Do Indiana Jones Style Traps Exist? DOCUMENTARY 

What movie tropes should we explore next? Thanks Morning Brew for my daily news briefing - sign up for free here morningbrewdaily.com/invicta

I saw Raiders of the Lost Ark as a kid in grade school. When I returned to school I frequented the library and checked out a bunch of books on archeology and our librarian asked me what sparked my interest. I told her I wanted to become an archeologist when I grow up and it’s extremely dangerous work so I needed to prepare myself. She was awesome and told me I’d make a great archeologist because I looked like I was up to the challenge and looked brave, and the books I checked out would definitely help me. Our school librarian was a treasure. I ended up with a fascination about ancient culture, the Incas, Mayans, Aztecs, Egyptians, and even Greek and Roman history that still is with me today. And I have a fond memory of my school librarian that made me feel like I was gonna be like Indy some day

Sounds like there aren't enough booby trapped tombs out there so I'll contribute to it when I die by building my own. Be the change you want to see in the world.

I remember an Archeologist saying the traps themselves would be more valuable than whatever they are guarding because it is working high technology from thousands of years ago.

A warrior king, ravager of the world's greatest empire buried in secret in a triple coffin of gold, silver and iron is legit one of the coolest thing I have EVER heard in history and I am personally offended it's not been used in more fantasy stories as inspiration.

Indiana Jones is solely responsible for my career trajectory. Also, every archaeologist is afraid of snakes. You spend all your time digging holes in dense under brush - often hours from medical attention.

My favorite NPC I've ever had in D&D was the professional who had to install all this stuff. "Look. Everyone says they want the crushing-spike-walls room, I get it, they sound cool, and you heard Jorik's tomb has them and Ragvar's and a lot of other people. But they're trash. Actual trash. They're super obvious if you know what to look for, they're expensive as hell, any rogue worth his daggers got taught how to jam them up with a pole in the mechanism, and that's assuming they don't have a goddamn wizard with them...and if it ever DOES work, you gotta scrape all the sticky bits off or the whole place reeks like the Nine Hells. And I don't do scraping sticky bits duty. No sir, don't bother calling ME about it."

The mercury in the Chin Emperors tomb was not put there as a trap, rather as part of a scale map of the land he ruled built around the caisson that held his corpse. Mercury was used to represent rivers as it would not evaporate like water would, and since it was very valuable, as a sign of his wealth.

4 features of stereotypical ruins. The fourth being that they are always lit by torches.

This belongs in a museum!

Hey Invicta, could you do a documentary on camp followers in classical and medieval armies? They make up a large percentage of the army and yet are so often overlooked in history. Their contributions are worth learning about.

things that definitely wouldn’t work are things like spinning or swinging blades coming out of the walls or even pressure plates releasing something deadly. They’re sometimes shown to be reliant on wooden gears and rope to make them function. That stuff is definitely gonna rot away and deactivate the trap long before Indiana Jones encounters them. Not to mention the poison darts shooting out of a wall. Which would all rot away and the poison be neutralised. You’d need someone to maintain these booby traps even if you could get them to work.

