If you press the 3 hieroglyph tiles in the order reeds, bird, hill...

...the northeast gate opens.

When you go through the gate, it closes behind you. You'll then need to kill a couple of bats before proceeding.

Take a running jump across the deep pit along the left side. Go through the doorway surrounded by carved skulls (holy foreshadowing, Batman!) and down the ramp.

It doesn't matter whether you go left or right at the first intersection.

In either case, when you round the next corner, you'll come to a similar trapped hallway. You'll be safe if you crawl along the hall close to either wall. First comes a spiked ball, which drops down from a trapdoor in the ceiling.

The next floor tile contains an X-shaped set of concealed blades. If you crawl slowly forward, staying close to the wall, stop when the the blades pop up, then wait for them to retract before crawling on, they won't hurt Lara.

Just beyond the blades is another spiked ball that drops from above. Just keep crawling past it. After this, you can stand up.

A few steps ahead is a hallway running east to west, with 3 passageways leading off to the north. They all end up in the same place, so which path to take depends on which traps you prefer. (Check the map in the main walkthrough for a better visualization of this area.)

If you take either of the outside hallways, you'll first pass a set of converging horizontal blades. These sweep along the length of the hallway, meeting in the middle, and will cut Lara down at the waist if she walks through them, but she's perfectly safe crawling.

Around the next corner is a circular blade trap like the ones you first encountered in the TOMB OF SEMERKHET. To get through, stand Lara facing the middle of the circle, as close as possible without injury, then roll as they begin to open. Remember the trick: The blade opens and closes twice in rapid succession followed by a pause where it remains open for a moment. It's three beats: Snick, snick, pause...snick, snick, pause, etc. If you wait for the pause and then roll, Lara will come through without a scratch.

Then turn around and continue to the four-way intersection just ahead.

- OR -

If you opt for the middle hallway instead, crawl forward, staying close to either wall, stop when the the first X-shaped set of blades pops up, and wait for them to retract before crawling on.

Next comes another set of converging horizontal blades at waist level. Just keep crawling and they'll pass harmlessly overhead.

Deal with the second X-shaped set of blades just like the others: Crawl forward, staying close to the the wall. When the blades pop up, stop and wait for them to retract. Then you can stand up and continue forward.

[Next | Underneath the Sphinx Walkthrough]