When Hurley Faultner talked to George Edwin on the phone, he thought that Edwin was exaggerating. A few pieces of pottery were usually just a few pieces of pottery. However, he and Edwin had been friends for more than 20 years, and they had identified many truly rare artifacts together. Therefore, he had some doubts in his heart. They were no longer in their twenties studying archaeology at Cambridge, and they were no longer so emotional.
Moreover, the Nubian region at the border of Egypt and Sudan was an important archaeological excavation site. There were many temples, fortresses, tombs, and so on. During the New Kingdom period — 1553-1085 BC — ancient Egypt had annexed this place, so although it was remote, good things could be unearthed.
Therefore, after the phone call, Hurley Faultner immediately left and took a plane from London to this place.
It had only been three days since their phone call.
However, when Faultner walked into Edwin's local office, he was shocked. "George, you look terrible."
Although Edwin was 57 years old, he was very fit because he had been a member of the rowing team when he was studying at Cambridge.
But now, Edwin's face was drooping, and he had two dark circles under his eyes. He looked very haggard and listless, perhaps because his eyes were bloodshot and even a little strange.
Because of their close relationship, Faultner did not bother to be polite, nor did he hide his surprise and worry. "Did you sleep badly?"
"Hello, old friend." Edwin greeted him, then turned and walked to the desk. "I haven't slept much these days …"
"Because of the pottery fragments?" Faultner followed, puzzled.
The office wasn't big. Other than a desk, a few cabinets by the wall with some identification tools, and some replicas of relics, there wasn't much else. You could see the street outside from the window, but Edwin had drawn the curtains to cover it.
"Yes, that's right … I don't understand what the sentences in the Holy Book mean … Hurley, I feel that there is a secret hidden in it, and we have to uncover it … Maybe Jean Francois Shang Boliang felt the same way when he looked at the Rosetta Stone …"
"Wow." Faultner could not help but exclaim self-deprecatingly when he heard Shang Boliang's name.
Who were they? The underground dealers of Egyptian artifacts. Even at a Christie's auction, they wouldn't show their faces.
Ford really felt ashamed to put his and Edwin's names together with Shang Boliang's.
Moreover, how could those fragments of pottery be compared to the Rosetta Stone? This old friend of his was really tired out …
"Herry, come over and take a look. These fragments have a strange attraction …"
"It better be." Faultner joked as he walked. "I haven't felt any attraction from my wife in a long time."
Edwin ignored his old friend's joke and operated a safe on his desk. He slowly turned it in a circle and entered the password. The safe made a squeaking sound.
Ford knew that the other party had bought the four fragments and spent a lot of money. "Didn't you say that the seller said there were better things? Have you seen it? "He watched as the safe was opened, and then Edwin carefully took out the items inside.
"Not yet …" Edwin said. "I want to wait for you to see it before we discuss what to do."
The four fragments were taken out and placed on a piece of white cloth on the desk. Edwin pieced them together. "What do you think this looks like?"
"A water bowl." Faultner raised his eyebrows. "It's obviously a water bowl."
Edwin had been vague and in a hurry on the phone. This was the first time Faultner had actually seen this thing.
Bottles, jars, and bowls were common funerary objects for ancient Egyptians. Because Egyptian civilization was built on deserts and semi-deserts, they relied heavily on oases for water to survive. These bottles and jars were used to hold water and grains, especially the bowls.
Whether it was when the pharaohs offered sacrifices to the gods or presided over funerals, they would use water bowls to carry out rituals.
Water bowls could be said to be one of the most common Egyptian artifacts. Common things were generally not rare, but they could also be very rare — because they could come from any tomb.
"I think so too. Water bowl …" Edwin's voice was a little hoarse. "Come and look at the Holy Book on the bowl …"
At this time, Faultner walked to the table. Because the Holy Book on the bowl was quite obvious and clear, he saw it clearly at once, and his heart suddenly jumped.
"Wait a minute …" Faultner hesitated, but he didn't know what he was hesitating about. The "strange feeling" and "strange attraction" that Edwin mentioned seemed to be surging up. He had seen so many ancient Egyptian relics and countless other relics of ancient civilizations …
Including the Rosetta Stone. The shocking Rosetta Stone …
It didn't feel like the thing in front of him. These were clearly just four pieces of pottery. Why did they look like a giant tower? This thing really wasn't simple …
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Faultner moved a little closer, and the more he looked, the more his heart surged. He now understood how Edwin had felt these past few days.
"What do you think?" Edwin asked. "The information I know now is that these fragments were unearthed from a mass grave. It's not a mausoleum, and there's no coffin. It looks like the tomb of a rebel. I heard from the sellers that they dug up a few mummies, which should be the owner of the tomb. "
"This thing …" Faultner's face frowned. He took off his glasses and let his heart calm down before he took a closer look. "The style of this carving should be no later than the New Kingdom. Old friend, you may have really picked up a treasure this time. "
"So what do you think?" Edwin asked again, looking slightly anxious. "What does this mean? The tomb of a rebel? Stone + disease, is it the cause of the rebel's death or the way the rebellion was carried out? And the god of the sun and the god of the ram head, are they expressing the same god? God Amon? "
"Let me think, let me think." Faultner pondered, put on his gloves, and gently stroked the surface texture of the fragment. When his fingers gradually approached the line of Holy Book, they trembled and stopped. It seemed to be a line of cursed and infected words. Although it had been sealed for thousands of years, once touched, it would still be infected …
Stone + pus … Stone + disease … Stone + disaster caused by stone, stone and medicine …
Faultner's mind was in a mess, but he thought of something again and asked, "Old friend, have you ever wondered why it's stone?"
"What?" Edwin was puzzled.
"In Egyptian civilization, stone and medicine, don't you remember anything?" Faultner asked again. "And those birds, why birds? New Kingdom period, water bowl, do you remember anything? "
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