"For more than 2 centuries, security historians have been taking the word of an 18th century French pornographer that the first mechanical locks were invented by the Egyptians 4000+ years ago. I very nearly repeated the same mistake, but then thought the better of it and started contacting archaeologists. I'd like to tell you what I found, and what understanding security in the context of history tells us about the clever minds, politics and culture of some of the worlds oldest civilizations."