古埃及七大奇迹 Seven Wonders of Ancient Egypt_世界古文明七大奇迹
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Over 3000 years ago, the ancient Egyptians built the finest
monuments the world has ever seen.The great Pyramid, the largest stone building on earth, was constructed with futuristic precision.How was such quantum innovations ever achieved? The valley of the kings(帝王谷)contains over 60 royal tombs decorated with secret codes.How did the pharaohs reach the afterlife?
Hatshepsut Temple, an architectural marvel.But why is the face of the pharaoh been erased? The Sphinx, carved from a single piece of rock, became the world's largest free standing statue.What secrets lie behind its silent gaze?
The Karnak Temple Complex, the largest on earth, became an architectural battle ground.What forces made Karnak prospered, and who tore it apart?
The Temple of Ramses the Great was carved into a cliff-face, with gigantic figures and chambers, stretching for 200 feet.How could it vanish for thousands of years?And then there is Mount Sinai, Egypt’s greatest natural wonder, the place where God is said to have spoken to Moses and given mankind the Ten Commandments.Some wonders would shape the course of architecture, others would become shrines for all eternity.Through art history, they continue to enthrall and inspire as the seven wonders of Ancient Egypt.Beneath the stones of Egypt's wonders lie their hidden stories.To discover them, we have to travel back through thousands of years.Back through ancient dynasties, that once ruled the greatest
civilization on earth.This was a time when genius of invention laid the corner stones of the most revolutionist structures.A time of rivalry, inbreeding, conspiracy and deception.When God would pick his prophet from the royal house of Egypt.When a queen became a
pharaoh, kings who with the single hammer blow, would destroy the past that glorified their name.A time when the rewards were so great, some would be driven to any length to realize their ambitions.The kings of ancient Egypt were no mere mortals.They were gods' incarnate.And the ancient Egyptians cared more for the burial of their kings than any other nation that has existed.Three and a half
thousand years ago ,they began to build the most revered cemetery on earth.The valley of the kings is the most magnificent burial ground
in the world, 62 tombs cut deep into the rock overflowing with the treasures of ancient Egypt.Pharaohs like Tutankhamun and Ramees the Great were laid to rest here.But before long this remote valley would become a haven for treasure hunters.Tomb raiders and vandals would break into the secret underground world.They were followed centuries later by European explorers and adventure-seeking treasure hunters like Belzoni.Then archaeologists like Howard Carter would make breathtaking discoveries and began to piece together the lives of the Pharaohs.The oldest tomb in the valley belonged to the king Thutmose I from the 16th century BC.Probably this was chosen as a sidewall because of this cleft which made it easier just to begin the cutting of the tomb itself.Hidden tombs were the goals for these early kings.For the next 5 hundred years, the Pharaohs would follow Tukmust I and be buried here in the valley.Ted Brock has been responsible for creating a three-dimensional map of the entire valley and knows every tomb.Building a tomb is probably in many waysquite similar to quarrying operations that were carrying out for hundreds or even thousands of years.And so it's a similar proce of cutting into the rock, cutting out pieces of rock and removing it.It was a hot, dirty and dangerous work.So they have groups of people working there, cutting away the rock face, tunneling in and hauling the debris away.And behind them would be the finishers coming along with the copper and bronze tools, smoothing down the walls, truing them up and then followed up by the people plastering the walls and preparation for the decoration.So you had all these various steps going on at the same time.After the walls have been plastered, the decoration began.Outline scribes would draw the Pharaoh's face in red ocher.These motifs were copied from pattern books.A vizier would relay the progre to the Pharaoh.“Once an outline scribe has done his work, then the master artist has
come in and made corrections.Uh, you can see that on the head of horse here: nice detail and well finished by the master artist.See
there is no details, red outlines here so that wasn't even drawn by the outline scribe.”
Like the coordinates of teleport, it was eential for every detail to be correct to ensure the Pharaoh's succeful union with the afterlife.The tombs were decorated with these descriptions of the underworld, with taking this hole of the rock and making it the underworld itself.Most of the tombs in the valley of the kings are unfinished.The work cut short by the king's death.But the tomb of Seti I is virtually
complete.It was unearthed by the famous treasure hunter Giovanni Battista Belzoni who in 1817 was lucky enough to chance upon the longest and deepest of all the tombs.Belzoni described finding it as the best day in his life.But it wasn't all easy: once inside the main chambers were hidden behind the false wall;and in front of this was a well pit ten meters deep.He found as he came in that the rear wall was blocked up, except there was a hole which earlier tomb robbers had entered.Having discovered the secret entrance, Belzoni went on to explore one of the most carvenesttombs ever found.They built these large chambers in this tomb and pillars hewn out of the rock;they are not constructed.And beyond these are other chambers as well, with lots wall space for more decoration.The Pharaoh's body was mummified to preserve him forever.He would lie within many coffins before being lowered into a
sarcophagus.This could weigh as much as ten tons.The lowest chamber of all several hundred feet down in the rock is where the Pharaoh was laid to rest.This is the burial chamber of theSeti I.It's really like a giant sarcophagus with a lid representing the soaring sky, and the walls describing the sun god's journey through the underworld.And each end of the walls has the protective godde as found on the sarcophagus.Here the Pharaoh would rest, sealed in state, and surrounded by his finest and most valued poeions.The priest and burial party would seal the chamber.But the generations of workers would always be able to remember where each tomb was.And soon robbers learnt where the tombs were.So a royal seal was put over the door lock.But this didn’t deter thieves either.If the central government system was weak and people aren't getting their daily pay and rations, there is a great temptation to go and plunder these tombs.When the new kingdom ended,the tombs were abandoned, many stripped of their treasures.Some became shrines.Others became hidden.Some may
remain undiscovered.But the new kingdom of ancient Egypt left behind far more wonders than tombs alone.The desire for greatne let some pharaohs to
immortalize their grandeur in vast temples.The most splendid of these was built by the Pharaoh Hatchepsut.Like many Pharaohs, Hatchepsut liked to be remembered as a great leader and warrior.What was unusual was that
Hatchepsut was a woman.Built over the hillside from the Valley of the Kings, the temple of Queen Hatchepsut is the most impreive monument of western Thebes.Hatchepsut’s futuristic temple is packed with revolutionary features, a fitting memory, to one of Egypt’s most innovative Pharaohs.Yet, unlike Cleopatra or Nefertiti, the story of Hatchepsut's remarkable life is little known.She actually led armies in battle and this was something that early historians
really didn’t want to have to accept.She gave orders and Egypt bowed her head.It did as it was told.Hatchepsut was the eldest daughter of Thutmose I.And when her husband Thutmose II died, her young stepson became Pharaoh--Thutmose III.Worried that the boy might lose control, Hatchepsut appointed herself as co-regent and later king.There is no doubt that when she took the throne, she was acting
unconstitutionally.But she didn’t do as other ambitious women would have done and got rid of Thutmose III.He is always there.The thing is, she is the leader.
