Who Was King Tut 图坦卡蒙法老 Chapter 9 Howard Carter

Howard Carter was born in England in 1874. He was the son of an artist who made paintings of animals. Carter first went to Egypt when he was only seventeen years old. He was part of a group exploring Amenhotep’s city of Amarna. He drew pictures of the ruins. For a while, Carter also made money painting pictures of famous monuments to sell to tourists. Altogether he spent seventeen years living in Egypt.
The longer he was there, the more interested he became in archaeology¹. He grew certain that there was still an unopened tomb of a pharaoh. And he was determined² to find it.
His search took place in the Valley of the Kings, which is on the western banks of the Nile near the modern city of Luxor.
The ancient tombs had been cut deep into the rock, with long hallways leading to the burial places.
It was going to take a lot of money and a large crew if Howard Carter hoped to uncover a hidden tomb.
At first, some Americans put up the money for a dig. (A dig is the name for this sort of exploration.) Then, in 1907, an English lord, Lord Carnarvon, agreed to help out Howard Carter.
Lord Carnarvon loved horses and cars. He first came to Egypt only because his doctors had told him to. He’d had an accident, and the hot, dry climate would be good for his health.
Once he was there, he became interested in the country’s long history. When Howard Carter came to him, Lord Carnarvon gave him enough money to keep digging in the Valley of the Kings for many years.
Howard Carter kept searching in one special area. He was sure Tut was buried there. He believed robbers had overlooked³ the tomb because it was in a low-lying part of the cemetery⁴. A flood could have washed away all signs of the entrance.
But many other archaeologists thought it was a bad place to look. An empty tomb of another pharaoh had been found nearby. It seemed unlikely that two tombs of pharaohs would be so close to each other.
Still, Carter never lost faith that he was in the right place. Once, a cup turned up. Another time, the crew came upon some thin sheets of gold foil⁵. They all had Tut’s name on them in hieroglyphs⁶.
Year after year, Carter and his crew kept on digging. At one point they hit something. Something hard. Everyone got excited. But all they had found were workers’ huts.
After that, Lord Carnarvon was ready to call it quits. How much longer could the search go on? But Howard Carter pleaded⁷ to continue the dig just for a little while longer. Maybe, just maybe, there was something else under the stone huts.
In November of 1922, the crew started digging again. After a few days they found a step. That may not seem like something very important. But it was cut right into the rock. Pharaoh’s tombs were cut into the rock, too.
Even more amazing, under that step was another step, and another. Howard and his crew unearthed⁸ a secret staircase⁹ leading to a door.
What was behind it?
What everyone in the crew wanted to do was open the door right then and there. But Howard Carter did not think that was fair. Lord Carnarvon deserved to be there, too. But Lord Carnarvon was far away in England. Howard Carter told the crew that they’d just have to wait for Lord Carnarvon to get there.
Of course, as soon as he learned the exciting news, Lord Carnarvon set out for Egypt. Today, it would take about five hours to fly from London to Cairo. Back then there were not many planes. So how long did it take him to finally reach Carter and his crew? Two weeks!
But at last Lord Carnarvon arrived. His daughter came, too. And Howard Carter was about to learn what was on the other side of the door.
LORD CARNARVON
LORD CARNARVON’S FULL NAME WAS GEORGE EDWARD STANHOPE MOLYNEUX HERBERT, FIFTH EARL OF CARNARVON—THAT’S A MOUTHFUL! BORN IN 1866, HE WAS AN ENGLISH ARISTOCRAT¹⁰ WHO HAD A LOT OF MONEY. AND HE SPONSORED CARTER’S DIG UNTIL TUT’S TOMB WAS FOUND IN 1922. ONLY A FEW MONTHS LATER, LORD CARNARVON DIED SUDDENLY. THE LIKELY CAUSE WAS AN INFECTED MOSQUITO BITE, BUT MANY PEOPLE BELIEVED THAT LORD CARNARVON WAS A VICTIM OF THE “CURSE OF TUTANKHAMUN.” THEY WERE SURE THAT HE HAD DIED BECAUSE HE HAD DISTURBED THE PHARAOH’S TOMB. HIS DEATH LED TO MANY RUMORS¹¹ OF OTHER “MUMMY CURSES.”

1 archaeology   

n.考古学

参考例句：

• She teaches archaeology at the university.她在大学里教考古学。
• He displayed interest in archaeology.他对考古学有兴趣。

2 determined   

adj.坚定的；有决心的

参考例句：

• I have determined on going to Tibet after graduation.我已决定毕业后去西藏。
• He determined to view the rooms behind the office.他决定查看一下办公室后面的房间。

3 overlooked   

v.忽视( overlook的过去式和过去分词 )；监督；俯视；（对不良现象等）不予理会

参考例句：

• He seems to have overlooked one important fact. 他好像忽略了一个重要的事实。
• This is a minor point, but it must not be overlooked. 此事虽小，然亦不可忽视。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

4 cemetery   

n.坟墓，墓地，坟场

参考例句：

• He was buried in the cemetery.他被葬在公墓。
• His remains were interred in the cemetery.他的遗体葬在墓地。

5 foil   

n.箔，金属薄片，陪衬；vt.挫败，使受挫折

参考例句：

• Milk bottle tops are made of tin foil.牛奶瓶盖是用锡箔做的。
• An ugly woman serves as a foil to a pretty girl.一个丑女人可以将美丽的姑娘反衬得更加漂亮。

6 hieroglyphs   

n.象形字（如古埃及等所用的）( hieroglyph的名词复数 )；秘密的或另有含意的书写符号

参考例句：

• Hieroglyphs are carved into the walls of the temple. 寺庙的墙壁上刻着象形文字。 来自辞典例句
• This paper discusses the fundamental distinctions between the hieroglyphs andforerunner of writing. 英汉象形文字的比较是建立在象形文字具体内涵的基础上。 来自互联网

7 pleaded   

恳求，请求( plead的过去式和过去分词 )； 提出…为借口[理由]； （向法庭）陈述案情； （在法庭）申辩，认罪，辩护

参考例句：

• She pleaded with him not to go. 她恳求他不要离开。
• She wept and pleaded until he agreed to do as she wished. 她哭着恳求他，一直到他答应按她的愿望去做。

8 unearthed   

出土的（考古）

参考例句：

• Many unearthed cultural relics are set forth in the exhibition hall. 展览馆里陈列着许多出土文物。
• Some utensils were in a state of decay when they were unearthed. 有些器皿在出土时已经残破。

9 staircase   

n.楼梯，楼梯间

参考例句：

• Footsteps on the staircase interrupted his train of thought.楼梯上传来脚步声，打断了他的思路。
• I crossed the staircase landing,and entered the room she indicated.我经过一个楼梯平台，走进她说的那个房间。

10 aristocrat   

n.贵族，有贵族气派的人，上层人物

参考例句：

• He was the quintessential english aristocrat.他是典型的英国贵族。
• He is an aristocrat to the very marrow of his bones.他是一个道道地地的贵族。

11 rumors   

n.传闻( rumor的名词复数 )；[古]名誉；咕哝；[古]喧嚷v.传闻( rumor的第三人称单数 )；[古]名誉；咕哝；[古]喧嚷

参考例句：

• Rumors have it that the school was burned down. 有谣言说学校给烧掉了。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Rumors of a revolt were afloat. 叛变的谣言四起。 来自《简明英汉词典》