埃及古城"迷失珍寶"水中沉睡千年後重現天日

Enormous statues, golden jewellery and hieroglyphic tablets which were feared lost forever have been reclaimed from the sea, and are to be put on public display next year in a major exhibition by the British Museum.

巨大雕像、黃金珠寶以及象形文字碑，這些消失在歷史長河中的文物終於從海底世界重現。2016年這些文物將於大英博物館向公衆展出。

The treasures belong to Heracleion and Canopus, cities built on the shifting ground of the Nile delta, which are now buried beneath three metres of silt. Ancient texts record the existence of the settlements, which were the gateway to Egypt before Alexandria rose to prominence. But the two trading hubs were lost - literally - to the sands of time until a chance discovery in 1996.

這些珍寶都屬於赫拉克利翁和坎諾浦斯兩座古城，這兩座古城曾建於尼羅河三角洲地區，現在被埋在3米多深的淤泥之下。古代文獻中有關於亞歷山大時期前這兩座通往埃及城市的記載，隨後這兩個貿易中心消失，直到1996年才被發現。

Divers in the mouth of the Nile unearthed the treasures, and have spent almost two decades since painstakingly dredging them out of the deep. Highlights of the collection include a 1.9m heirogylphic tablet inscribed with a royal declaration from Pharaoh Nectanebo I and a 5.4m statue of Hapy, an Egyptian god who personifies the Nile's floods.

潛水員在尼羅河河口發現了這些珍寶，經過20多年艱苦打撈，終於將他們從深海淤泥中重現於世。其中引人注目的文物包括一版1.9米高的象形文字碑和一尊高達5.4米的尼羅河神雕像。

The slab, which is 1.9m tall, will be one of the treasures on display at an upcoming British Museum exhibition of underwater treasures. It is inscribed with the decree of i, which levied a tax on imports from Greece

其中1.9米高的象形文字碑，即將在大英博物館展出的水下珍寶之一，上面刻有當時從希臘進口關稅的法令條文。

A diver secures a 5.4m statue of Hapy, a divine personification of the Nile floods, to be lifted out of the waters. The colossal red granite carving will one of the exhibition's centrepieces. The six-tonne statue, which dates to the 4th Century BC is the largest known example of a Hapy statue. The thick silt which covered most of the reclaimed artefacts helped preserve them from centuries of decay.

一尊高達5.4米的尼羅河神雕像也異常引人注目，潛水員對其進行固定，以便打撈工作的開展。這一巨大的紅色花崗岩雕塑也將在展覽中展出，雕像重達6噸，可追溯至公元前4世紀，是目前已知最大的神像雕塑。千百年來，海底的厚淤泥對這些文物起到了很好的保護作用，防止其被侵蝕。

The exhibition, called Sunken Cities: Egypt's Lost World, will run from May to November next year. It will combine items from the Museum's own archives with items on special loan from Egyptian authorities, who rarely let the artefacts leave their country.

此次展覽名爲“沉沒城市：埃及的迷失世界”，將從2016年5月開始，持續到11月。展品部分將來自大英博物館的收藏，也有藏品將從埃及當局和博物館借來，此前埃及鮮有藏品借出。

Around 300 items will be put on display, most of which were pulled from the sunken ruins. The exhibition will focus on the mingling of cultures in the Nile delta cities, particularly the interaction between Egypt and Ancient Greece. Other treasures on display will include a statue of Arsinoe II, a queen in the Ptolemaic dynasty which was founded after Alexander the Great conquered the country.

大約有300多件藏品參展，其中多數是從沉沒廢墟中打撈出來的。此次展覽將重點體現尼羅河地區的文化融合，尤其是希臘和古埃及文化的融合。其他參展藏品包括阿爾西諾伊二世的雕像，亞歷山大大帝征服埃及後打造的托勒密王朝女王雕像。