美国国家公共电台 NPR In West Bank, Israeli And Palestinian Archaeologists Both Lay Claim To Heritage

 

STEVE INSKEEP, HOST:

Somewhere near its heart, the Middle East conflict is a fight over history. Each side has a story to tell about who was first on the land, and each competing view of history becomes part of the argument over who should rule it now. So it's become a sensitive matter that Israel is conducting archaeological digs on the West Bank, land captured by Israel in 1967 and sought by Palestinians for a future state. The archaeology² is a military operation and sometimes a secretive one. NPR's Daniel Estrin reports.

(SOUNDBITE OF HAMMERING)

DANIEL ESTRIN, BYLINE³: Here's one archaeological site in the West Bank - the ruins of a village from the 2nd century B.C. When I visited on a recent morning, Palestinian workers were laying cement to reinforce a row of stones. They're working for the Israeli military. Benny Har-Even is the Israeli military's deputy archaeologist.

BENNY HAR-EVEN: Our work is mainly to preserve the history of the area.

ESTRIN: The Israeli military is in charge of archaeology in most of the West Bank. The military archeologists see their job as a race to save history.

HAR-EVEN: We have 3,000 archaeologic¹ site that we know of, and we need to take care of them, to protect them, to try to avoid bandits of destroying them. So we are a professional person.

ESTRIN: The status of the West Bank and the artifacts found there is supposed to be negotiated in peace talks. Until then, military archaeologists and Israeli academics continue to dig in the West Bank. But some of what they do there is not made public by the army, according to Israeli archaeologist Rafi Greenberg. He's part of a left-wing group of archaeologists critical of the digging.

RAFI GREENBERG: So they do not publish the list of excavations⁴ or the list of excavators or the list of finds or the location of their storeroom. That's all kept as a state secret.

ESTRIN: His group accuses Israel of using the digs to strengthen its control of the West Bank. The group sued in court to find out which Israeli academics were excavating⁵ there. The Israeli judge said that information would remain classified to protect archaeologists from boycotts⁶ by colleagues around the world. Greenberg says the secrecy⁷ speaks volumes.

GREENBERG: If it's wrong, then don't do it. And if it's right, then tell everybody about it.

ESTRIN: The army archaeologists say they prevent important finds from being lost to a thriving market of Palestinian antiquities⁸ thieves. Former Palestinian antiquities chief Hamdan Taha says Israeli archaeologists are the ones who are acting⁹ like antiquities thieves, digging in occupied land under a cloak of anonymity¹⁰.

HAMDAN TAHA: It provides a legal framework for open looting. It is turning the role of archaeology from scientific recovery of the past to treasure hunt.

ESTRIN: Palestinian archaeologists do conduct their own digs and collaborate¹¹ with international archaeologists, but they don't cooperate with the Israeli military. Taha rejects an Israeli argument that Palestinian archaeologists are not as qualified¹² as their Israeli counterparts.

TAHA: This is a cheap argument, and I don't want to respond to this because this is exactly the mentality¹³ of occupier - dominance.

ESTRIN: Taha does acknowledge problems. Some historical buildings have been demolished¹⁴ by Palestinians in the West Bank, and Palestinian archaeology is a young field. And the Palestinian Authority still hasn't replaced him since he retired¹⁵ in 2014. But he says even during times of violence, Palestinians didn't let archaeological sites meet the same fate as sites in Syria and Iraq destroyed by ISIS. Daniel Estrin, NPR News, the West Bank.

1 archaeologic   

参考例句：

2 archaeology   

n.考古学

参考例句：

• She teaches archaeology at the university.她在大学里教考古学。
• He displayed interest in archaeology.他对考古学有兴趣。

3 byline   

n.署名；v.署名

参考例句：

• His byline was absent as well.他的署名也不见了。
• We wish to thank the author of this article which carries no byline.我们要感谢这篇文章的那位没有署名的作者。

4 excavations   

n.挖掘( excavation的名词复数 )；开凿；开凿的洞穴（或山路等）；（发掘出来的）古迹

参考例句：

• The excavations are open to the public. 发掘现场对公众开放。
• This year's excavations may reveal ancient artifacts. 今年的挖掘可能会发现史前古器物。 来自辞典例句

5 excavating   

v.挖掘( excavate的现在分词 )；开凿；挖出；发掘

参考例句：

• A bulldozer was employed for excavating the foundations of the building. 推土机用来给楼房挖地基。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• A new Danish expedition is again excavating the site in annual summer digs. 一支新的丹麦探险队又在那个遗址上进行一年一度的夏季挖掘。 来自辞典例句

6 boycotts   

（对某事物的）抵制( boycott的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Their methods included boycotts and court action, supplemented by'sit-ins". 他们的主要方法包括联合抵制、法庭起诉，还附带进行静坐抗议。
• Are boycotts for other purposes illegal? 至于用于其它目的的联合抵制行动是否也是非法的呢？

7 secrecy   

n.秘密，保密，隐蔽

参考例句：

• All the researchers on the project are sworn to secrecy.该项目的所有研究人员都按要求起誓保守秘密。
• Complete secrecy surrounded the meeting.会议在绝对机密的环境中进行。

8 antiquities   

n.古老( antiquity的名词复数 )；古迹；古人们；古代的风俗习惯

参考例句：

• There is rest and healing in the contemplation of antiquities. 欣赏古物有休息和疗养之功。 来自辞典例句
• Bertha developed a fine enthusiasm for the antiquities of London. 伯沙对伦敦的古迹产生了很大的热情。 来自辞典例句

9 acting   

n.演戏，行为，假装；adj.代理的，临时的，演出用的

参考例句：

• Ignore her,she's just acting.别理她，她只是假装的。
• During the seventies,her acting career was in eclipse.在七十年代，她的表演生涯黯然失色。

10 anonymity   

n.the condition of being anonymous

参考例句：

• Names of people in the book were changed to preserve anonymity. 为了姓名保密，书中的人用的都是化名。
• Our company promises to preserve the anonymity of all its clients. 我们公司承诺不公开客户的姓名。

11 collaborate   

vi.协作，合作；协调

参考例句：

• The work gets done more quickly when we collaborate.我们一旦合作，工作做起来就更快了。
• I would ask you to collaborate with us in this work.我们愿意请你们在这项工作中和我们合作。

12 qualified   

adj.合格的，有资格的，胜任的，有限制的

参考例句：

• He is qualified as a complete man of letters.他有资格当真正的文学家。
• We must note that we still lack qualified specialists.我们必须看到我们还缺乏有资质的专家。

13 mentality   

n.心理，思想，脑力

参考例句：

• He has many years'experience of the criminal mentality.他研究犯罪心理有多年经验。
• Running a business requires a very different mentality from being a salaried employee.经营企业所要求具备的心态和上班族的心态截然不同。

14 demolished   

v.摧毁( demolish的过去式和过去分词 )；推翻；拆毁（尤指大建筑物）；吃光

参考例句：

• The factory is due to be demolished next year. 这个工厂定于明年拆除。
• They have been fighting a rearguard action for two years to stop their house being demolished. 两年来，为了不让拆除他们的房子，他们一直在进行最后的努力。

15 retired   

adj.隐退的，退休的，退役的

参考例句：

• The old man retired to the country for rest.这位老人下乡休息去了。
• Many retired people take up gardening as a hobby.许多退休的人都以从事园艺为嗜好。