Най-голямата грешка в сигурността в древния свят: уроци по сигурност от Долината на царете

Благодарение на дългата годишна отпуска на Mastercard (имаме 25 дни!) По-рано този месец направих двуседмично пътуване до Египет, за да посетя място, което винаги съм искал да видя: гробниците на древните фараони в Долината на царете. Като инженер по сигурността, не можех да не разглеждам тези гробници като древна система за сигурност и като казус за това как защитите могат да се провалят с времето.

Древен Египет е оставил повече артефакти от повечето други древни култури. Една от причините е, че египтяните, особено техните царе, са били дълбоко съсредоточени върху смъртта и отвъдния живот с техните физически тела. Те вярвали, че тялото трябва да бъде запазено (мумифицирано) така че царят да може да продължи своето пътуване след смъртта и да стане бог! Because Egyptians invested so much in funerary goods and mummification, many objects survived at least until tomb raiders found some of them.

A brief look at the tomb of Tutankhamun (KV62) which was discovered in the early 20th century, shows what might have been placed in other royal tombs. It was one of the few royal tombs not fully looted in ancient times. It contained hundreds of kilograms of gold and many other treasures from over 3,300 years ago.

Golden Throne of Tutankhamun was found in his burial chamber by archaeologist Howard Carter in 1922

From obvious pyramids to hidden tombs

In the Old and Middle Kingdoms, kings built pyramids as burial placements. These monuments were easy to see, which also made them easy to target. Even though they used blocking stones and other tricks, many were robbed. Later, в Новото царство (около 3,500 years ago) фараоните преместиха се към нов модел: сигурност чрез неяснота. Те видяха какво се случи с пирамидите на техните предшественици, затова избраха отдалечена долина на западния бряг на Нил, близо до днешен Луксор, и изкопаха скрити гробници в скалата. Те построиха и изолираха село за работници, Дейр ел-Медина, за да държат местоположението и детайлите в тайна. В продължение на около 500 години, това село изработваше гробниците на нови фараони.

Пирамида на Джосер се счита за първата пирамида, построена приблизително 4,700 years ago.

Тези гробници бяха от съществено значение. Мъртвите се нуждаеха от своето мумифицирано тяло, предмети, приношения, и водачи като Книга на мъртвите, за да достигнат до Осирис и да живеят в отвъдния живот. Ако гробница беше ограбена, това не беше само материална загуба, но и духовна неуспех.

Каквото видях по време на посещението си

I visited almost all tombs open to the public in the vally of the kings, valley of the queen, and deir-el Madinah. One of the interesting observation is that you can see different risk choices by different kings. Some placed their tombs in more accessible locations, betting on internal complexity and decoration. Others, like Thutmose III, chose harder, more hidden positions. But in the end, almost all of these tombs were found and robbed during later periods of instability by motivated attackers. This means that even the smarter and more risk averse kings also failed in their security designs. Here is my take on why the defenses failed and how it could have been better.

Burial chamber of Ramses the third in my background.

Why the defenses failed

• Security by obscurity was the main control. Hidden entrances, sealed doors, and a remote valley helped, but they were not enough for a defense that needed to last thousands of years.
• Time favored attackers (I always say this one to my clients!). Over centuries, secrecy leaks. Rock shifts. Political crises come and go. Motivation stays high when treasure is involved.
• Limited defense in depth. Blocking stones and false corridors slowed attackers but did not stop tunneling or insider‑enabled bypass. The main defense was security by obscurity and no additional controls.
• Insider threat, late New Kingdom instability, inflation, and delayed rations (the strike at Deir el‑Medina) increased theft and bribery. Trial records mention stonemasons, smiths, necropolis police, and low ranking priests involved in robberies.
• Single points of failure with a trusted community. Too much knowledge and access sat with one small, trusted community. Once secrecy failed there, the whole system failed.
• No continuous monitoring or incident response was in place (very difficult to put it in place for thousands of years and more!). Painted snakes and divine guardians were symbolic, not real controls. (They had many of them on the walls and around coffins!) There were seals, but there was no sustained monitoring, patrols, or effective response over the long term.

Common security mistakes by the Pharaohs

• Controls did not match asset value. If you bury hundreds of kilograms of gold with the king, you invite extreme, persistent attacks. The defense did not match that high value.
• Over reliance on secrecy. Obscurity helped at first, but there were few layered controls after secrecy was gone.
• No least privilege! Many workers in Deir el‑Medina had broad knowledge of plans, maps, and layouts. This enabled later robberies.
  Weak access governance. Privileged access management did not exist in a modern sense. The same teams that built the tombs knew how to breach them.

How they could have improved

• Reduce attacker motivation (MOM framework: Success = motive + method + opportunity): They should not bury large amounts of gold with the body. Keep the body for the afterlife, but remove the main motive.
• If treasure must be buried, separate it from the mummy in independent, randomized chambers, far from the main burial, with anti‑tunneling features (rubble trenches, hard bedrock layers, decoy shafts).
• Add defense in depth: Multiple sealed compartments with different sealing methods and independent stone barriers.
• Physical anti‑tamper layers които правят тунелирането шумно, рисково, и бавно.
• Прилагане на принципа на най-малкото знание: Разделете подробностите на дизайна така, че нито един от екипите да не знае цялостното разположение. Ротирайте екипите, компартментирайте задачите, и използвайте принципа на 'необходимо да знам' за местоположението на окончателните погребални камери.
• Запазете работата в окончателната камера за много малък, високо доверен екип, след това ги премахнете или преместете.
• Заблуда: Множество примамливи камери с убедителни вещи, поставени рано в строежа, така че работниците да мислят, че примамката е реална. Фалшиви погребални събития за създаване на подвеждаща устна история.