by Jennie Cohen

三千年前，圖坦卡蒙僅僅統(tǒng)治了古埃及十年，在歷史上并不出名。然而三千年后，英國人霍華德·卡特（Howard Carter）在圖坦卡蒙墓穴內挖掘出近五千件珍貴陪葬品，震驚了西方世界。由于幾個最早進入墳墓的人突然死亡，被媒體大肆渲染成“法老的詛咒”，圖坦卡蒙的名字在西方更為家喻戶曉。近年來，研究人員對圖坦卡蒙做了大量分析，破解了很多關于這位法老的秘密，讓我們一起看看背后的真相吧。（CE：Teens分別在2008年2月號和2011年5月號的“探索區(qū)”介紹過圖坦卡蒙，有興趣的同學可以查閱。）

Ninety years ago， the British archaeologist[考古學家] Howard Carter opened the sealed doorway to the treasure-filled burial chamber[房間] of Tutankhamen in Egypts Valley of the Kings. King Tuts tomb and the riches it contained would fuel a worldwide obsession[著魔] with ancient Egypt and the long-dead ruler， who reigned[統(tǒng)治] for just one decade some 3，300 years ago. Follow us to explore five surprising facts about the teenage pharaoh[法老] and his final resting place.

九十年前，英國考古學家霍華德·卡特在埃及的帝王谷打開了那扇密封的大門，進入裝滿珍寶的圖坦卡蒙墓室。圖坦卡蒙的陵墓以及里面的財寶令全世界人迷上了古埃及以及這位逝去已久的統(tǒng)治者，而圖坦卡蒙只在大約三千三百年前統(tǒng)治了埃及十年而已。跟隨我們的腳步，發(fā)掘有關這位年輕法老及其安息地的驚人事實吧。

1. There is no curse[詛咒]of King Tut.

1.“法老的詛咒”純屬子虛烏有。

When Carter first entered King Tuts tomb in November 1922， his financial backer[支持者] George Herbert—a wealthy aristocrat[貴族] with a passion for Egyptology—was at his side. Four months later， Herbert died of apparent[顯然的] blood poisoning from a mosquito[蚊子] bite. Newspapers speculated[推測] that the Englishman had fallen victim[受害人] to a “mummys curse.” Rumors[流言] flew anew after the sudden deaths of others who had visited the Valley of the Kings. It turns out， however， that frenzied[狂熱的] journalists made up the story. In 2002， scientists examined the survival[生存] rates of 44 Westerners who had been in Egypt during Carters excavation[挖掘]， concluding that they were not at elevated[提升] risk of dying early.

1922年11月，當卡特首次進入圖坦卡蒙的陵墓時，資助其考古活動的喬治·赫伯特（一位熱衷于埃及古物學的有錢貴族）就在他身旁。四個月后，赫伯特死于由蚊叮引發(fā)的敗血癥，癥狀明顯。報紙紛紛推斷這位英國人是“木乃伊詛咒”下的受害者。在其他到過帝王谷的人突然死亡之后，謠言再次滿天飛。然而，原來只是狂熱的記者捏造了這個故事。2002年，科學家們檢查了44名在卡特發(fā)掘陵墓期間到訪埃及的西方人士的生存率，結論是他們的早卒率沒有高于正常范圍。

2. King Tuts death was probably accidental.

2. 圖坦卡蒙可能死于意外。

For years， it was speculated that King Tuts death at age 19 was caused by a blow to the head， inflicted[造成]， perhaps， by a rival[競爭者]. More recently， however， experts have determined that the damage to his mummys skull occurred after death， either during the embalming[用防腐劑來處理（尸體）] process[過程] or at the hands of Carters crew. So how did the boy king die？ In 2005， a study showed that he broke his leg and developed an infection in the wound shortly before death. According to one theory， the pharaoh sustained[遭受] the injury by falling from his chariot[戰(zhàn)車] during a hunt. Meanwhile， DNA testing in 2010 suggested that Tutankhamen had malaria[瘧疾]， which might have exacerbated[惡化] a leg infection or caused him to fall in the first place. However， other theories about King Tuts death still abound[充滿].

