bit stealing game

Chapter 14 Ali's God

Ali arrived early the next morning.

He was very happy to see us, and gave Lao Zhang a warm hug while saying "my friend".Seeing his eagerness, it really feels like reunion after a long absence.

After breakfast we went to the Valley of the Kings.

The straight-line distance from the east bank to the west bank is not long, but there is no bridge on the Nile River, so if you drive, you need to make a detour.Fortunately, Ali is witty.He parked the car on the west bank, and we took a boat from the east bank together, crossing the Nile in just a few minutes.

Ali drove his own car today.It is still the gold cup that is common in Egypt, which is what our archaeological team rents.He said it was borrowed from his buddies, and he usually rides a motorcycle bought from China.

The Nile divides Luxor into east and west banks.

The ancient Egyptians attached great importance to the laws of nature, so they regarded the east bank as the residence of the sun god and built temples according to the law of the sun rising in the east and setting in the west; Valley of the Kings mausoleum.In Cairo, the pyramids were also mostly built at Giza on the west bank.

The Valley of the Kings is a tomb form that has been used since Thutmose I during the New Dynasty. Before each pharaoh is buried in the Valley of the Kings, he will stop at his burial temple [or mausoleum].

These ancient Egyptian buildings have been part of the environment for thousands of years.The small animals are also used to the whimpering of the Nile River every morning.

That's what the wind blows over the statue of Memnon.

The statue of Memnon itself belonged to the funeral temple of Amenhotep III, and was regarded by later Europeans as Memnon in Greek mythology.It's just that the funeral temple was demolished or destroyed in the years after it was built, and it has long since disappeared.Only these two giant statues remained, sitting quietly in the wilderness, watching the sunrise on the other side.

Although Amenhotep's funeral temple is nowhere to be found, there are still two funeral temples on the West Bank of great interest.One is the Ramsesim of Ramses II, and the other is the funeral temple of Hatshepsut, the first female pharaoh of Egypt.

When we arrived at the Hatshepsut Funeral Temple, it happened to be a certain time of worship in the day, and the two employees in charge of the security check at the gate stood one by one and knelt down to pray devoutly.

Seeing this, Lao Zhang whispered to Ali: "If you need to pray, we don't mind waiting."

Ali smiled in surprise, and patted Lao Zhang: "Thank you my friend, Allah won't mind if I pray later. Let's go and see the pharaoh's building first."

After visiting the two funeral temples, Ali took us to a nearby village for lunch.Although I have been here countless times, I have never been to the living area of ​​the locals.Even though there is still no pork to eat at noon, the farmhouse is more delicious than the restaurants that have been tired of eating for a long time.

After dinner we went to Valley of the Kings.

Now open to tourists is the East Valley, where pharaohs such as Tutankhamun and Ramses II rested.Since the West Valley is still being excavated, it is temporarily closed to the public, and I have not even visited it with the archaeological team.In fact, not to mention the West Valley, even the East Valley has many tombs that are not allowed to be visited, and are only reserved for research.

There is still a certain distance from the real Valley of the Kings when we enter the scenic spot. We bought tickets and got on the sightseeing bus in the scenic spot for a few minutes.

The Valley of the Kings takes the mountain as its mausoleum, just like the pyramids are a large mound of sealed earth.Seeing the rolling mountains from a distance, I have to sigh that this pharaoh's burial place is quite exquisite.

After getting off the bus, Ali pointed to the peak of the Valley of the Kings and asked if we know why Thutmose I chose the address of the tomb here?
Lao Zhang said: "I learned from the experience that the pyramids are too conspicuous and easy to be tomb-robbed, so I buried my tomb in the mountain?"

Ali said this is also a reason.He looked at Ah Tian and me, and motioned us to guess as well.

"Didn't you say in Giza that the pyramids were built like that to imitate the shape of the sun's rays? Is there something special about the Valley of the Kings?" Although Ah Tian didn't answer, she got to the point.

Ali asked us to look at the top mountain again. Is it similar to the shape of a pyramid? Lao Zhang squinted his eyes and said it was true. "If you regard that mountain peak as the form of sunlight scattering, the entire Valley of the Kings is under the protection of the Sun God." Ali said proudly.This is similar to what I hear every time I come to the Valley of the Kings. Tourists eat this set.

However, when the pharaoh's rule ended later, this form of burial that was originally conducive to protection provided convenience for tomb robbers.There are those who stick to the fire, and there are those who guard and steal.There are even court records about tomb robbery in the archaeological discoveries of the No.20 Dynasty.

