Don't forget the "click-bzzt-pschh" audio clip that's been used everywhere, from explosions to planes landing to automatic doors in space stations to Doom's final level (when the monster "cubes" were shot). I think the sound originally comes from a car's boot opening.

In the business, there is something called "Stock Audio", much like Stock Photography, it can be sold to many different studios. This also explains why many of the gunshots you hear in old westerns and made-for-tv movies sound very similar. There is no news here, none at all.

I would be more surprised that anyone played Civ 3 enough to recognize the sounds reflexively than that a sound was lifted from The Holy Grail.

The link to the site says its on Civ 2 not Civ 3!!!

It's an African and not European swallow?