本集内容

Sudan’s pyramids twice as many as Egypt 苏丹的金字塔数量为埃及的两倍

学习要点

有关“ancient history 古代史”的词汇

边看边答

Why were the tops of the pyramids blown off in the 1830’s?

文字稿

A hidden and largely unknown history is re-emerging. These Nubian pyramids in modern-day Sudan were built around the fourth century BC.

They're much smaller than the Egyptian ones, but Sudan boasts nearly double the number.

This was one of the main cities in the Kingdom of Kush and the pyramids served as tombs for kings and queens. Today, the site is largely deserted.

But a new generation is helping to recover this history. And they are making it their own.

Mohamed Elmur, tour guide

I was surprised to see all of these things that literally nobody visited, that no one is taking care of them. This is an ancient history for our families. And the stories that I've heard from my family about this place - the stories of how these places were led by women, about how these places were great civilisations back in time. And I wanted to know more, how to take care of it, how to make the world know more about it.

Mohammed made it his mission to get the Sudanese youth interested in their country's history. He set up a camp, and began offering free tours on social media, hoping it would help preserve Sudan's ancient wonders.

Mohamed Elmur, tour guide

“This is the pyramid that was blown up by dynamite.”

In the 1830s, an Italian treasure hunter came here in search of the jewels buried in the pyramids. He blew off the tops…destroying the centuries-old heritage.

But there's still a lot to see. And young Sudanese are making the journey and braving the desert.

“You as a Sudanese, you need to know your history, your culture, you to be proud about it. You have to tell other people about your history - about how big is it. So you have to see it with your own eyes before you tell it to other people.”

The pyramids remain largely unguarded, even though this is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

There's a rich history here to protect… and perhaps even more to discover.

一段隐藏已久并鲜为人知的历史再次受到关注。这些位于现代苏丹共和国的努比亚金字塔约建于公元前四世纪。

这些金字塔比埃及的金字塔要小得多，但苏丹称自己所拥有的金字塔数量近乎埃及的两倍。

这里曾是库施王国一座主要城市的所在地，这些金字塔是作为历任国王及王后的陵墓而建成的。如今，该遗址大多已被人忘记。

但新一代的年轻人正在帮助追回这段历史。与此同时，他们也在创造自己的历史。

穆罕默德·艾木尔 导游

“当时我很惊讶地发现，没有任何人在维护这些无人问津的建筑。这里蕴含着我们祖先的古代史。我还从我的家人口中听到了有关这里的故事，他们说这些地方曾由女性主导，还曾见证了许多伟大的文明社会。我想更多地了解这里，比如怎样保护这些建筑，怎样让世界各地的人们了解更多与其相关的事情。”

穆罕默德把激发苏丹年轻人对自己国家历史的兴趣当成了自己的使命。他在这里建立了营地，还开始在社交媒体上宣传他所提供的免费游览团，他希望这些做法能够帮助维护苏丹的古代奇观。

穆罕默德·艾木尔 导游

“这是曾经被人炸毁的金字塔”。

在1830年代，一个意大利猎宝人为寻找埋在金字塔里的珠宝而来到这里。他炸掉了部分金字塔的顶部…毁坏了有着数百年悠久历史的古老遗产。

但这里仍然有很多值得参观的地方。而苏丹的年轻人们正踏上征程，勇敢地面对沙漠。

“作为一名苏丹人，你需要了解自己国家的历史、文化，并引以为豪。你应该把自己的历史告诉其他人，告诉他们这段历史的重要性。所以在告诉他人之前，你需要亲眼看到才行。”

这些金字塔依然大多无人看管，尽管这里是联合国教科文组织认定的世界遗产。

这里有一段需要为人保护的丰富历史，或许还有更多亟待被发现的文化宝藏。

词汇

tombs
墓穴、陵墓 

civilisations
（特定时期的）文明社会

ancient wonders
古代奇观

treasure
宝藏、财宝

centuries-old heritage
（沿袭了数百年的）世纪遗产

你知道吗？

The great pyramid of Giza held the title of world’s tallest man-made structure for 3871 years. It is the last surviving wonder of the ‘seven wonders of the ancient world’. 

埃及吉萨大金字塔曾享有“世界最高人工建筑”的称号，而且这项纪录保持了3871年。它是“古代世界七大奇迹”中留存至今的唯一一处景观。

问题答案

In the 1830’s an Italian treasure hunter blew the tops off the pyramids in order to search for the jewels buried inside.