Due to the large number of tourists in the Valley of the Kings, the tour guide will explain in the open space outside the tomb for fear of congestion in the narrow tomb passage.Next to us was a middle-aged English-speaking tourist group, and the tourists were all excitedly listening to the tour guide explain how the Valley of the Kings was excavated.When it comes to Tutankhamun, everyone is very serious. After all, this is one of the few tombs completely left to the British to 'discover'.The rest have been looted countless times as early as the ancient Egyptian period, not to mention the Europeans who came to withdraw money wantonly later.

Every time I watch the Egyptians tell the descendants of the modern looters the history of their country's looting, I find it absurd.

"I feel uncomfortable watching that Howard Carter send Egyptians to carry things in their ancestor's tomb," Lao Zhang said in Chinese in a low voice, "If these people have the face to go to Dunhuang, they will probably be educated ".

I shrugged: "After all, the Egyptians are Arabs, not ancient Egyptians. So the feeling is different from ours."

Because Ali was present, in order to show respect for the three of us, we generally communicated in English as much as possible, and only whispered a few words in Chinese when it was difficult for him to hear.

Ali said that he is not very interested in the tomb of the Valley of the Kings, so he will not go down with him, let us go around by ourselves.Anyway, we didn't really need him as a tour guide, so we made a total calculation and picked a few representative tombs to go in and have a look.

In fact, although there are more than [-] tombs in the Valley of the Kings, the contents are similar, the difference lies in the grade and the degree of preservation.So we chose the tomb of Thutmose III as the opening, and the tombs of Seti I and Ramses III are also within the scope of the visit.Tutankhamun's tomb has been emptied long ago, but it is this bare tomb that requires extra money to go in and see it.None of the three of us wanted to be taken advantage of, so we just stood at the door and looked in.

We first went to see the tomb of Thutmose III.

When I came last year, I had the opportunity to go to the tomb of Thutmose III with the Italian archaeological team, but I lost my ability to move, so I had to miss it.It was a surprise to discover that the tomb of Thutmose III had been opened to the public this time.

The pharaoh beloved by the god Thoth was one of the most famous pharaohs of ancient Egypt.He was thrown into the temple by Hatshepsut when he was a child, and then regained the kingship with the help of the priests, and expanded the territory of Egypt to an unprecedented extent.In terms of merit, he led the army northward to the Euphrates River, and the army camp went deep into the Sahara Desert in the west, defending Egypt.In addition, he also repaired the Temple of Karnak, which can be regarded as both military merit and religion.

"There is another interesting thing about the expansion of Thutmose III's military territory." I said while walking in the long flute-like tomb passage, "The Nile River itself has no name, because the river's status in Egypt is incomparable. In ancient Egypt, it used 【河】to call it, similar to The River in English. When Thutmose led the army to Syria and saw the Euphrates River, the whole person was shocked. Unexpectedly, there are rivers in the world besides our Egyptian river. There was a river, and it turned out to flow from north to south. So he named this river, which flows in the opposite direction to the Nile, "The Reversed River."

Ah Tian and Lao Zhang both smiled.

I made a secret in Cairo and talked about the afterlife of the Egyptians to A Tian and Lao Zhang in the Valley of the Kings.So I went down to the tomb of Thutmose III and told them the Book of the Dead with the murals.

The Book of the Dead is actually more like a "Guide to the Afterlife of Ancient Egypt", teaching people how to pass the trial and get eternal life.In fact, there is no specific version of the Book of the Dead. It is basically a private order, but the content is similar.

In the tomb of Thutmose III, the Book of the Dead records that the pharaoh was brought before Osiris by Anubis, and the balance of Maat, the goddess of justice, was between the pharaoh and eternal life.The pharaoh who passed the trial was able to pass through the duat, the Egyptian underworld, and board the golden ship of the sun.Although the ancient Egyptians were prepared for the trial, they have not yet seen a pharaoh who failed the trial.After all, they did everything they could to please the gods in order to achieve eternal life.In this story, Seth helps the sun god Ra defeat the serpent Apeip during his weakest night, so that the sun can rise again.

The Egyptians believed that animals were divine, so there are many animal elements in the murals of tombs.For example, Horus, the god of the sky, has the head of an eagle, and Thoth, the god of wisdom, has the head of an egret.