A story from Cusco, capital of the Incas in precolombian South America. In 1990 in Cusco I befriended a nephew of the (current or former?) bishop. Visible in the cathedral floor is a blocked entrance to a vault. This my friend explained it was connected to an extensive network of natural tunnels and caves from the Incan times, including a small lake right under the cathedral. The local Church would not let anyone into this underground system, they were guarding something. My friend claimed that the church stored some texts from the time of the Spanish conquest, texts which contents would risk to disrupt the stability of the Church in Latin America should they become known to the world. Should you try and succeed to enter these tunnels the Church would make sure you wouldn't live to tell about. So let's get outside. A couple of km's away, up in the hills near the Sacsayhuaman complex, is the entrance to cave system. The entrance is now closed with concrete since decades ago. While it was open, locals were scared to enter. One day an adventurous man entered and disappeared. ...Until he surfaced again as he came up under the cathedral, completely mad and exhausted from 14 days lack of food. After that the government blocked the entrance. It was supposedly opened one time for a joint Peruvian/ Italian university expedition, incl.scholars and students. Rumours are that first, the group walking in a line through the tunnels, one student in the middle suddenly disappeared in the dark, and wasn't seen again. Not long after, a massive human worked stone block fell on top on another student. That made the expedition turn and leave. The entrance up in the mountains hasn't been opened again since then. While I don't believe most of this is just a story, small parts of it could be true. The extensive network of caves and tunnels and even linking is indeed possible, as is getting fresh air kilometres away from the entrance. In 1990 during the same voyage I visited the "Umajalanta" cave near the village of "Toro Toro" in Bolivia, the area now a national park. The cave had been explored first by a local and recently him together with prof. French cavers as far as 3,5 km's into the system. As for me, I was only accompanied by two locals without much knowledge of the cave, so we only entered a few hundred metres, about the same route as the tour the tourists get today. In 2012 I was back and befriended local guide Mario, the caver who originally (and still ongoing, they have explored over 7 kms' now) explored the cave. In 1990 I had been looking for him but he wasn't in town, now he was. He took me on a private trip, and this time it was far into the cave system, all the 3,5 km's that I had missed 22 years earlier. Down as far as we got there were footprints in the sand, Mario's footprints from 10 years earlier. Now mine are there too (if not the occacional flooding has washed them away). This modern cave story just to say for sure taht even 3,5 km's into a cave system there can be fresh air to breethe. I hope you enjoyed.

I'm an archaeologist in northern British Columbia, so speaking from my experience: - Most of the archaeological sites I find are well-off the beaten path, so it's fair to say that they're hidden. "Traps" I've encountered include 8-foot tall stalks of devil's club, giant overgrown pits left by careless forestry practices from the last century, muskeg that can swallow up your ATV, and bears. - The "treasure" I find doesn't have much monetary value - it's mostly just flakes from stone tool manufacturing. It's valuable data (eg. if you find obsidian sourced to a volcano that's 1000 km away, that tells you something about trade routes), but that's about it.

I saw these stone doors in Kaymakli and Derinkuiu... Impressive! I hope that during one of my crazy journeys I will not fall into such a trap😬

This is what we needed and didn't even ask for it. That's how great Invitica is.

My understanding is that quite many of the Egyptian royal tombs, for instance, were robbed by the people who built them, often immediately after the ceremony. Imo that's a fantastic heist movie waiting to be made.

When it comes to videogames that involve Indiana Jones styled traps, I cannot recommend La-Mulana enough. Traps can involve a falling sun relief, trapdoors leading into spikes, divine punishment, and an assortment of crushers. To progress, a grasp of mythology, metaphor, and a sense of archaeological care are necessary if you want to unravel the secrets. Seriously, a notebook and pen will be one of your best friends.

Person 1: what’s that Inca settlement up in the mountains called? Person 2: Machu Picchu! Person 1: bless you!

Lakes of mercury are more likely to be because mercury is cool as it's a liquid metal so may have been included in Aztec and Chinese tombs to represent water. Mercury in many cultures was also thought to be an alchemical secret for eternal life so could have been included as a reference to life and therefore death.

I've played Tomb Raider, so I can safely say that, yes traps like this do exist in some levels.

There was a book I read a few years ago that had an awesome take on this trope: the characters are hunting for an old map in an ancient temple, and quickly toss the idea of ancient traps since they’d obviously have corroded by now. And then they actually find the thing and realize that the descendants of the original builders are still around and have been maintaining it, which they are not happy about. And then later, while trying to get through an identical but Unmaintained version they find out that even half-broken mechanisms can stick a rusty iron spike in one’s shoulder if they aren’t careful.

I remember watching one of those Wired articles or similar where they had an archeologist review some films and one of them was Indiana Jones. She pointed out all those traps (pressure plates launching darts, the rolling boulder) still working after centuries or millennia would be more impressive than any idol or monument contained within those ruins.

