SCIENCE IN THE NEWS

SCIENCE IN THE NEWS
By Jerilyn Watson

Broadcast: Tuesday, February 01, 2005

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VOICE ONE:

This is SCIENCE IN THE NEWS, in VOA Special English. I'm Sarah Long.

VOICE TWO:

 
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And I'm Bob Doughty¹. On our program this week, we tell about recent discoveries made by archeologists working in Egypt. The discoveries are said to provide important clues about people who lived thousands of years ago.

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VOICE ONE:

Archeologists in Egypt uncovered the remains² of twenty ancient people late last year. Some of the dead were family members who had been buried together. The archeologists say the twenty people lived thousands of years ago during what is called the Greco-Roman period. That is when Greece, and later Rome, ruled ancient Egypt.

 
AP Photo
The human remains have lasted so long because they were specially³ treated before burial. Experts covered them with a substance called embalming⁴ resin⁵. The treated remains are called mummies.

VOICE TWO:

The area where the twenty mummies were found is called the Valley of the Golden Mummies. Untold⁶ numbers of human remains are buried in the Valley. Its discoverers believe the area holds some of the most important archeological finds since King Tutankhamun.

Last month, research scientists used a device called a C.T. scanner to examine the body of King Tut. The researchers want to learn what killed this young ruler of ancient Egypt.

Scientists are using technology in the Valley of the Golden Mummies and other areas. They use radar⁷ to find burial areas and x-ray equipment to study bones. Experts also are performing experiments on the mummies and the objects found with them.

VOICE ONE:

The Valley of the Golden Mummies is near the Bahariya Oasis⁸, about three hundred eighty kilometers southwest of Cairo, the Egyptian capital. The remains of Romans have been found in the Valley. The Romans lived there between two thousand and two thousand three hundred years ago. The oasis provided them with water in the desert.

The most famous archeologist in Egypt believes that Greeks may have developed the burial place at an even earlier time. Zahi Hawass is head of the Egyptian Supreme⁹ Council of Antiquities¹⁰. He directs archeological projects in places like the famous Pyramids at Giza. Mister Hawass has been directing archeology in the Valley and the nearby town of Bawiti for the past six years.

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VOICE TWO:

The Valley of the Golden Mummies was discovered accidentally in nineteen ninety-six. For this priceless find, science can thank an animal. One day, a donkey was carrying an Egyptian security guard across the desert. Then the donkey missed a step. Its foot slid into the top of a burial place covered with rock and sand.

Researchers soon learned that many people are buried at the Bahariya Oasis. The Valley covers an area of at least ten square kilometers. At least ten thousand mummies are buried there. Some estimates place that number much higher. Mister Hawass says it is the largest ancient cemetery¹¹ ever found.

VOICE ONE:

At first, officials kept secret the finding of the Valley of the Golden Mummies. The Egyptian government wanted to prevent ancient objects from being stolen. Three years after the discovery, Mister Hawas led a team that found more than one hundred mummies. They were removed from four structures for the dead, or tombs.

Mister Hawass clearly remembers opening the first tomb. Gold shone brightly as the sunlight broke the darkness of thousands of years. Under the light, he saw the people of Bahariya. They lay in family tombs. Husbands and wives were buried together. Often their children were with them. Their remains were discovered inside painted containers, called coffins¹². Some had golden head coverings. Money, jewelry¹³, and drink containers were buried with them.

VOICE TWO:

On a later dig, Mister Hawass and his team found more tombs. They also found wooden structures called stelae (STE-LE). Some were shaped like a religious center, or temple. These stelae had pictures of gods like Osiris and Anubis. They ruled the underworld and the dead. Such pictures were often seen in tombs.

The archeologists unearthed¹⁴ three other tombs in two thousand one. In one place, they saw a uraeus ((you RAY' us)) on the golden head-cover of a mummy. Mister Hawass identifies a uraeus as a spitting cobra. He says this creature represents a ruling family. He suggests that this probably shows the dead person's desire to become a ruler after death.

