Archaeologists in Egypt said on Nov. 10 they had discovered a rare collection of mummified scarab beetles, as well as an apparently pristine Fifth Dynasty tomb that they plan to open in the coming weeks. The mummified beetles were among artifacts found in seven tombs discovered over the past six months on the edge of the King Userkaf pyramid complex at the ancient necropolis of Saqqara, south of Cairo.
As they were preparing the site to present the latest discoveries, archaeologists found the door of another tomb that remains sealed, Mostafa Waziri, secretary-general of Egypt’s Supreme Council of Antiquities, told reporters. The tomb dates from the Fifth Dynasty of the Old Kingdom and is unusual because the facade and door are intact, meaning its contents may still be untouched, said Mohamed Youssef, director of the Saqqara area. The Fifth Dynasty ruled Egypt from about 2,500 BC to 2,350 BC, not long after the great pyramid of Giza was built.
The tombs lie in a buried ridge that has only partially been uncovered and could offer many more similar discoveries, Waziri said. Excavations in the area had halted in 2013 before resuming earlier this year. Saqqara served as the necropolis for Memphis, the capital of ancient Egypt for more than two millennia.
Photo: AP
照片：美聯社
Ancient Egyptians mummified humans to preserve their bodies for the afterlife, while animal mummies were used as religious offerings. Two large scarabs wrapped in linen and in very good condition were found inside a limestone sarcophagus with a vaulted, decorated lid, the antiquities ministry said in a statement. Another collection of scarab mummies was found inside a smaller sarcophagus. “The (mummified) scarab is something really unique. It is something really a bit rare,” Waziri said. “A couple of days ago, when we discovered those coffins, they were sealed coffins with drawings of scarabs. I never heard about them before.”
Dozens of cat mummies and gilded statues of cats were unearthed, including a bronze statue dedicated to the cat goddess Bastet. The team also found painted wooden cobra and crocodile sarcophagi, a collection of gilded statues depicting animal features, as well as objects including amulets, canopic jars, writing tools and papyri baskets.(Reuters)
埃及考古學家於十一月十日宣布，他們發現一組珍貴的聖甲蟲木乃伊，以及一座明顯保存原始狀態的第五王朝陵墓，計畫將於接下來幾週開啟。過去六個月來，考古學家在開羅南方的薩卡拉古代墓葬中心進行挖掘，在烏塞爾卡夫王的金字塔邊緣發現七個陵墓，被做成木乃伊的甲蟲就是其中部分的陪葬物。
Photo: Reuters
照片：路透
埃及最高文物委員會秘書長穆斯塔法·瓦齊理向記者表示，考古學家在整理陵墓準備公開最新發現時，找到一道封印完整、通往另一座陵墓的門。薩卡拉地區主任穆罕默德‧尤瑟夫指出，該陵墓可追溯到古王國時期的第五王朝，特別之處在於墓門表面和門體皆完好無缺，表示其中文物可能未遭人為破壞。第五王朝統治埃及的時間約在西元前兩千五百年到兩千三百五十年前，稍晚於吉薩大金字塔的建造年代。
瓦齊理表示，這些陵墓位於一處被掩埋的丘陵脊，僅有部分顯露在外，還有可能提供更多類似發現。當地的挖掘行動曾在二○一三年中斷，今年稍早才繼續進行。孟菲斯作為古埃及的首都長達兩千多年，而薩卡拉正是孟菲斯的墓葬中心。
古埃及人會將人類做成木乃伊，為來世保存身體，而動物木乃伊則作為宗教性祭品。埃及古文物部在聲明中表示，考古學家在一個石灰岩製、附有裝飾拱形外蓋的石棺中，發現兩隻被亞麻布層層包裹的大聖甲蟲，保存狀況非常良好。另一組聖甲蟲木乃伊則在一座較小的石棺內被發現。瓦齊理指出：「（木乃伊化）的聖甲蟲確實非常獨特，可說是相當罕見。」他也說：「幾天前當我們發現那些棺木時，它們還是密封狀態，上面繪有聖甲蟲，我也沒聽過這類情形。」
Photo: Reuters
照片：路透
同時出土的文物還包括數十個貓木乃伊和貼覆金箔的貓雕像，其中包括一座獻給貓首人身女神芭絲特的銅像。研究團隊也發現彩繪的木製響尾蛇和鱷魚棺槨、一組貼覆金箔、刻有動物特徵的雕像，以及護身符、卡諾卜罈、書寫用具、莎草籃等物件。
（台北時報章厚明譯）
In an effort to fight phone scams, British mobile phone company O2 has introduced Daisy, an AI designed to engage phone con artists in time-wasting conversations. Daisy is portrayed as a kindly British granny, exploiting scammers’ tendency to target the elderly. Her voice, based on a real grandmother’s for authenticity, adds to her credibility in the role. “O2” has distributed several dedicated phone numbers online to direct scammers to Daisy instead of actual customers. When Daisy receives a call, she translates the scammers’ spoken words into text and then responds to them accordingly through a text-to-speech system. Remarkably, Daisy
A: Isn’t the Met Gala, the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s fundraiser, chaired by Vogue editor-in-chief Anna Wintour? B: Yeah, the blockbuster “The Devil Wears Prada” is allegedly based on her story. A: This year’s four co-chairs are actor Colman Domingo, F1 driver Lewis Hamilton, rapper A$AP Rocky and Louis Vuitton men’s creative director Pharrell Williams. B: And basketball superstar LeBron James is the honorary chair. A: I can’t wait to see the lineup of stars on the red carpet. A: 大都會博物館慈善晚宴「Met Gala」，是《時尚》雜誌全球總監安娜溫圖為該館服裝學院主辦的募款活動吧？ B: 對啊，電影《穿著普拉達的惡魔》據說是以她為範本。 A: 今年晚宴共同主席還有：演員柯爾曼多明哥、F1賽車手路易斯漢米頓、饒舌歌手A$AP洛基、LV男裝創意總監菲董。 B: 籃球巨星勒布朗詹姆斯則是榮譽主席。 A: 紅毯上的全球星光真令人期待！ （By Eddy Chang, Taipei Times／台北時報張迪）
Bilingual Story is a fictionalized account. 雙語故事部分內容純屬虛構。 Emma had reviewed 41 resumes that morning. While the ATS screened out 288 unqualified, she screened for AI slop. She could spot it a mile away. She muttered AI buzzwords like curses under her breath. “Team player.” “Results-driven.” “Stakeholder alignment.” “Leveraging core competencies.” Each resume reeked of AI modeling: a cemetery of cliches, tombstones of personality. AI wasn’t just changing hiring. It was draining the humanity from it. Then she found it: a plain PDF cover letter. No template. No design flourishes. The first line read: “I once tried to automate my
1. 他走出門，左右看一下，就過了馬路。 ˇ He walked outside, looked left and right, and crossed the road. χ He walked outside and looked left and right, crossed the road. 註︰並列連接詞 and 在這句中連接三個述語。一般的結構是 x, y, and z。x and y and z 是加強語氣的結構，x and y, z 則不可以。 2. 他們知道自己的弱點以及如何趕上其他競爭者。 ˇ They saw where their weak points lay and how they could catch up with the other competitors. χ They saw where their weak points lay and how to catch up with the other competitors. 註：and 一般連接同等成分，結構相等的單詞、片語或子句。誤句中 and 的前面是子句，後面是不定詞片語，不能用 and 連接，必須把不定詞片語改為子句，and 前後的結構才相等。 3. 她坐上計程車，直接到機場。 ˇ She took a cab, which took her straight to the airport. ˇ She took a cab and it took her straight
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