I just wanna say, top tier video concept, whoever came up with it is a good RU-vidr. Instantly grabs and engages you just with the concept alone, and the traps featured in the thumbnail seal the deal.

As to the boulder traps, one of the tactics that the inca used against Spanish armies was to lure them to rough terrain (where their knights didn't have space to charge) and rolled boulders down the hillsides, so that may have echoes in guerilla raids on conquistador expeditions

They say there are hundreds of structures built by the Maya lost in the jungles. I went on a tour and didn’t realize I was walking over a pyramid until I reached the other side which was partially cleared of vegetation. So I 100% believe it.

Indiana Jones was such a treasure to find when I was a teenager. I still watch the first three from time to time. This was a very inspirational and educational video.

Someday I’m going to write a story about a secret society of handymen who are hired to do maintenance and upkeep over the centuries for the other secret societies’ death traps. After all these trap mechanisms obviously aren’t going to work for 1000 years without regular maintenance.

I saw a video of some people who were planning on renovating an abandoned missel silo. While investigating it their voices went high like inhaling helium. That was a bad sign and a warning that they needed to get out of there fast. The accumulation of trapped gasses after a number of years. That's kind of like a trap in a underground complex.

I wanted to be Indiana Jones so bad as a kid. When I found out Archaeology is not like Indy’ adventures I told myself ill just make it like that somehow! I still believe it. Their is so much to find still especially in Mexico its like the Egypt of the americas.

On the 1st trope there is a small village in Western Europe that hides a very strange underground complex that has amazed researchers for a long time. 6 to 7 levels deep with living areas, stables, stables, workshops for various types of crafts (including forges). Clues suggest that the drilling of this complex spanned several centuries (~5th to ~12th). The fact that the village is on a limestone plain, far from any castle to be able to protect themselves from an outside attack, led the researchers to imagine that it would be the villagers who, after having suffered several devastating attacks, created this spectacular complex. . It must be understood as an emergency system. in case of threat of invasion the villagers take refuge underground with their animals for a few weeks

So what your saying is: D&D is fake? My dungeon master has been lying to me all these years! 😭

I'm just glad you folks remember -Han Solo as an archaeologist- good old Indiana Jones in this day and age where most folks probably only heard of Lara Croft and/or Nathan Drake.

I would guess that unintentional traps are more common, a rotting support beam that only stands because it hasn’t been touched, a floor over a basement ceiling that no longer is fit to hold much weight, or simply a buildup of radon in an airtight room made of the wrong type of rock.

I grew up loving The Goonies! Kinda considered myself one in a way, always trying to find an adventure in the woods or hard to reach places. But of course we never found any pirate ships 🤣

There has absolutely been a plethora of battle, hunting and territorial-defensive (is that a term 🤔) traps throughout history. But looking at the movies like Indiana Jones, it's pretty clear that most of them have been presented with a pretty hefty dose of artistic licence. Either entirely created (like the rolling stone trap) or greatly embellished. Which is fine. They're movies. I try not to let historical inaccuracies and just plain impossibilities ruin movies these days...it's hard but I try...

So, what most of these tropes boil down to seems to be "Egypt do be coo tho" Which, honestly, that's fair.

The location has to be hidden for any story to work, regardless if it's a real location or a fictional one. If people know about it, it will either get repurposed, torn apart for materials, and or completely looted for anything of value as soon as the original inhabitants abandon it or are killed off. You can only find something of value if nobody else has found it already.

The reason I give a like to this video: It's about legendary Indiana Jones.

Learning history IS fun. Great video TY!

The rivers of mercury of the Quin tomb were not meant to be toxic, but cool-looking without evaporating like miniature water rivers would have done. Interestingly, the finding of mercury in the soil (strong hint that the tales about mercury rivers might likely be true) is what made the archeologist lend credibility to when the same source talked about automatic crossbows - just in case.

Ryan George of Pitch Meetings has a very funny video on how impractical it was to have traps in a secret tombs.