VOICE ONE:

Mister Hawass led the research team that uncovered the mummies in the Valley of the Golden Mummies last year. The Discovery Channel and Britain's Channel Five television broadcast programs of the work directly from the Valley.

Television cameras showed twelve mummies lying together. One week earlier, researchers had found the remains in three separate burial areas.

Pieces of money were found near the mummies. Experts say ancient Egyptians believed they needed the money to enter the After World. The archeologists also uncovered small wooden statues of the dead. They also found jewelry, containers for cooking, and objects called amulets¹⁵. Amulets were worn to protect against evil.

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VOICE TWO:

Not all the remains in the Valley of the Golden Mummies are under the ground. Many individual bones lie on top of the sand.

Margaret Cox is a bone expert. Miz Cox says some of the bones already have provided interesting information. She talked about one head bone, or skull¹⁶. She said damage to the nose shows that this person probably suffered from the disease leprosy. Teeth connected to the skull were in bad condition. Other physical evidence shows that the person probably died violently.

The Valley of the Golden Mummies has many such secrets about the people who lived in Egypt under Roman rule. Mister Hawass says the burial area may have been used during the rule of Alexander the Great of Macedonia. That began about two thousand five hundred years ago.

VOICE ONE:

Mister Hawass and his team also dug in areas close to the Valley. In the town of Bawiti, they found a surprise under modern buildings. They found the burial place of a family that governed part of western Egypt in ancient times. The remains were discovered in a container, or sarcophagus, made of limestone¹⁷. The stone had to be carried to Bahariya from one-hundred kilometers away. Mister Hawass said this showed that the family was rich.

The sarcophagus holds the remains of Badi-Herkhib. The researchers say he was the older brother of a governor of Bahariya. The governor served during the period when the twenty-sixth family of rulers led ancient Egypt. Artwork is found on both sides of this sarcophagus.

VOICE TWO:

The artwork shows the sign of Maat. Mister Hawass said she was the goddess of justice and truth. Ancient writing also is found the outer cover of the sarcophagus. Mister Hawass said the writing means that the dead man had performed spiritual ceremonies. Perhaps he did so at the temple of Bes. Mister Hawass identifies Bes as the Egyptian god of pleasure and fun.

Governing Bahariya seems to have been a family activity. Badi-Herkhib was the grandson of a former governor named Djed-Khunsu. Djed-Khunsu lived more than two thousand years ago. He served in the administration of Ahmose Second. Ahmose ruled Egypt in the twenty-sixth period of rulers. Djed-Khunsu's own burial place was found two years ago in another area of Bahariya.

VOICE ONE:

Mister Hawas says the sarcophagus and its writings show the riches of the Bahariya Oasis during that period. Many of the people became wealthy in the wine trade. This was especially true because people wanted to take wine with them to the After Life.

The wealth from wine products made the people of Bahariya rich enough to buy gold from mines in Nubia. He compared the Valley to the wine-growing area of Napa Valley, in the American state of California.

Zahi Hawass says he has uncovered three hundred-fifty mummies during his working life. But he expresses special pleasure in his work in the Valley of the Golden Mummies and Bawiti. He says he has not just learned about the lives of ancient people. Mister Hawass says he has found the people who lived those lives.

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VOICE TWO:

This program was written by Jerilyn Watson. Cynthia Kirk was our producer. I'm Bob Doughty.

VOICE ONE:

And I'm Sarah Long. Join us again next week for SCIENCE IN THE NEWS program in V.O.A. Special English.

