The Brunch Table

7/27/2006

Real-Life Tomb Traps?

Filed under: — Joe @ 9:35 pm

My random curiosity of the day, caused by this weekend’s showing of Raiders of the Lost Ark in the park: were there ever actually any cool mechanical traps in ancient tombs? Seems I’m not the only one who’s ever wondered that. As usual, The Straight Dope is also on the case. In short, no mechanical traps have ever been discovered, unless you count the water trap in the Money Pit of Oak Island. It’s too bad—I’m sure that the Long Now guys would be all over that.

  • aldrin

    are there really tomb traps?

  • aldrin

    if there are realy tomb traps, what kind of traps do they have?

  • Felicity

    Yes, for Ancient Egyptian tombs there were actual tomb traps, although there were no spiked walls closing shut or anything like that. The point was not to alert anyone it was to kill the intruder. Common traps included the Hidden Hole trap where there was a pit dug and it was covered with a false cover. When the intruder stepped on the false cover the cover collapses and in the tomb raider falls. Falling rocks were also a good way to get rid of unwanted visitors. As you can see, it’s nothing really high-tech XD.

  • Emily

    Ok this site is ok but jazz it up and tell us more about the traps!!!!!

    LOV EM

  • Anonymous

    need more info

  • Richard

    one was to design a passage so that the middle was at a much lower level than the 2 ends. In this part a little chamber was built with baskets of organic matter in it. As the organic matter decomposed it released deadly suffocating gasses that would collect in the lower middle section and kill anyone passing through the passage.

  • mjlover

    Heavy stone plugs
    Technically, these weren’t actually traps, in that they were designed not to injure anyone. But these heavy plugs would have made it very difficult to enter the tomb. There was little dynamite in those days, except what risky gun powder could be obtained from China, and the only way of getting through was to chip away at it.

    Falling Rocks
    A convenient way of getting rid of an enemy was simply to drop a heavy rock on them. For this reason heavy rocks were placed above doorways, connected to wires or ropes that could bring it tumbling down on someone’s head.

    Hidden holes
    These were holes, leading to steep pits below the tomb. They would have probably have had covers over them, about the size and shape of manhole covers, and would have been delicately balanced over the hole so that at a light step they would have fallen in.

    Powders
    The Ancient Egyptians had relatively advanced medicine, and they had certainly not neglected the art of murder in their studies of alchemy. Powders prepared by magic – men were placed in tombs and systems were rigged so that at a certain time (for example, when intruders entered the tombs) the powders, possibly with fatal powers would have been released into the air and inhaled by the intruders.

    False well – cover
    In many Egyptian tombs there were wells in one of the halls. An old favorite was to put a false cover over the well, which worked on much the same principal as the hidden Holes”.

    Head wires
    In some parts of the tomb, wires were placed at neck level. The idea was to decapitate anyone who walked into it. If placed at the right height, these wires could have been one of the most deadly and efficient traps used.
    there, you happy?

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