# Booby-trapped tombs **URL:** \ **Category:** Cecil's Columns/Staff Reports\ **Created:** [June 6, 2018, 9:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/booby-trapped-tombs/815571 "2018-06-06T21:10:24Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![smithsb](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smithsb/32/12107_2.png) [@smithsb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/smithsb)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2018, 9:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/booby-trapped-tombs/815571/1 "2018-06-06T21:10:24Z")
Regarding booby-trapped tombs - [Were ancient tombs really booby-trapped? - The Straight Dope](https://www.straightdope.com/columns/read/2217/were-ancient-tombs-really-booby-trapped/) Giant stones, poison arrows, crushing walls (even in Star Wars) - nah. Snakes, why did it have to be snakes. > **[Why Did It Have to Be Snakes? - TV Tropes](https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/WhyDidItHaveToBeSnakes)** > > A seemingly invulnerable character reveals that they are deathly afraid of X... therefore, X is certainly going to be a recurring obstacle, no matter how unlikely. The Trope Namer is a line in Raiders of the Lost Ark, reminding us that Indiana … [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/ClwIj3x24Q4/hqdefault.jpg "Indianna Jones: Why Did It Have to Be Snakes?") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ClwIj3x24Q4) ---
**Author:** ![Melbourne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b5e925/32.png) [@Melbourne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Melbourne)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2018, 11:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/booby-trapped-tombs/815571/2 "2018-06-06T23:13:03Z")
But where did Carl Barks get the idea? You can’t believe he just made it up? They’re out there hiding somewhere… ---
**Author:** ![dropzone](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dropzone/32/7515_2.png) [@dropzone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dropzone)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2018, 12:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/booby-trapped-tombs/815571/3 "2018-06-07T00:12:23Z")
[quote=“smithsb, post:1, topic:815571”] Regarding booby-trapped tombs - [https://www.straightdope.com/columns/read/2217/were-ancient-tombs-really-booby-trapped/I](https://www.straightdope.com/columns/read/2217/were-ancient-tombs-really-booby-trapped/I) assume the knowledge of your betters. 😉 > [@](#): > > Giant stones, poison arrows, crushing walls (even in Star Wars) - nah. Snakes, why did it have to be snakes. (Thank you, Jesus!) It’s been how long? No, snakes require environments that only require other snakes as prey, though bologna sandwiches, rodents that haven’t yet entered my home (their chances are nil, no matter how full The Little Girls may claim), and those that were lollygagging in my back ground this afternoon. I’m a good neighbor and they would be ashamed to leave anything in the backyard for The Girls." But yeah. He dug a blind for Lady and Corndog because, though they couldn’t reach him, but yeah? My Lady, Corndog was the idiot who untimately made the kills, though Lady was forced, by her birth, to force others unto where they died. ---
**Author:** ![JKellyMap](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jkellymap/32/15880_2.png) [@JKellyMap](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JKellyMap)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2018, 12:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/booby-trapped-tombs/815571/4 "2018-06-07T00:23:11Z")
The article links to Central/Mesoamerican archeologist John Hoopes. I was a student of his ten years ago, and we’ve kept in touch — shared a plane ride three weeks ago (by chance) to Costa Rica, where he was meeting with other archaeologists to explore trade links up and down the Precolumbian Pacific coast. Anyway, a great guy, and that link to his FAQ about those Costa Rican stone spheres is clear, concise, and complete…its style reminds me of a certain C. Adams’. ---
**Author:** ![dropzone](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dropzone/32/7515_2.png) [@dropzone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dropzone)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2018, 12:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/booby-trapped-tombs/815571/5 "2018-06-07T00:26:38Z")
> [@Melbourne](#): > > But where did Carl Barks get the idea? You can’t believe he just made it up? > > They’re out there hiding somewhere… That suggestion was made ages ago, and was dismissed at the same time. I tried to build my resplonse around that of a sentient duck. ---
**Author:** ![burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/burpo_the_wonder_mutt/32/365_2.png) [@burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/burpo_the_wonder_mutt)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2018, 12:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/booby-trapped-tombs/815571/6 "2018-06-07T00:57:41Z")
Hey, **dropzone** : That was an informative and entertaining response; I really enjoyed it. Nice work. Now, about those cookies… . ---
**Author:** ![watchwolf49](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/e9c0ed/32.png) [@watchwolf49](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/watchwolf49)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2018, 3:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/booby-trapped-tombs/815571/7 "2018-06-07T03:11:12Z")
My question is if an archeologist _did_ find an effective booby-trap … how would we know? … ---
**Author:** ![John\_W.Kennedy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_w.kennedy/32/1031_2.png) [@John\_W.Kennedy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_W.Kennedy)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2018, 3:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/booby-trapped-tombs/815571/8 "2018-06-07T03:14:50Z")
I seem to remember that some culture or other had self-closing doors, but as a stage effect, not a trap. ---
**Author:** ![Dr.Strangelove](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dr.strangelove/32/6613_2.png) [@Dr.Strangelove](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr.Strangelove)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2018, 4:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/booby-trapped-tombs/815571/9 "2018-06-07T04:20:54Z")
Are you speaking of [Hero of Alexandria](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hero_of_Alexandria)’s self-opening temple doors? ---
**Author:** ![John\_W.Kennedy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_w.kennedy/32/1031_2.png) [@John\_W.Kennedy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_W.Kennedy)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2018, 1:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/booby-trapped-tombs/815571/10 "2018-06-08T01:42:24Z")
> [@Dr.Strangelove](#): > > Are you speaking of [Hero of Alexandria](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hero_of_Alexandria)’s self-opening temple doors? I think so, though it’s been closer to 60 years than 50 since I learned about those doors. I was actually thinking, vaguely, that it was Heron, but wasn’t quite certain. ---
