 
     // Remove the wheels directory, causing the symlink to become stale.
-    let wheels = context.cache_dir.child("wheels-v3");
+    let wheels = context.cache_dir.child("wheels-v4");
     fs_err::remove_dir_all(wheels)?;
 
     let filters: Vec<_> = context