多年來，人們猜測19歲的圖坦卡蒙是因為頭部受到打擊致死，而這個重擊可能是競爭對手謀劃的。然而到了近期，專家認定木乃伊頭骨的破損是在圖坦卡蒙死后造成的——可能是對尸體進行防腐處理的過程中產(chǎn)生的，或是卡特的隨同人員造成的。那么，這位年輕的法老因何而死？2005年，一項研究顯示他在死前不久曾斷過腿，傷口受到感染。根據(jù)其中一種理論，這位法老在一次打獵中從戰(zhàn)車上摔了下來，因此受傷。另外，2010年的DNA測試結果顯示圖坦卡蒙患有瘧疾，這個病可能使他的腿傷惡化，或者就是導致他摔倒的原因。然而，關于圖坦卡蒙之死的其他理論依然比比皆是。

3. Tutankhamen was likely the product of incest[近親交配].

3. 圖坦卡蒙很可能是近親通婚的產(chǎn)物。

In 2010， researchers， performing DNA analyses on the remains[遺體] of King Tut and his relatives， made a shocking announcement. The boy king， they believed， was the product of incest between the pharaoh Akhenaten注 and one of his sisters. Inbreeding[近親交配] was rampant[猖獗的] among ancient Egyptian royals， who saw themselves as descendants[后裔] of the gods and hoped to maintain pure bloodlines. Experts think this trend contributed to higher incidences[發(fā)生（率）] of congenital defects[先天性缺陷]—such as King Tuts cleft palate[顎裂] and club foot[畸形足]—among rulers.

2010年，研究人員對圖坦卡蒙及其親屬的遺骸進行了DNA分析，結果很驚人。他們相信，這位年輕的國王是法老阿肯那頓和他的一個妹妹所生。近親生育在古埃及王室十分盛行。王室成員認為自己是神的后代，所以希望保持血統(tǒng)的純正。專家認為這種潮流造成統(tǒng)治者患有先天性缺陷的幾率較高，如圖坦卡蒙就有腭裂和畸形足。

4. King Tut wasnt buried alone. 4. 圖坦卡蒙并非單獨下葬。

As Carter explored further into Tutankhamens tomb， he discovered a treasury room filled with priceless funerary[埋葬的] objects， including gold figurines[小雕像]， ritual[儀式的] jewelry， small boats representing[象征] the journey to the netherworld[陰間] and a shrine[圣骨匣] for the pharaohs organs[器官]. The chamber also held two smaller coffins[棺材] that contained two fetuses[胎兒]. Recent DNA tests suggest that one of the mummies is that of Tutankhamens stillborn[死胎的] daughter and that the other was likely his child as well.

隨著卡特進一步深入圖坦卡蒙的陵墓，他發(fā)現(xiàn)了一個寶庫，里面布滿陪葬的無價之寶，包括金雕像、用于祭祀的珠寶、代表通向陰間之旅的小船，以及用來裝法老器官的小匣子。墓室里還有兩個小一些的棺木，里面裝的是兩個胎兒（的遺體）。近期的DNA測試顯示，其中一具木乃伊為圖坦卡蒙胎死腹中的女兒，另一具很可能也是他的孩子。

5. Three millennia[一千年] after his death， the once-obscure[不引人注意的] Tutankhamen became all the rage[風行一時的事物].

5. 在死后三千年，圖坦卡蒙這位當時名不見經(jīng)傳的法老風靡世界。

For several years following Carters discovery， no ruler was more popular than Egypts boy king. Formerly a minor footnote in the tome of Egyptian history， Tutankhamen took the world by storm. Women donned[穿上] snake bracelets[手鐲] and gold dresses inspired by his iconic mask； mummies haunted[時常出現(xiàn)] the silver screen. “Tutmania，” as it was known， once again swept[席卷] the United States when a collection of objects from the pharaohs tomb toured the country from 1977 to 1979. The craze reached such a fever pitch[高度，極點] that comedian Steve Martin mocked[嘲笑] it in his 1978 song “King Tut.”

卡特發(fā)現(xiàn)圖坦卡蒙陵墓之后的數(shù)年里，沒有哪個統(tǒng)治者比這位埃及小國王更受歡迎。圖坦卡蒙以前只是埃及歷史里的一個小小注腳，自那時起卻在世界范圍內掀起一陣熱潮。女人們穿戴起由圖坦卡蒙標志性面具啟發(fā)而設計出的蛇形手鐲和金衣衫；大銀幕上的木乃伊此起彼伏。1977年至1979年，當一組法老陵墓的物件在美國巡回展出時，人稱“圖坦卡蒙熱”的現(xiàn)象卷土重來。這股狂熱持續(xù)不退，喜劇演員史蒂夫·馬丁在1978年甚至寫了《圖坦卡蒙》一曲嘲笑這一現(xiàn)象。