**Author:** ![ftg](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ftg/32/2801_2.png) [@ftg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ftg)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2018, 12:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/booby-trapped-tombs/815571/11 "2018-06-08T12:00:24Z")
> [@watchwolf49](#): > > My question is if an archeologist _did_ find an effective booby-trap … how would we know? … Because the second archaeologist would tell us. This is the problem with booby traps. They only work once. In the ancient world life was cheap. So you killed the first tomb raider. What about the next one? How many long lasting traps can you put in there? And after the first the next ones are going to be a bit more careful. Do like [Alaric](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alaric_I#Death_and_funeral) or [Genghis Kahn](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tomb_of_Genghis_Khan). Hide the burial place. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2018, 12:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/booby-trapped-tombs/815571/12 "2018-06-08T12:04:45Z")
You could make a trap door over a pit, with a counterweight sufficient to re-close the door but not sufficient to support a person’s weight. And I suppose that you could rig up water power to reset other traps somehow. But yeah, realistically, most traps are going to be fire-once. ---
**Author:** ![Jasmine](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jasmine/32/2964_2.png) [@Jasmine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jasmine)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2018, 12:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/booby-trapped-tombs/815571/13 "2018-06-08T12:09:14Z")
Deadly tombs rock! If I ever built a tomb to house my mortal remains, it most definitely would be bristling with traps! 🆒 ---
**Author:** ![Jackmannii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackmannii/32/311_2.png) [@Jackmannii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackmannii)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2018, 12:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/booby-trapped-tombs/815571/14 "2018-06-08T12:22:15Z")
> [@smithsb](#): > > Snakes, why did it have to be snakes. [It’s gotta be snakes.](https://www.ranker.com/list/snake-massages/anna-lindwasser) ---
**Author:** ![Jasmine](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jasmine/32/2964_2.png) [@Jasmine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jasmine)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2018, 12:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/booby-trapped-tombs/815571/15 "2018-06-08T12:40:08Z")
> [@Jackmannii](#): > > [It’s gotta be snakes.](https://www.ranker.com/list/snake-massages/anna-lindwasser) Um … traps consisting of snakes, scorpions, giant beetles, etc, are definitely cool, but how do they stay alive in a sealed tomb for years without a food supply of some kind? I always marveled when Indiana Jones would break into a tomb that had been sealed for 3,000 years, and a horde of robust, adult beetles would charge out of the walls at him. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Powers](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/edb3f5/32.png) [@Powers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Powers)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2018, 2:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/booby-trapped-tombs/815571/16 "2018-06-08T14:30:40Z")
> [@Jasmine](#): > > a tomb that had been sealed for 3,000 years “Sealed” to human entry, not hermetically sealed. Powers &8^] ---
**Author:** ![Melbourne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b5e925/32.png) [@Melbourne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Melbourne)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2018, 12:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/booby-trapped-tombs/815571/17 "2018-06-12T00:14:08Z")
> [@ftg](#): > > This is the problem with booby traps. They only work once. Oh I dunno. “With 2 of these, I can get as many of those as I want” 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![kaylasdad99](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kaylasdad99/32/3398_2.png) [@kaylasdad99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kaylasdad99)\ **Post date:** [June 20, 2018, 2:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/booby-trapped-tombs/815571/18 "2018-06-20T14:55:38Z")
> [@dropzone](#): > > No, snakes require environments that only require other snakes as prey, though bologna sandwiches, rodents that haven’t yet entered my home (their chances are nil, no matter how full The Little Girls may claim), and those that were lollygagging in my back ground this afternoon. I’m a good neighbor and they would be ashamed to leave anything in the backyard for The Girls." But yeah. He dug a blind for Lady and Corndog because, though they couldn’t reach him, but yeah? > > My Lady, Corndog was the idiot who untimately made the kills, though Lady was forced, by her birth, to force others unto where they died. Huh. Strange thing for MesoAmerican hieroglyphics to say. Say, are you SURE you’re a qualified archaeologist? Let me see your credentials again, “Professor” **dropzone** , IF that’s your real name… (And why would anyone have business cards printed up with scare quotes around their professional title?) ---
**Author:** ![dropzone](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dropzone/32/7515_2.png) [@dropzone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dropzone)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2018, 3:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/booby-trapped-tombs/815571/19 "2018-06-21T15:15:27Z")
> [@watchwolf49](#): > > My question is if an archeologist _did_ find an effective booby-trap … how would we know? … > [@Jasmine](#): > > Deadly tombs rock! If I ever built a tomb to house my mortal remains, it most definitely would be bristling with traps! 🆒 Duh! I’m Indiana Jones, FFS. > [@kaylasdad99](#): > > Huh. Strange thing for MesoAmerican hieroglyphics to say. > > Say, are you SURE you’re a qualified archaeologist? Let me see your credentials again, “Professor” **dropzone** , IF that’s your real name… > > (And why would anyone have business cards printed up with scare quotes around their professional title?) Scare quotes are required, since I’m scary. ---
**Author:** ![Ignotus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/ecc23a/32.png) [@Ignotus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ignotus)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2018, 12:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/booby-trapped-tombs/815571/20 "2018-06-22T00:01:14Z")
> [@smithsb](#): > > Snakes, why did it have to be snakes. Well, snakes (or some derivatives thereof, like the even more fearsome dragon!) do have a long-standing reputation as guardians of hidden treasure, with or without associated burials. I guess this is not totally unexpected: many snakes really do like to hide in burrows. Kipling’s story _The King’s Ankus_ (in which the treasure chamber isn’t really a tomb, at least not originally!) may have been a further source of inspiration for later writers.