探索區
作者：Zahi Hawass
在眾多埃及木乃伊中，最有名的莫過於圖坦卡蒙的木乃伊。圖坦卡蒙為現代人廣為熟知是因為他的墳墓在三千年的時間內從未被盜，直到1922年才被英國人霍華德·卡特（Howard Carter）發現，挖掘出大量珍寶，震驚了西方世界。當然還有那個被媒體過分渲染的“法老的詛咒”。
為了從科學的角度全麵了解圖坦卡蒙，我們請來埃及著名考古學家、埃及最高文物委員會主席紮希·哈瓦斯給我們講解這位神秘君王的故事。（CE：Teens曾在2008年2月號的“探索區”介紹過圖坦卡蒙，有興趣的同學可以查閱。）
It's hot inside the mummy's tomb. Yet no one is complaining. A member of my team holds up a small tool that looks like a corkscrew【螺絲錐】. He places it against the mummy's leg bone and cranks【轉動曲柄】 it. I wince【畏縮】. It makes a squeaking【發出短而尖的聲音】 sound as it bores【鑽孔】 into the ancient bone.
Hanging out with mummies may seem scary, but I do it all the time. I'm an archaeologist【考古學家】. You've probably seen photos of me in my Indiana Jones注 hat. I wear it most days to protect my eyes from the blazing【強烈的】 sun. Working outside digging up ancient objects is hot, slow, dirty, and difficult work.
Today, I'm inside one of the most famous tombs in the world. King Tut is buried here. His full name is Tutankhamun. I look more like a doctor than an archaeologist. I'm wearing a doctor's white lab coat. Surgical【外科的】 gloves cover my hands. A surgical mask hides most of my face. Only my eyes are uncovered. I'm dressed to protect this marvelous mummy from dust and germs.
Tomb Raiders【侵入者】
Protecting Tut is important. He lived and died more than 3,000 years ago. We don't know much about that time.
Centuries passed. People forgot about Tut and where he was buried. Then about 90 years ago, archaeologists found his tomb. It's one of 63 tombs carved into cliffs in the middle of modern Egypt. So many kings are buried here, we call it the Valley of the Kings.
Over time, robbers raided many of the valley's royal tombs. Luckily, they never found Tut's tomb. It still held Tut's mummy and other artifacts【人造物品】, or objects from the past.
Crowning【加冕】 the Boy King
We've learned much from the artifacts found in Tut's tomb. They tell a stunning【令人吃驚的】 story about Tut. It's about a young prince. It's about a military leader. It's about a king who died before he could fully rule his kingdom.
The story begins with Tut's father, Akhenaten. He was the king of Egypt. Tut grew up in a city called Amarna. The palace there had courtyards with lush【青蔥的】 gardens and flowing fountains.
Tut became king after his father died. He was about nine. Most kings weren't that young. Nothing about Tut was typical, though. For example, he was a king with two crowns. That's because ancient Egypt was a divided country. A white crown represented【象征】 one part of the country. A red crown represented the other. Wearing the two crowns meant Tut ruled both lands as one.
Tut may have had the crowns of power, but he didn't have real power. Because he was still a boy, he had adults who helped him rule. They had the real power. Just as Tut became old enough to rule on his own, he died. The question of how he died has been a great mystery.
Royal Living