How long do things last in ancient dungeons?

[Quasqueton]

Here's something I've thought about, and I imagine it would actually be something many DMs have or need to consider. How long do things last in a lost dungeon/tomb/what-have-you?

Take your "standard" dungeon dressing -- wooden tables (and doors), curtains, candles, crockery, dead adventurers, weapons (metal and wood parts), armor (metal and leather/clothe parts), clothes and gear of various materials, etc. What kind of shape would this stuff be in after some time unattended in a "standard" dungeon?

Say 10 years, 100 years, 1,000 years, 10,000 years. How long before a tapestry falls from its hanging? How long till it turns to dust? Will a wooden door fall apart after a thousand years? Will a skeleton not buried in the earth crumble to dust eventually? How long?

Quasqueton

 

[Crothian]

Say 10 years, 100 years, 1,000 years, 10,000 years. How long before a tapestry falls from its hanging? How long till it turns to dust? Will a wooden door fall apart after a thousand years? Will a skeleton not buried in the earth crumble to dust eventually? How long?

Doesn't matter. Age is usually written into a dungeon to give the dungeon the feel I want. I don't think. how old is the dungeon, I just care what is in it and what shape it it. It is a fantasy game so if I need furniture to last and not rot away it does. Depends on my own wnats and needs.

 

[adwyn]

The answer is very variable based on climate, moisture, and air flow.

Ancient Egyptian tombs have been found with wood intact after several millenia. Likewise I have been in mines that have been closed only for five or six decades and seen blue jeans rotted away to near nothing.

The dryer and the colder it is the longer things will last.

 

[der_kluge]

I've often wondered this myself. I put a time stasis on one dungeon. For every day spent in the dungeon, like a year passed outside. That freaked my players out quite a bit.

 

[Zenodotus of Ephesus]

http://diglib.lib.utk.edu/wpa/faq.htm#10

How can preservation help/hinder an archaeological investigation?

Preservation of artifacts is affected by the climate and soils in the region. In dry climates, such as Egypt and the Southwest United States, artifacts such as wood, baskets, cloth, hides, feathers, etc. are well preserved, even after thousands of years. However, the climate in the Tennessee Valley is wet and the soils are acidic – which causes organic objects such as the ones listed above to rot quickly. It is estimated that half of the material remains of the native peoples who lived in the Southeastern United States are now gone.

http://www.prosea.org/articles-news/archaeology/Shipwreck_Conservation_in_situ.html

Under favourable conditions wood can be preserved in situ for 80M years in an un-petrified state. Despite years of effort, no bacteria responsible for degredation of wood have been isolated in pure culture. Organisms which attack wood include:...

You can find a lot more technical data by searching google using "decay rates" as a parameter with whatever else you think appropriate.

 

[sniffles]

I've often wondered this myself. I put a time stasis on one dungeon. For every day spent in the dungeon, like a year passed outside. That freaked my players out quite a bit.

Oh I like that idea!!

 

[Tonguez]

A few times I've had things like acid traps which instead of squirting into the PCs eyes just bubble and leak because the mechanisms have corroded, rotting floor boards to fall through and tapestries which crumble into dust when someone touches them

but usally things stay preserved and climate is handwaved/ignored (its always cool and dry down there)

 

[Warehouse23]

All of the ancient artifacts in my dungeons carry the label:

Store in a cool, dry place. * **




* else the demon I have bound to this object will hunt you until the end of time!

** Do not remove this tag.