埃及驚現埃及第26王朝保存完好木乃伊的英語美文

Archaeologists Uncover Bead-Covered Mummy

埃及遺蹟最高委員會日前宣佈，澳大利亞考古學家近日在埃及首都開羅附近的塞加拉地區發現了一具有2500年曆史的木乃伊，並稱這具木乃伊是迄今為止發現的保存最完好的古埃及木乃伊。

Archaeologists uncovered three coffins and a remarkably well-preserved mummy in a 2,500-year old tomb discovered by accident — after opening a secret door hidden behind a statue in a separate burial chamber, Egypt"s chief archaeologist said Wednesday.

據美聯社3月3日報道，澳大利亞考古學家在開羅以南15英里處的塞加拉金字塔附近偶然發現了一座2500年前的古墓。埃及遺蹟最高委員會主席扎希·哈瓦斯介紹説，考古人員當時正在挖掘另一座大約有4200年曆史的古墓，據信這座古墓屬於埃及第6王朝沛比二世的私人教師梅里;當考古學家移開墓中的一對塑像後，發現了一道神祕的門。

原來這扇門後的墓室藏着埃及第26王朝的3口結構複雜的棺材，每口棺材中各保存着一具木乃伊，其中兩口保存的是男性木乃伊，另外一口則屬於一名女性。哈瓦斯説：“其中一具木乃伊是迄今為止發現的保存最完好的`木乃伊。”

這具木乃伊的胸前被用珠子織成的飾物覆蓋着。這3具木乃伊應為公元前500年左右的產物，他們身上原本都有珠衣覆蓋着，但其中兩具的珠衣已完全脱落並消失，而其中一具木乃伊的珠衣還保存完好。這具木乃伊胸前覆蓋着土耳其玉色的珠衣，身體纏有黑色的亞麻布條。

這些木乃伊的身份目前還不清楚，但據信，這座古墓屬於古埃及當時的一位中級官員。哈瓦斯指出，這些木頭棺材被稱作類人棺，因為它們和人形一樣，棺木上的文字記載表明它們屬於埃及第26王朝。和這些棺材在一起的還有一尊被稱做佩塔·薩卡爾的神像，據哈瓦斯介紹，佩塔是古埃及的工匠之神，而薩卡爾為墓地之神。

這座墓室的門被隱藏在據認為是4200年前的沛比二世國王私人教師梅里和其妻子的塑像後面。哈瓦斯介紹説，梅里被認為是曾經監管過4艘埋藏在金字塔中的神舟，這些神舟曾是埃及國王的隨葬品。

哈瓦斯説：“我相信，新的發現可以豐富歷史上兩個重要時期的資料，一個是4200年前的古老王國，另一個是2500年前埃及的第26王朝。”哈瓦斯還説，考古人員將對木乃伊進行體格檢查，包括CT透視。

據史料記載，沛比二世是埃及第6王朝的最後一位統治者(公元前2278年至2184年)，他也是古埃及歷史上統治時期最長的一位國王。澳大利亞考古隊隊長卡拉瓦提説，塞加拉金字塔附近地區在沛比二世統治後曾被疏忽，並被50英尺的沙礫掩埋着，直到2600年後才被作為墓地重新使用。

(國際在線獨家資訊蔣黎黎)

The Australian team was exploring a much older tomb - dating back 4,200 years - belonging to a man believed to have been a tutor to the 6th Dynasty King Pepi II, when they moved a pair of statues and discovered the door, said Zahi Hawass, Egypt"s top antiquities official.

Inside, they found a tomb from the 26th Dynasty with three intricate coffins, each with a mummy.

"Inside one coffin was maybe one of the best mummies ever preserved," Hawass told reporters at the excavation site in the cemetery of Saqqara, a barren hillside pocked with ancient graves about 15 miles south of Cairo.

"The chest of the mummy is covered with beads. Most of the mummies of this period - about 500 B.C. - the beads are completely gone, but this mummy has them all," he said, standing over one of the mummies that was swathed in turquoise blue beads and bound in strips of black linen.

The names of the mummies have not been determined, but the tomb is thought to be that of a middle-class official.

Hawass said the wooden coffins, called anthropoids because they were in the shape of human beings, bore inscriptions dating to the 26th Dynasty, together with a statue of a deity called Petah Sakar. Petah was the god of artisans, Hawass said, while Sakar was the god of the cemetery.

The door was hidden behind 4,200-year-old statues of a man believed to have been Meri, the tutor of Pepi II, and Meri"s wife, whose name was not revealed.

Meri also was believed to oversee four sacred boats found in the pyramids, which were buried with Egypt"s kings to help them in the afterlife, Hawass said.

"I believe this discovery can enrich us about two important periods in our history, the Old Kingdom, which dates back to 4,200 years, and the 26th Dynasty, that was 2,500 years ago," Hawass said.

According to tradition, Pepi II — the last ruler of the 6th Dynasty - ruled from 2278-2184 B.C., one of the longest reigns in ancient Egyptian history.

Naguib Kanawati, the head of the Australian team from Sydney"s Macquarie University, said the site had fallen into neglect after Pepi II"s rule and was covered by 50 feet of sand, until it was used again as a cemetery 2,600 years later. (：夏根建)