The idea of historical tombs being riddled with traps and risks is one which has been popularized by films, video video games, and different types of popular culture, however it begs the query: did they actually exist?
While the concept of rolling boulders, capturing darts, and toxic snakes could also be extra fiction than truth, some historical civilizations did go to nice lengths to guard the tombs of their rulers. For instance, the tombs of the Pharaohs in historical Egypt have been typically designed with hidden doorways, false partitions, decoy rooms, and labyrinthine corridors to confuse and deter would-be robbers. Many different cultures, together with the Maya and the Inca, additionally employed varied strategies of tomb safety, together with filling a treasured tomb with poisonous powder!
In addition to those bodily traps, some tombs have been additionally protected by spells and curses . The historical Egyptians believed within the energy of magic and the afterlife, and as such, many tombs contained inscriptions and spells designed to guard the useless and their treasures.
Top picture: A false door at Angkor Banteay Srey temple in Cambodia. Source: TMAX / Adobe Stock
By Joanna Gillan
