Tomb Traps were the “burglar alarms” of ancient Egypt (although one would definitely prefer the alarms of today!). Tomb traps didn’t actually alert anyone to the fact someone had invaded the tomb. Instead, their purpose was to kill the intruder. Rather like going to jail without a trial. The Egyptians devised several nasty ways of killing people they didn’t like, such as people who entered their tombs when they shouldn’t have. The Traps The curse Above some tombs, curses were written or spoken by priests, most designed to bring bad–luck upon any who cared to go against the wishes outlined in the curse- namely “get out of here or else”. Some traditional curses include: “As for anybody who shall enter this tomb in his impurity: I shall wring his neck as a bird’s.” “As for any man who shall destroy these, it is the god Thoth who shall destroy him.” “As for him who shall destroy this inscription, He shall not reach his home. He shall not embrace his children. He shall not see success.” Falling Rocks A convenient way of getting rid of an enemy was simply to drop a heavy rock on them. For this reason heavy rocks were placed above doorways, connected to wires or ropes that could bring it tumbling down on someone’s head. Hidden holes These were holes, leading to steep pits below the tomb. They would have probably have had covers over them, about the size and shape of manhole covers, and would have been delicately balanced over the hole so that at a light step they would have fallen in. Powders The Ancient Egyptians had relatively advanced medicine, and they had certainly not neglected the art of murder in their studies of alchemy. Powders prepared by magic–men were placed in tombs and systems were rigged so that at a certain time (for example, when intruders entered the tombs) the powders (possibly with fatal powers) would have been released into the air and inhaled by the intruders. False well-cover In many Egyptian tombs, wells were included in one of the halls. An old favourite was to put a false cover over the well, which worked on much the same principal as the “Hidden Holes.” Head wires In some parts of the tomb, wires were placed at neck level. The idea was to decapitate anyone who walked into it. If placed at the right height, these wires could have been one of the most deadly and efficient traps used. Sand A seemingly useless substance, it was employed to cover the actual sarcophagus of the deceased to prevent robbers tampering with the body. Bibliography: All the following sites were visited on the 28/10/00. http://dig.archaeology.org/drdig/egypt/6.html www.alchemylab.com/history_of_alchemy.htm#EgyptianAlchemy www.newscientist.com/ns/1999023/newstory3.html http://guardians.net/hawass/mortuary1.htm www.magicmakers.com/egyptsite/skeleton.html Source for all of the above: http://www.bbc.co.uk/dna/h2g2/alabaster/A581294 As you can see by the above text, "salt acid" wasn't mentioned, and MAY have been a fanciful creation for that movie, "THE MUMMY," which was released to the theaters in 1999. +5

Perhaps, obviously such didn't do much good. Tutankhamen was the only pharaoh with his grave goods somewhat intact.