I said to Lao Zhang: "This Thoth is still the god of medicine, you have to pay your respects."

Lao Zhang bowed exaggeratedly.He was more interested in these small animal elements, and asked if the mural was the scarab in the Mummy movie.I say it is, but you can call it the dung beetle after the prototype of the scarab.

"Most ancient civilizations revere nature, and ancient Egypt especially admired the sun god. The combination of the dung beetle and the sun is because they think the sun is pushed up like a dung beetle rolling a dung ball." Lao Zhang and Ah Tian both showed that they were attracted by me Disgusted expression.I laughed, and then said: "Do you know why so many baboons are painted here?" The two shook their heads.I said: "Because baboons beat their chests happily because the sun rises, ancient Egypt believed that baboons could feel the sun god, so they were divine."

Lao Zhang said: "That's because the baboons have no hair on their chests. They feel warm when the sun rises."

I squinted at him: "You know a lot, I'm afraid you also beat your chest against the sun?"

Ah Tian also took the blame, "Well, no wonder he is the most active person when he wakes up every day."

We looked at it, and suddenly a part of the mural was missing.There should have been Thutmose III himself.This mural is in the Royal Ontario Museum, Canada.To be honest, there are not many mummies in Western museums who dare not call themselves museums, let alone murals.There are even a few lying under the University of Sydney building.

Lao Zhang sighed: "Fuck, they don't even let the murals go?"

"Actually, isn't there an entire Egyptian tomb in Oxford?" Ah Tian answered, "The old king showed us both before we came here."

We continued to look forward in silence.

After visiting the tomb of Thutmose III, Ah Tian asked me, "Where is the tomb of Akhenaten?"

I said it should be in Almana.Although many people claim that they have found Akhnaton's tomb, it seems that there is no conclusion yet.

"Why isn't he buried in the Valley of the Kings? Aren't his father and son buried here?" Lao Zhang asked.

"Because he carried out the religious reform. Akhenaten's original name was Amenhotep IV, but he changed his belief from the god of Amon to the god of Aten, and changed his name at the same time. Since ancient times, no matter what civilization, The struggle for religious power and royal power is a big deal. Didn’t Thutmose III come back from the temple at that time? After all, priests have great power in the New Kingdom.

The essence of the religious reform carried out by Akhnaton is more like a political struggle, which fundamentally weakens the rights of the original priesthood of Amun.After all, if the whole of Egypt really respects the god Aten under his promotion, what is the use of the priests of the god Amon.But in the end it didn't work out.His son Tutankhamen was also named Tutankhamun at the beginning, and as the name suggests, he respected the god Aten.But later they changed back to the original belief of the Egyptians.

As long as any reform touches the original interests, even if it is beneficial to the country, there will be many obstacles.Even for the pharaohs.After the failure of the religious reformation, some buildings in the Amarna period were appropriated by later pharaohs to other places, and that era was silent.For the losers in this struggle, there is no record of Akhenaten even in the history of ancient Egypt.It was only discovered after the Europeans came. "

Ah Tian let out an "oh", thinking to himself that he didn't know what shape his tomb would be in.

"Can that sarcophagus be touched?" She pointed to the middle of the tomb and asked.

I frowned: "In theory, it's not possible. But the sarcophagus is not a mural after all, so it should be fine if you touch it. You can see that many people have touched it."

Ah Tian nodded, and raised his chin towards the sarcophagus: "Go and touch it."

I don't know why, but I carefully touched the sarcophagus while no one was around.The rough surface is a bit cold, which is quite comfortable in the stuffy tomb.I pulled my hand back under Ah Tian's gaze.She asked, "Didn't you feel anything this time?"

I said, "I feel a little guilty."

Ah Tian glanced at Nut on the ceiling, turned around and walked out. "At least we know you don't end up in the Little Theater when you come across anything ancient Egyptian."

We went to the tomb of Seti I again, which is also charged separately.But the extra charge is justified.

The Greeks who first saw the pharaoh's tomb in the Valley of the Kings called it the tomb of the flute.Because the tomb corridor is very long, like a flute.Among them, the tomb of Seti I is the largest among the open tombs in the Valley of the Kings.Going down to the tomb, there are murals on both sides and on the top of the head.Although it has been looted several times, the tomb itself is a treasure.

Seti's name is "The Favorite of the God of Set".It can be seen that Seth has not been stigmatized at this time.

