Rather than looking to movies for inspiration, it might be a better idea to look at archaeology for inspiration. After all, it's part of the job description. There are many ancient cities that are in surprisingly good condition considering their age and climate, and they all had to be found and explored somehow. I'm sure you can find some National Geographic, And Archaeology magazine articles that would be helpful, as well as some History Channel episodes online. I believe the History Channel even has a show all about lost and forgotten tunnels under cities that were built during ancient times. I think it's called "Cities of the Underworld" or something similar. There are also countless books on the subject of exploring lost cities.
If the culture that lived in the city had a writing system there can be references left from people's daily lives. There doesn't have to be a big huge treasure hidden there. All ancient cities have "treasure", but usually it's just things of historical and archaeological value. Your characters could also be exploring a city referenced to in a legend or story/history. Maybe it was a city where there was a war and the legend of the war survived even though the location of the city was lost.
Put some thought into why the city was abandoned. That will greatly effect what they find in the city. When people leave a place they take certain items with them. What is left behind is effected by this. Did the people leave because of a plague? War? Famine? Evacuation? This will also effect the condition of the city.
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timeasmymeasure
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Date: 2009-12-07 10:39 pm (UTC)If the culture that lived in the city had a writing system there can be references left from people's daily lives. There doesn't have to be a big huge treasure hidden there. All ancient cities have "treasure", but usually it's just things of historical and archaeological value. Your characters could also be exploring a city referenced to in a legend or story/history. Maybe it was a city where there was a war and the legend of the war survived even though the location of the city was lost.
Put some thought into why the city was abandoned. That will greatly effect what they find in the city. When people leave a place they take certain items with them. What is left behind is effected by this. Did the people leave because of a plague? War? Famine? Evacuation? This will also effect the condition of the city.