First thing I thought of once I started reading this was Neil Stephenson's 'Anathem.' In it there is a monastery of sorts with gates separating different areas. There are gates that open once a year, once every ten years, once every 100 years, and once every 1000 years. There is also a giant clock in the center of the monastery that is wound daily by four individuals.
The first thing I thought of was the grave robbers who plundered the pyramids and other royal burial chambers looking for valuable metals.
There are quite a few nice pieces of valuable metal making up that clock. I give it even less than 50 years before it gets looted.