遗失的法老城市08

　　Manfred Bietak was interested in the role played by the Nile in ancienttimes when he stumbled upon the strange truth about Piramesse. He was tryingto trace the lost river beds and waterways of the Nile in order to map outwhat the Delta¹ would have looked like at the time of the Pharaoh.
Today, there are only two branches of the Nile in the Delta. But we knowthat in the past , the river branches have switched course many times.
Through history, the Nile would have had different branches all across theDelta. Branches that have long ago dried up and disappeared. The reason forthis is that each branch of the Nile in the Delta carries so much silt² fromupstream that its river bed keeps building up until the water can no longerflow through it. At that moment, the river branch will switch course,finding a new route down to the sea and carving³ out a new path, sometimesfar away from the old river bed.
The only way to trace these ancient waterways is to study a contour map. Alllost rivers leave telltale signs in the contour lines on maps, signs that anexpert can trace to find the ancient path of the old dried-up river.
By studying these contour lines , Bietak finally came up with a single map,charting every ancient silted-up branch and waterway of the Nile through theeastern Delta. There were many lost channels, and each had been active atsome time in the past 5,000 years.
On this reconstruction⁴ map , with the help of the study of the contours ofthe Delta landscape, I was able to reconstruct the variety of Nile branchesin antiquity⁵.
This one map held the truth about Piramesse, because it would reveal wherethe city should lie. The ancient texts said it lay on the Delta'seasternmost branch.So all Bietak had to do was to work out which was theeasternmost branch of the Nile at the time of Ramesses the Great. To dothat, he had to date all the ancient branches, and he did that with pottery⁶.
In Egypt, cities and settlements were built along active branches of theNile which supplied them with drinking water, sanitation⁷ and transport. Likeall ancient settlements, Piramesse's busy streets and markets would haveleft behind tons of rubbish. Above all, potterry.

1 delta   

n.（流的）角洲

参考例句：

• He has been to the delta of the Nile.他曾去过尼罗河三角洲。
• The Nile divides at its mouth and forms a delta.尼罗河在河口分岔，形成了一个三角洲。

2 silt   

n.淤泥，淤沙，粉砂层，泥沙层；vt.使淤塞；vi.被淤塞

参考例句：

• The lake was almost solid with silt and vegetation.湖里几乎快被淤泥和植物填满了。
• During the annual floods the river deposits its silt on the fields.每年河水泛滥时都会在田野上沉积一层淤泥。

3 carving   

n.雕刻品，雕花

参考例句：

• All the furniture in the room had much carving.房间里所有的家具上都有许多雕刻。
• He acquired the craft of wood carving in his native town.他在老家学会了木雕手艺。

4 reconstruction   

n.重建，再现，复原

参考例句：

• The country faces a huge task of national reconstruction following the war.战后，该国面临着重建家园的艰巨任务。
• In the period of reconstruction,technique decides everything.在重建时期，技术决定一切。

5 antiquity   

n.古老；高龄；古物，古迹

参考例句：

• The museum contains the remains of Chinese antiquity.博物馆藏有中国古代的遗物。
• There are many legends about the heroes of antiquity.有许多关于古代英雄的传说。

6 pottery   

n.陶器，陶器场

参考例句：

• My sister likes to learn art pottery in her spare time.我妹妹喜欢在空余时间学习陶艺。
• The pottery was left to bake in the hot sun.陶器放在外面让炎热的太阳烘晒焙干。

7 sanitation   

n.公共卫生，环境卫生，卫生设备

参考例句：

• The location is exceptionally poor,viewed from the sanitation point.从卫生角度来看，这个地段非常糟糕。
• Many illnesses are the result,f inadequate sanitation.许多疾病都来源于不健全的卫生设施。