遗失的法老城市16

But if Bietak and Pusch had indeed found Piramess at Qantir, what was it that Montet had discovered at Tanis.

Once you've recognized Piramess is indeed at Qantir, you start wondering what on earth is Tanis thing. There are buildings there which really any detached observer know must come from Piramess, so what’re they doing there? Is it hoax¹? Have aliens drop them there?

Piramess had been found, but it seemed to be in two places at once. The buildings were in Tanis, but the foundations are beneath Qantir. How could this have happened? The answer is intriguing².

Rammesses the Great had chosen to locate his capital on the ancient Pelusiac branch of the Nile, and the river was its life blood, but the city was also at the mercy of the river, and one day, it would spell doom³ to Piramess. That moment came around 150 years after the death of Ramesses II. The Pelusiac Branch of the Nile silted⁴ up. It dwindled⁵ away until the river finally switched course all together, leaving the Venice of its day without water.

What happened was that the Pelusiac branch of the Nile which passed Piramess here was blocked in its lower reaches. The Pelusiac Branch of the Nile lost its waters to the Tanitic branch of the Nile, which became the main artery⁶ of the Nile traffic.

For Piramess, this spelt disaster. Now isolated⁷ from the world, it looked as though this magnificent city would have to be abandoned, but instead, after the death of Rammesses the Great, his successors decided⁸ to do something extraordinary.

1 hoax   

v.欺骗，哄骗，愚弄；n.愚弄人，恶作剧

参考例句：

• They were the victims of a cruel hoax.他们是一个残忍恶作剧的受害者。
• They hoax him out of his money.他们骗去他的钱。

2 intriguing   

adj.有趣的；迷人的v.搞阴谋诡计(intrigue的现在分词)；激起…的好奇心

参考例句：

• These discoveries raise intriguing questions. 这些发现带来了非常有趣的问题。
• It all sounds very intriguing. 这些听起来都很有趣。 来自《简明英汉词典》

3 doom   

n.厄运，劫数；v.注定，命定

参考例句：

• The report on our economic situation is full of doom and gloom.这份关于我们经济状况的报告充满了令人绝望和沮丧的调子。
• The dictator met his doom after ten years of rule.独裁者统治了十年终于完蛋了。

4 silted   

v.（河流等）为淤泥淤塞( silt的过去式和过去分词 )；（使）淤塞

参考例句：

• The riverbed is silted up, so there's no outlet for the floodwater. 河道淤塞，水无出路。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• The river is silted up and the water flows sluggishly. 河道淤塞，水流迟滞。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

5 dwindled   

v.逐渐变少或变小( dwindle的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• Support for the party has dwindled away to nothing. 支持这个党派的人渐渐化为乌有。
• His wealth dwindled to nothingness. 他的钱财化为乌有。 来自《简明英汉词典》

6 artery   

n.干线，要道；动脉

参考例句：

• We couldn't feel the changes in the blood pressure within the artery.我们无法感觉到动脉血管内血压的变化。
• The aorta is the largest artery in the body.主动脉是人体中的最大动脉。

7 isolated   

adj.与世隔绝的

参考例句：

• His bad behaviour was just an isolated incident. 他的不良行为只是个别事件。
• Patients with the disease should be isolated. 这种病的患者应予以隔离。

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。