Death Traps
Pictured above is the remaining boulder from a Death Trap consisting of two. The other boulder was already down.
The trap was set above a cut in the side of a mountain where a small tunnel was bored. The other boulder (about 8-10 feet in diameter), had already fallen and was wedged in the cut.
This trap boulder concealed the entrance to the tunnel. I believe that due to the amount of lumber that had to be cleared from the cut, that the trip mechanism was the lumber itself (can't say for certain though).
Here are a couple of shots from the tunnel itself. The first is from the entrance (as I first found it all caved in), and the second is from farther inside (a couple of months later after having been cleaned out some).
Now for a little realism regarding the Infamous Spanish Death Trap. There are not very many of them around. Regardless what you read in many of the Treasure Hunting Forums, Books, Magazines, and old movies (a la Indiana Jones). Don't get me wrong, they do exist, and many of them can kill you just as dead today as they could have 300 years ago. They just are not as plentiful as many people would have you believe.