Tombs of Doom?|面临消逝的埃及陵墓

　

by Marcus Maurice

Archeologists are issuing warnings about the tombs in the Valley of the Kings.

考古学家正发出关于埃及帝王谷陵墓的警讯。

In 1922, Howard Carter was finishing up his final season of digging around the Valley of the Kings when one of his workers found what looked like a simple step. Since he had already spent five years with very little to show for his work, Carter wasn't overly excited about the discovery. _(1)_ Unlike almost everything else in the Valley of the Kings, the boy-king's tomb hadn't been pilfered by robbers over the years.

Using his meticulous methods, Carter took eight years to empty the tomb. _(2)_ This discovery led to a renewed interest in Egypt and Egyptian artifacts. Tourists and history buffs alike have made the pilgrimage to the Valley of the Kings to soak in the ancient history. But now, there is a big problem. _(3)_

Every day, several thousand tourists swarm the royal tombs in Luxor, Egypt. _(4)_ The SCA has recently taken steps to protect the tombs. These include installing new ventilation systems, restricting access to some tombs, and even closing others. _(5)_ While it's great to be actually inside these ancient structures, it's even more important that they should be kept intact so that future generations can study and learn from them.

(A) In the end, the treasure trove of objects he found in the tomb was unlike anything ever seen before.

(B) What's more, the tombs of Tutankhamun, Nefertiti, and Seti I, will soon be replaced with identical replicas.

(C) The secretary general of the Supreme Council of Antiquities (SCA), Zahi Hawass, says that unless tourism in the Valley of the Kings is stopped, the tombs will disappear within 150 to 500 years.

(D) However, the finding turned out to be the greatest discovery in ancient Egypt—King Tutankhamun's undisturbed tomb.

(E) With them, they bring fungi and humidity that eat away at walls, carvings, and painted decorations inside the tombs.

　　1922 年，霍华德．卡特正结束最后一季在帝王谷的挖掘活动时，有名工人发现一个看似普通阶梯的东西。卡特已经花了 5 年的时间，却斩获不多，因此对这项发现并不感到特别兴奋。然而这项发现却是对古埃及最伟大的发现：完好的图坦卡门王陵墓。不同于帝王谷其他陵墓，这名小男孩法老王的陵墓多年来未遭到盗墓者的毒手。

　　因为挖掘时小心翼翼，卡特花了 8 年才把陵墓中的物品清空。最后，他在墓中发现的珍贵物品可说是前所未见。这项发现使人们对埃及和埃及文物的兴趣再度大增。游客和历史爱好者都前往帝王谷朝圣，沉浸在古历史的氛围中。但现在却面临一个大问题。埃及古物最高委员会（SCA）的秘书长札西．哈瓦斯表示，除非停止帝王谷的观光活动，否则这些陵墓将会在 150 到 5 百年间消失。

　　每一天都有好几千名观光客蜂涌至埃及洛克索的皇室陵墓参观。伴随他们而来的霉菌和湿气侵蚀陵墓内的墙壁、雕刻和绘制的装饰品。埃及古物最高委员会最近采取了一些措施来保护这些陵墓，包括装设新的通风系统，限制某些陵墓的进出，甚至关闭了一些陵墓。此外，图坦卡门王、娜芙蒂蒂王后及法老赛提一世的陵墓，不久将会用相同的复制品来取代。虽然置身于这些真实的古老建筑物内是件非常棒的事，但保持它们的完整以便将来的世代得以研究和学习才是更重要的事。

标准答案: 1. (D)　2. (A)　3. (C)　4. (E)　5. (B)

For Your Information

霍华德‧卡特是英国考古学家和埃及学的先驱，也是他发现埃及帝王谷图坦卡门王陵墓，及覆戴着『黄金面具』的图坦卡门王木乃伊。当卡特开始挖这座陵墓时，有些人宣称闯入这座陵墓会带来厄运。他们相信刻在墓上的可怕铭文警告，凡是打扰这位法老王陵墓的人都会受到惩罚。伦敦的报纸甚至称这警告为『法老王的诅咒』。之后数年间，与挖掘此墓相关的人相继死亡或自杀。然而，卡特本人则说这诅咒为无稽之谈。他认为若有任何人要被诅咒，那应该是他。这位考古学家在 1939 年于伦敦的自家寓所中寿终正寝，享年 64 岁。（数据源：维基百科）