Who Was King Tut 图坦卡蒙法老 Chapter 5 The Afterlife

Of course, Tut had no way of knowing that he would die young. Nevertheless, he’d already started planning his tomb before his death.
Why?
The ancient Egyptians believed in an afterlife. Life after death was very much like life on Earth. In fact, it was even better!
The journey to the Land of the Dead was a difficult one. Not everyone was allowed to live there. A special book had magic spells that helped a person reach the Land of the Dead. The book was called The Book of the Dead.
THE BOOK OF THE DEAD
AFTER A PERSON DIED, HIS OR HER SPIRIT WANTED TO REACH THE LAND OF THE DEAD. A BOOK OF POWERFUL SPELLS AND SONGS WAS THOUGHT TO HELP THE SPIRIT ON THE JOURNEY. THE BOOK IS COMMONLY REFERRED TO AS “THE BOOK OF THE DEAD.” OVER TIME, THE BOOK GREW LONGER UNTIL IT CONTAINED NEARLY TWO HUNDRED SPELLS. IT COULD BE PURCHASED BY ANYONE WHO COULD AFFORD IT. IT WAS OFTEN ILLUSTRATED¹ IN COLOR, AND A COPY OF IT WAS PLACED INSIDE A COFFIN², IN A TOMB, OR SPELLS FROM IT WERE WRITTEN ON TOMB WALLS.
A papyrus³ showing people standing⁴ in their garden praising Osiris.
THE MOST IMPORTANT CHAPTER DESCRIBED THE RITUAL⁵ OF THE WEIGHING OF THE HEART.
If the dead man had lied, the monster would eat his heart and he would not enter the after life.
Every person, even the pharaoh, had to pass a test. In the underworld, his or her heart was put on one side of a scale. On the other was a feather. If the person had led a good life, the heart would be lighter⁶ than the feather. And that meant the person could enter the Land of the Dead.
In the Land of the Dead, the person’s spirit would continue to enjoy all the same pleasures as before. Eating. Drinking. Hunting. Playing games. Going for boat rides.
A tomb was not just a resting place for the body. It was like another home, filled with absolutely everything the person would need or want in the afterlife.
Of course, poor peasants did not own many things. Nor could they afford large tombs. Often, poor people were just buried in the sand. But a royal tomb had many rooms, all of which were filled with treasures.
The tomb of Tutankhamun was very small for a pharaoh. It had only four rooms. That’s because it was meant for someone else. Probably a member of the court. But when Tut died, his own much grander tomb was not ready. There was no choice except to bury him someplace else.
The largest tombs of pharaohs are the three pyramids at Giza. The huge statue of the Sphinx is there, too, watching over the pyramids.
The pyramids were built long before Tut’s time—more than one thousand years before.
The biggest pyramid belonged to a pharaoh named Cheops. It took approximately one hundred thousand workers twenty years to complete. The body of Cheops was placed deep inside, in a secret chamber⁷.
In ancient times, people knew that treasure lay buried with the body of the pharaoh. Unfortunately, the pyramids were looted. Robbers made off with the objects meant for the pharaoh’s afterlife.
Pharaohs who lived later decided⁸ to build secret tombs to keep robbers away. The tombs were underground hiding places. They had all sorts of traps.
Some tombs had stone blocks placed above the entrance. If the door was opened, the stone would fall and kill the robber. Inside, there were false rooms to confuse robbers. And if certain floor tiles⁹ were stepped on, they gave way, sending robbers down a shaft¹⁰ to their death.
But all the planning and all the traps did not stop thieves. Somehow they managed to find the tombs. They broke into them and made off with the riches.
Before Howard Carter found Tut’s tomb in 1922, people thought every single tomb of a pharaoh had been opened and robbed. That was why Carter’s discovery was such an important event. There always had been legends about the fabulous¹¹ treasures of the pharaohs. Now there was proof.
The legends were true.
THE PYRAMIDS
THE PYRAMID SHAPE WAS VERY IMPORTANT TO THE ANCIENT EGYPTIANS. THEY BELIEVED THAT THE PHARAOH ASCENDED¹² TO HEAVEN ON THE RAYS OF THE SUN. THE SHAPE OF THE PYRAMID WAS A SYMBOL FOR THE SUN’S RAYS, WHICH THE PHARAOH WOULD USE TO CLIMB TO THE AFTERLIFE. WHERE THE PYRAMID WAS PUT ALSO WAS VERY IMPORTANT. IT NEEDED TO BE UNDERNEATH¹³ THE MOST IMPORTANT STARS IN THE SKY.
THE FIRST PYRAMID WAS BUILT IN 2611 B.C. FOR A PHARAOH CALLED DJOSER. IT HAD SIX LEVELS THAT ROSE UP LIKE STEPS.
THE FIRST PYRAMID WITHOUT ANY STEPS, CALLED “THE BENT¹⁴ PYRAMID,” WAS BUILT ABOUT THIRTY YEARS LATER BY ANOTHER PHARAOH. BUT IT DID NOT RISE VERY HIGH AND THE ANGLE BY WHICH IT WAS BUILT
CHANGED DURING CONSTRUCTION MAKING IT LOOK “BENT”.
FIFTY YEARS LATER, THE LARGEST OF THE THREE PYRAMIDS AT GIZA WAS BUILT. ABOUT TWO MILLION STONE BLOCKS, EACH ONE WEIGHING AS MUCH AS FIFTEEN TONS, WERE USED. ALTOGETHER IT TOOK MORE THAN EIGHTY YEARS TO BUILD ALL THREE PYRAMIDS!
FOR A LONG TIME IT WAS BELIEVED THAT SLAVES WERE FORCED TO BUILD THE PYRAMIDS. IN FACT, THE LABORERS¹⁵ WERE HIRED WORKERS. THERE WAS A LARGE VILLAGE NEAR THE BUILDING SITE, WHERE THE WORKERS LIVED WITH THEIR FAMILIES. THERE WAS EVEN A DOCTOR, IN CASE A WORKER GOT INJURED.

