As I was thinking about how fun it would be to have a job where you solve puzzles in the world, it struct me that media never depicts archeology in a real light. My short search seemed to confirm my thoughts. Most ancient sites are not guarded by elaborate traps or secret riddles to get in. From what I’ve found there were some crossbows here and there. Some rare hidden rooms with a lot treasure, but again, no traps.
That we know of.
Eh, the terracotta emporer from China almost definitely has booby traps that are likely still functional after 2,000.
We don’t know, because the absolutely insane amount of open mercury in the tomb would have filled it with toxic gases, although it’s likely that wasn’t the intent.
But yeah, most “ancient” tombs were pillaged centuries ago. What little happens now is entirely black market and people probably die all the time.
I know Kim Kardashian took a booty selfie with a sarcophagus at the MET Gala a couple years ago, and one of the illegal tomb raiders recognized it. And because he never got his cut, he snitched to local authorities. So it still happens, we just don’t hear about the vast amount. Just the very careful government sanctioned ones.
I’m surprised there hasn’t been a modern day person that buried their fortune with them under puzzles and traps.
That’s what shell companies are for. Legally burry who owns the assets
Would that make lawyers modern day archeologists?
No, forensic lawyers and accountants who unpick it would be the archaeologists.
Probably meant forensic accountants. Tracking the people that we are least know to have plundered these places.
The reason we don’t have more mummies is that the aristocracy back in waiting w were literally eating them.
There was one! Look up Forrest Fenn - the podcast Cautionary Tales has a double feature about it (S6E44-45). True riddles, and treasure hunts, and some deaths despite no traps being set.
I’ll have to take a look.
Tbf there’s that one tv show about that one island in canada or something that had buried treasure and a bunch of traps but then it turned out the treasure had already been found and they think a freed slave found it when he bought the island back in the day or something like that.
Admittedly I’ve only seen one episode, a friend who watched it filled in the details on where it went lol.
That also reminds me of the Oak Island supposed treasure in that pit.
The ones with the traps succeeded in protecting their secrecy.