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考古发现并不总是“第一次”。一支捷克考古队在埃及萨卡拉重新找到了两座 4000 多年前的古墓：它们早在 1858—1860 年就被法国学者马里耶特发现过，后来却被沙漠里的沙子重新掩埋，位置失传多年。文章先交代新闻事件，再解释一座墓为什么会“丢失”；接着介绍这次的新收获，包括墓主妻子的祭堂、深埋地下的墓室和墓主遗骸；然后说明墓主普塔赫谢普塞斯在历史上的特殊身份，以及研究者认为这些发现能补充哪些历史认识；最后借埃及文物官员的话点出“重访旧遗址”的价值。阅读时可留意 but、this time、even、already 等词如何推进对比，以及 according to、said、explained 如何区分事实与说法。

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Some discoveries are not really new. In Egypt, a team of Czech archaeologists has found two ancient tombs that were first discovered more than 160 years ago and then lost again under the desert sand. On Monday, Egypt’s Minister of Tourism and Antiquities, Sherif Fathy, visited the site at Saqqara to see the work. The tombs belonged to Sabu and his son Ptahshepses, two important officials who lived more than 4,000 years ago.

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有些发现其实并不算新。在埃及，一支捷克考古队找到了两座古墓，它们早在 160 多年前就被发现过，后来又在沙漠的沙子下“丢失”了。周一，埃及旅游和文物部长谢里夫·法特希前往萨卡拉遗址视察这项工作。这两座墓属于萨布和他的儿子普塔赫谢普塞斯，他们是生活在 4000 多年前的两位重要官员。

How can a tomb be lost? Between 1858 and 1860, the French scholar Auguste Mariette found about 160 tombs in the area. But he mainly dug out certain parts, such as chapels, corridors and some burial rooms, and he did not record everything carefully. Soon afterwards, sand covered the tombs again, and for many decades nobody knew exactly where they were. The Czech team, led by Professor Miroslav Barta of Charles University, used satellite images and field surveys to locate them.

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一座墓怎么会丢失呢？1858 年至 1860 年间，法国学者奥古斯特·马里耶特在这一带发现了大约 160 座墓。但他主要只挖开了某些部分，例如祭堂、走廊和一些墓室，也没有仔细记录所有内容。此后不久，沙子又把这些墓掩埋起来，几十年来没有人确切知道它们在哪里。由查理大学米罗斯拉夫·巴尔塔教授带领的捷克团队，借助卫星图像和实地调查重新确定了它们的位置。

This time, the researchers found things that Mariette had missed. In Sabu’s tomb, which measures 54 by 28 metres, they uncovered a small chapel for his wife, Ikhetneferet. It contains a stone “false door” showing her with her husband and their two sons. Such pictures give new information about how the family members were related. The tomb also has fine carvings of Sabu and Ptahshepses watching lines of people carry gifts.

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这一次，研究人员发现了马里耶特当年遗漏的东西。萨布的墓长 54 米、宽 28 米，研究人员在墓中发现了一座属于他妻子伊赫特尼费蕾特的小祭堂。祭堂里有一扇石制“假门”，上面刻画了她与丈夫以及两个儿子在一起的形象。这类画面为了解家庭成员之间的关系提供了新信息。墓中还有精美的浮雕，表现萨布和普塔赫谢普塞斯注视着一列列人携带礼物前行。

The son’s tomb is even larger, covering more than 900 square metres. Deep below it, the team reached a burial room through a sloping passage. Thieves had taken the jewellery long ago, but a limestone coffin still held the remains of Ptahshepses’ body. Egyptian scientists studied them and found that he died after the age of 60, which was unusually old in ancient Egypt. This matches the writing in his tomb, which describes a long career under four kings.

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儿子的墓更大，占地超过 900 平方米。在墓的深处，考古队通过一条倾斜的通道进入了一间墓室。墓中的珠宝早已被盗墓者拿走，但一具石灰岩棺里仍保存着普塔赫谢普塞斯的遗骸。埃及科学家对遗骸进行研究后发现，他去世时已超过 60 岁，这在古埃及是少见的高龄。这一点与墓中的文字相符，那些文字记述了他在四位国王手下的漫长仕途。

Ptahshepses was already known to historians. According to old writings, he was the first official outside the royal family to marry a king’s daughter. Barta said the work has produced “entirely new evidence“ about that period, including early examples of officials using family connections to gain influence, and changes in the way bodies were prepared for burial.

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历史学家早已知道普塔赫谢普塞斯这个人。根据古代文字记载，他是第一位迎娶国王女儿的非王室官员。巴尔塔说，这项工作为那个时期提供了“全新的证据”，其中包括官员利用家族关系获得影响力的早期例子，以及遗体下葬处理方式的变化。

Egyptian officials say the project shows why older sites deserve a second look. Hisham El-Leithy of the Supreme Council of Antiquities explained that studying these tombs again allows experts to record them with modern scientific methods. The Czech team will continue to study and repair both tombs, and it hopes to find more forgotten monuments nearby.

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埃及官员表示，这个项目说明了为什么旧遗址值得再看一次。埃及最高文物委员会的希沙姆·莱希解释说，重新研究这些墓葬，可以让专家用现代科学方法对它们进行记录。捷克团队将继续研究和修复这两座墓，并希望在附近找到更多被遗忘的古迹。

新闻来源

• Czech Institute of Egyptology · Czech Archaeologists Rediscover the Tombs of Sabu and Ptahshepses at Saqqara (27 Oct 2026)
• Egypt Independent · New archaeological discovery in Saqqara unveils 4,000-year-old secrets (27 Oct 2026)
• Faculty of Arts, Charles University · Czech Egyptologists from CU FA Rediscovered the Tomb of Ptahshepses at Saqqara (25 Sep 2023, background)

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