1 illustrated   

adj. 有插图的，列举的 动词illustrate的过去式和过去分词

参考例句：

• His lecture was illustrated with slides taken during the expedition. 他在讲演中使用了探险时拍摄到的幻灯片。
• The manufacturing Methods: Will be illustrated in the next chapter. 制作方法将在下一章说明。

2 coffin   

n.棺材，灵柩

参考例句：

• When one's coffin is covered,all discussion about him can be settled.盖棺论定。
• The coffin was placed in the grave.那口棺材已安放到坟墓里去了。

3 papyrus   

n.古以纸草制成之纸

参考例句：

• The Egyptians wrote on papyrus.埃及人书写用薄草纸。
• Since papyrus dries up and crumble,very few documents of ancient Egypt have survived.因草片会干裂成粉末所以古埃及的文件很少保存下来。

4 standing   

n.持续，地位；adj.永久的，不动的，直立的，不流动的

参考例句：

• After the earthquake only a few houses were left standing.地震过后只有几幢房屋还立着。
• They're standing out against any change in the law.他们坚决反对对法律做任何修改。

5 ritual   

adj.例行的，老规矩的，惯常的

参考例句：

• This was the monthly ritual.这是每月一次的例规。
• I realized that here the conventions required me to make the ritual noises.我意识到此时按照惯例我应该说些客套话。

6 lighter   

n.打火机，点火器；驳船；v.用驳船运送；light的比较级

参考例句：

• The portrait was touched up so as to make it lighter.这张画经过润色，色调明朗了一些。
• The lighter works off the car battery.引燃器利用汽车蓄电池打火。

7 chamber   

n.房间，寝室；会议厅；议院；会所

参考例句：

• For many,the dentist's surgery remains a torture chamber.对许多人来说，牙医的治疗室一直是间受刑室。
• The chamber was ablaze with light.会议厅里灯火辉煌。

8 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

9 tiles   

n.瓦片，瓷砖( tile的名词复数 )；扁平的小棋子

参考例句：

• The wind dislodged one or two tiles from the roof. 大风从屋顶上刮下了一两片瓦来。
• On both slopes of the roof there are broken tiles. 屋顶的两面斜面都有破瓦片。 来自《简明英汉词典》

10 shaft   

n.(工具的)柄，杆状物

参考例句：

• He was wounded by a shaft.他被箭击中受伤。
• This is the shaft of a steam engine.这是一个蒸汽机主轴。

11 fabulous   

adj.极好的；极为巨大的；寓言中的，传说中的

参考例句：

• We had a fabulous time at the party.我们在晚会上玩得很痛快。
• This is a fabulous sum of money.这是一笔巨款。

12 ascended   

v.上升，攀登( ascend的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• He has ascended into heaven. 他已经升入了天堂。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The climbers slowly ascended the mountain. 爬山运动员慢慢地登上了这座山。 来自《简明英汉词典》

13 underneath   

adj.在...下面，在...底下；adv.在下面

参考例句：

• Working underneath the car is always a messy job.在汽车底下工作是件脏活。
• She wore a coat with a dress underneath.她穿着一件大衣，里面套着一条连衣裙。

14 bent   

n.爱好，癖好；adj.弯的；决心的，一心的

参考例句：

• He was fully bent upon the project.他一心扑在这项计划上。
• We bent over backward to help them.我们尽了最大努力帮助他们。

15 laborers   

n.体力劳动者，工人( laborer的名词复数 )；（熟练工人的）辅助工

参考例句：

• Laborers were trained to handle 50-ton compactors and giant cranes. 工人们接受操作五十吨压土机和巨型起重机的训练。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》
• Wage-labour rests exclusively on competition between the laborers. 雇佣劳动完全是建立在工人的自相竞争之上的。 来自英汉非文学 - 共产党宣言