In a strange twist, some museums are now acquiring "failed expedition gear." Lazlo's broken rebreather and crushed ground-penetrating radar will go on display at the Museum of Failed Adventures in London. The exhibit is called Lessons for the Aspiring Adventurer If you are a fan of the tomb hunter genre—fiction or nonfiction—the moral is humbling. The earth does not care about your whip, your satchel, or your university degree. It will collapse, flood, or gas you without malice.
So the next time you watch a movie hero snatch an idol just as the temple crumbles, remember Viktor Lazlo. Remember the dry well. Remember the methane bubble. Tomb Hunter Defeated
A tomb hunter defeated means that a site remains readable. It means that history stays in the ground long enough for proper excavation. In a strange twist, some museums are now
Dr. Elena Mertens, chief archaeologist at the Anatolian Historical Preservation Trust, commented on the incident: "We don't celebrate a man's collapse. But we do celebrate the fact that the Ulu Seljuk Tomb is no longer bleeding artifacts into the black market. The tomb hunter defeated himself. He ignored the three rules of ethical archaeology: document, preserve, and respect. He only wanted 'the prize.' The prize was a death trap." Historically, the defeat of a tomb hunter falls into one of three categories. The Lazlo incident qualifies as all three. It will collapse, flood, or gas you without malice
His defeat did not come from a giant rolling ball or a supernatural mummy.