To start off building my knowledge on temples i decided to look at real-life examples of trapped temples which had been discovered by explorers or archaeologists.

There are curses all over the world, yet none are more famous than the mummy’s curse. Inscribed on doorways and statues warning would-be grave-robbers of death by snakes, crocodiles and scorpions. However, the Pharaohs didn’t depend on supernatural protection alone: they also arranged for more mechanical means of defense. The tomb of Amenhotep III appeared to end in a relatively pleasant room, which had a moderate amount of treasure inside that was worth taking.In reality, the false wall on the back hid a passage leading to the remainder of the tomb. But before any of the explorers could even get to the false wall, they needed to deal with a much more deadly trap: a false floor hiding a deadly pit trap. The pit was a 6 meter drop down an empty shaft, making it basically a death sentence for anyone unfortunate enough to fall in.

The false wall has been removed on the right.

The tomb of Qin Shi Huang,(the First Emperor of a unified China).Is labeled the greatest trapped tomb to be discovered to date.Because of his power,he had an incredible amount of resources put into his tombs construction, making it the worlds magnificent and most well guarded tomb. Inside wait the gigantic, Terracotta army,consisting of over 8,000 carved soldiers found in just one section of the necropolis surrounding his tomb. The tomb itself has not been excavated, primarily down to the fear of traps. The first discovered trap, and the one which was most intended to deter thieves is a set of automatic crossbow. Of course, the wood and sinew of crossbows would have long since rotted and deteriorated, some still suggest that they may have made from flexible metal, and that if they’re only pulled into position when they’re triggered, the mechanism just might of survived.

The Qin Emperor was said to have been buried with a two square kilometer map of China, complete with liquid mercury lakes and rivers. Despite the tomb not having been opened yet, explorers are confident that this rumored trap exists, because soil samples from near the tomb are full of massive amounts of mercury, and the concentration of it only grows stronger as you approach his grave.

A tiny fraction of the Terracotta Warriors.

Sourced from- Amidtheruins.com. (2017). Top 10 (Real Life!) Trapped Tombs, Temples, and Treasures | Amid the Ruins. [online] Available at: http://amidtheruins.com/top-10-real-life-trapped-tombs-temples-and-treasures/ [Accessed 7 Mar. 2020].