Ducktales clearly proves that trapped tombs with riches exist

This is the exact content the internet was made for. ❤

Indiana Jones is the closest thing to a father I've ever had

Insects and other bacteria that humans have not been exposed to in hundreds of years can cause serious damage to the explorers when disturbed

You have to wonder with the hidden graves of Atilla if they respected his wishes or those in charge just stole everything and the hidden grave made a great cover story.

Big thing is that complex mechanisms tend to get gummed up over time with dust and insects and rodents. So any traps need to be either dead simple, or get ongoing maintenance. And dead simple traps tend to not automatically reset. So it's always a question of cost vs. benefit.

9:54 "What else do you find in these tombs, but waves and waves of draugr..."

Also, a real archaeologist would be more interested in the traps than in the gold.

The thing that gets me about the Hollywood traps is how they reset themselves. I mean I can go along with some ancient gravity driven mechanism still functioning after thousands of years, but how does it reverse its self?

First video of yours I've seen. Can't wait to explore your other stuff.

The art in this video is so beautiful. Most especially the watercolor (?) landscapes.

The closest thing thing to booby traps is mummy curses like to he supposed curse on king Tut's tomb but who to know if there are booby traps in temples or ruins if there are any they most likely don't work anymore!

This is a virtual museum full of fortune and glory.

I love the idea that in a lot of old mythology that to become a great warrior you go get the sward of the one who came before you from their grave, but so immortally awesome are these warriors that they defend their weapons in the afterlife, so you'll have to best the ghost and truly earn the weapon to be worthy even to START on your hero journey. I think anyone whose spent their life trying to be good at something can relate to wanting someone pursue them after their death and EARN access to your legacy this way.

I think that's was where we got the idea of labyrinths from. Just make a big complex and hide the treasure in one little corner.

I image some rudimentary traps, like why need a door. Think about it if you wanted a place to hide something first thing you would do is in toub the whole thing so there's no entrance at all

I'd say the fourth trope is an elaborate puzzle or mechanism. Often they are linked to traps, but many times it is just the means of opening chambers or giving clues to how to proceed.

The boulder trap may be an offshoot of the log trap, where a stack of logs is rolled down a ramp. My guess is that the printing press has a lot to do with it. Once book publishing became popular, writers had to imagine all sorts of things. Robinson Crusoe & Swiss Family Robinson were written around 1800. Then came the gamers of the 20th century, with Gygax starting a RPG resonance based on Tolkien's works.

Thank you for going full nerd on this issue. We salute you!

I like to imagine that in-between the 4 Indiana Jones films, Indy is actually meticulously combing over pottery shards at a dig site in Anatolia or doing something mundane at the university, and the adventures where he races against Nazis to find mythological treasures are more of a one-off ordeal

Pirates: Spend my treasure, or bury it. Hmmm...

My favorite example of a hidden ruin has to be the great pyramid of Cholula. Largest pyramid in the world (in terms of volume, not height) and if I recall correctly, for the longest time, it was hidden in plain sight, since it was covered in grass and was mistaken for a large hill.

Regarding the rolling boulders: smaller boulders were actually used by the Andean peoples as defensive measures against sieges for their mountain fortresses. This might have been a source of inspiration for the "rolling boulder trap" trope.

Awesome video! We subbed in the first minute 👍🏻👍🏻

You forgot the ever mysterious, elusive torch and candle lighters.

I imagine that many of these places might have once have included traps, but that many of those who haven't been destroyed by time might have been triggered by prior thieves.

Concerning the pathways and cellars under the cities: Try Znojno (Znaym) or Jihlava in the Czech Republic - those are kilometres long.

On point one, my thinking is rather straight forward: If they're NOT hidden, they've been looted by other "advendturers". So your best bet finding treasure would be to find a site no one else has found.

I remember the tale of opening an Egyptian tomb and being poisoned to deletion. I tried looking it up and can't find a specific event, but it is still plausible. Even if it's not an intentional trap; if they are in a contained area and bacteria has eaten the oxygen on the other side of a wall they break, they could be flooded/displaced with a heavier gas and asphyxiate in about 1 min.