1 doughty   

adj.勇猛的，坚强的

参考例句：

• Most of successful men have the characteristics of contumacy and doughty.绝大多数成功人士都有共同的特质：脾气倔强，性格刚强。
• The doughty old man battled his illness with fierce determination.坚强的老人用巨大毅力与疾病作斗争。

2 remains   

n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹

参考例句：

• He ate the remains of food hungrily.他狼吞虎咽地吃剩余的食物。
• The remains of the meal were fed to the dog.残羹剩饭喂狗了。

3 specially   

adv.特定地；特殊地；明确地

参考例句：

• They are specially packaged so that they stack easily.它们经过特别包装以便于堆放。
• The machine was designed specially for demolishing old buildings.这种机器是专为拆毁旧楼房而设计的。

4 embalming   

v.保存（尸体）不腐( embalm的现在分词 )；使不被遗忘；使充满香气

参考例句：

• The corpse was preserved from decay by embalming. 尸体用香料涂抹以防腐烂。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• They were experts at preserving the bodies of the dead by embalming them with special lotions. 他们具有采用特种药物洗剂防止尸体腐烂的专门知识。 来自辞典例句

5 resin   

n.树脂，松香，树脂制品；vt.涂树脂

参考例句：

• This allyl type resin is a highly transparent, colourless material.这种烯丙基型的树脂是一种高度透明的、无色材料。
• This is referred to as a thixotropic property of the resin.这种特性叫做树脂的触变性。

6 untold   

adj.数不清的，无数的

参考例句：

• She has done untold damage to our chances.她给我们的机遇造成了不可估量的损害。
• They suffered untold terrors in the dark and huddled together for comfort.他们遭受着黑暗中的难以言传的种种恐怖，因而只好挤在一堆互相壮胆。

7 radar   

n.雷达，无线电探测器

参考例句：

• They are following the flight of an aircraft by radar.他们正在用雷达追踪一架飞机的飞行。
• Enemy ships were detected on the radar.敌舰的影像已显现在雷达上。

8 oasis   

n.（沙漠中的）绿洲，宜人的地方

参考例句：

• They stopped for the night at an oasis.他们在沙漠中的绿洲停下来过夜。
• The town was an oasis of prosperity in a desert of poverty.该镇是贫穷荒漠中的一块繁荣的“绿洲”。

9 supreme   

adj.极度的，最重要的；至高的，最高的

参考例句：

• It was the supreme moment in his life.那是他一生中最重要的时刻。
• He handed up the indictment to the supreme court.他把起诉书送交最高法院。

10 antiquities   

n.古老( antiquity的名词复数 )；古迹；古人们；古代的风俗习惯

参考例句：

• There is rest and healing in the contemplation of antiquities. 欣赏古物有休息和疗养之功。 来自辞典例句
• Bertha developed a fine enthusiasm for the antiquities of London. 伯沙对伦敦的古迹产生了很大的热情。 来自辞典例句

11 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。

12 coffins   

n.棺材( coffin的名词复数 )；使某人早亡[死，完蛋，垮台等]之物

参考例句：

• The shop was close and hot, and the atmosphere seemed tainted with the smell of coffins. 店堂里相当闷热，空气仿佛被棺木的味儿污染了。 来自辞典例句
• Donate some coffins to the temple, equal to the number of deaths. 到寺庙里，捐赠棺材盒给这些死者吧。 来自电影对白

13 jewelry   

n.（jewllery）（总称）珠宝

参考例句：

• The burglars walked off with all my jewelry.夜盗偷走了我的全部珠宝。
• Jewelry and lace are mostly feminine belongings.珠宝和花边多数是女性用品。

14 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。

15 amulets   

n.护身符( amulet的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Amulets,\"guards,\" as they are popularly called, intended to ward off evil spirits. 护身符――或者象他们普遍的叫法：“警卫”用来抵御妖魔鬼怪。 来自辞典例句
• However, all oval amulets in a single game are the same. 当然，所有的魔法用品也有类似的情形。 来自互联网

16 skull   

n.头骨；颅骨

参考例句：

• The skull bones fuse between the ages of fifteen and twenty-five.头骨在15至25岁之间长合。
• He fell out of the window and cracked his skull.他从窗子摔了出去，跌裂了颅骨。

17 limestone   

n.石灰石

参考例句：

• Limestone is often used in building construction.石灰岩常用于建筑。
• Cement is made from limestone.水泥是由石灰石制成的。