The tombs in the Valley of the Kings are intricate, and many of them have secret rooms that lead to other places.Hatshepsut's funeral temple is connected to the tomb, and there is a hidden space behind Tutankhamun's tomb.

The tomb of Seti I left an unfinished passage, and I pointed to the dark space at the end and said, "Maybe there is something behind this."

Lao Zhang didn't like to hear these things.Said that if he couldn't fall asleep at night, he would squat at our door and play games without headphones, and let me continue talking if I had the ability.Then I responded to their requests and told them the fate of several tomb robbers in history.Ah Tian listened with gusto, Lao Zhang covered his ears and started humming.

The mural on the top of Seti I's tomb depicts the "Book of the Earth", and the sun travels through the body of Nut, the god of the sky.

The pharaoh's original intention of building the tomb was to board the sun golden boat at night and be reborn with the god Ra.However, things backfired, and he couldn't even get a good night's sleep.Most of the tombs in the Valley of the Kings have experienced bad treatment such as tomb robbery.Some of the murals on the tombs of the pharaohs even include a statue of Jesus, which was painted in the Coptic period.During the First World War, Italian soldiers got infectious diseases in Egypt. In order to prevent the spread of the epidemic, they even stuffed the corpses into the corridors and ordered the graves of others.

They are all masters who kicked widows' doors and dug the graves of dead families. Aren't they just focusing on the ancient Egyptian civilization with no successors?

We came out of the deep and long tomb passage of Seti I, and saw Ali leaning on a stone beside him smoking a cigarette.When he saw us, he put out his cigarette, grinned and asked us if it looked good inside.

"These tombs are very interesting and super cool." Lao Zhang spared no effort in exaggerating ancient Egypt.

Ali continued: "So it is convenient for the Egyptians to take ancient Egypt as a favor."

When I heard it, it didn't feel right.Ah Tian happened to look over, and as soon as our eyes made contact, we knew that the other party also thought it was a little subtle.

Soon it will be time for me to report to the archaeological team.

Before I came here, I planned to go back to school after I returned to the team. After all, they couldn’t stay with me in Egypt all the time.

Ali came to bid farewell to his good friends the night before Lao Zhang and A Tian left.During this period of time, Ali accompanied us to many places, and took us to experience the life of real locals.

"I wish you could stay a few more days, my friend." Ali said sincerely, and pulled Lao Zhang into a hug again.This time Lao Zhang also patted him on the back and said that he is welcome to visit us in China later.Ali kept nodding.

Ah Tian took out a parting gift, which was the tea we brought from England.Ali declined and refused to accept.

"If we had known that we would meet you, we would have brought tea from China." Lao Zhang gave Ali the tea without any explanation, and gave him a whole box of cooling oil, "This is from China."

Ali did like our cooling oil, though, and said he had family working on an archaeological site here in Upper Egypt and would use it.

The three of us looked at each other.

I asked Ali which archaeological site he was referring to.

He said proudly: "It's in the temple of Ma'at, the temple of Karnak. Speaking of which, the Chinese archaeological team is doing archaeology there now. Do you know?"

Ah Tian looked at me, I nodded, and she told me that I was going there for archaeology.

Ali's amber eyes lit up when he heard that I was doing archaeology at the Ma'at Temple. "Remember what I told you, in the village where I grew up, the old people said that there used to be gods?"

We all nod.

"In my hometown, everyone worships the gods that come from the desert. The ladder descends from the sky, and the gods come from the depths of the desert. Those who are favored by the gods, their blood will turn into gold." Ali said with a smile on his face. A complicated look, "I have seen golden blood flow from her wound with my own eyes."

Lao Zhang moved uncomfortably in his seat, and Ah Tian raised his eyebrows slightly.

Ali didn't say who "she" was, and we didn't press.

"It is said that under the Ma'at Temple, there is a temple for him buried." Ali lowered his voice mysteriously: "I heard from the old people that the god is about to come to the world again."

　The Last Judgment of Ancient Egypt:
　　Ma'at is the wife of Thoth, the god of wisdom, the daughter of the sun god, and the embodiment of truth.She decided whether the pharaoh would pass the trial by weighing the pharaoh's heart and feathers.Beneath the scales crouched Amit, a chaotic little monster made up of the head of a crocodile, the forelimbs of a lion, and the lower limbs of Homer.Amit looked back at Osiris under the balance, as if waiting for his judgment, and those who were not virtuous were its dinner.

　　
　　
　
(End of this chapter)