I read the rivers of mercury were no intentional traps but decorative.

A small addition to the list could be the grave boobytraps of 1700-1800's with explosives of guns built into coffins and tombs to deter body snatchers and grave robbers.

What's an interesting example of more modern booby traps would be during the Black Death. You had so many grave robbers they actually sold special caskets that were designed to shoot grave robbers

Could you share links to where you found the maps and 3D images of those complexes? Good source for dungeon design as a GM in an RPG.

Fantastic video keep it up your doing amazing job

I’ve read that it was a tradition among the Norse peoples that before a man got married, he had to break into his father/grandfather’s tomb, take his sword, and present it to his bride, who would present him with a new sword in return.

Nice vid! And the artwork is AMAZING!!!

Your graphics are awesome.

I imagine Indiana Jones as the bad guy in a version of Home Alone, facing ingenious traps…

Lol. Ryan George. "I don't know how to build that kind of generational loyalty."

Tombs of wealthy people and places of worship of any sort almost always have a considerable amount of treasure in them. The question is, was the location so hidden and so well guarded that you're the first looter to get here? Usually the answer is no.

I recall reading that one archaeological site had somehow created an environment where toxic fungus spores would kill those who invaded the site unprotected. The site was otherwise protected by warnings of consequences for disturbing the site (supernatural in origin). Some of the people who originally explored the site died from the spores, but it took years before anyone figured out the cause, which helped to provide misplaced credence to the supernatural warnings against disturbing the site.

Can you imagine the maintenance & upkeep requirements of these booby traps?! LOL

Any trap would need to be rearmed after triggered, so it is more like a defense weapon passively used by the habitants, then a "prevent future adventure" design, as they wont function alone...

7:00, it sounds like an old version of a wrecking ball swinging into a condemmed building whilst people happened to in them exploring. You see this in modern times also.

Closest thing to the booby trapped New World tombs are, ironically, Old World late Feudal castles of the living.

in theory egyptian hase maid "trap" in a lower part of the tunel's filled things to rotten, some other material what made a relative long poisonus, at least not breathable air.

Archeologists tried to get down to the Money Pit but were turned back by Tom Hanks yelling, “The stairs are out!”

I seem to remember that some (or one?) Mayan royal sarcophagus was painted with a now-inert contact poison.

Man, i was literally just wondering whether these traps really existed. RU-vid recommendation is really strange

You should credit Carl Barks for The Seven Cities of Sibola. Barks was a genius. Forget how Disney portrayed the extended duck family. The long running series by Barks set standards.

(Un)fun fact: Back in 2015, archeologists found a jar of 3000-year-old honey while sorting through the valuable treasures of ancient Egyptian tombs. It was found to be still edible, due to the low water content and high sugar levels that made it virtually impossible for bacteria to grow

My favorite is that maybe everyone involved in the atilla funeral just killed all the burial people, then killed as many other people who knew of the grave as possible, then collected a tidy sum.

I'm sure word of mouth from people having raided tombs spread far. Imagine raiding a tomb and then the moment something bad happens to you afterwards (illness, death, etc), you blame it on being cursed because you are superstitious as everyone was back in those days. Just that would help keep tombs a bit more secure. Remote location is definitely the best option though! Dead Sea scrolls survived thanks to that and so many more artifacts. Mercury: it was not used to poison back then. They actively consumed it (which actually led to Qin's death!) because it was considered one way to reach immortality (cause it's a cool liquid). So most likely it was to preserve his soul and tomb for eternity.

The thumbnail didn't load quickly for me, only the title. Thought it meant muscle traps 😅 was wondering which scene that was.

always roll to check for traps before opening the chest or tomb!

I always wonder where the maintenance people are who tend all the burning torches and put oily into the lamps. The only trap I could see still being effective after centuries are deadfalls.

Don't see what the big deal is about being first to comment. But some people obvs get off on it for some reason

This was great!