In fact, in China, when Wei Kang had mentioned that they needed to work with local archaeologists for this trip to Egypt, Zhang Zian had thought that the archaeologists had found murals or reliefs with traces of the original Egyptian cats and had taken pictures to send to Wei Kang. But thinking about it, if it was a picture, it seemed that there was no need to wait until they arrived in Egypt to share it. They could have shared it in advance.
So he didn't quite understand what kind of cooperation Hans and Wei Kang were referring to.
In the eyes of ordinary people, the appearance and working state of archaeologists could be similar to Indiana Jones or Laura Crawford. They worked with their lives on the line all day, maintained a high level of adrenaline at all times, and made world-shocking discoveries every now and then.
But in fact, archaeology was extremely boring. It was a job that wore down one's patience, and what they found would shock the world. Even the tabloids might not be willing to publish it.
As for girls with hot bodies like Laura … Emmmmm.
Looking at these rough men coming out of the SUVs, even the parasites in their bodies were probably male.
They set up tents, set up tables, and covered the tables with white cloths. They also took out containers and tools for various purposes. They looked like they were going to do something big.
Hans said, "Actually, because Egypt's summer is coming, and it's going to be Ramadan soon, we originally planned to stop for two months to get through the heat. But in order to cooperate with you, we decided to work a few more days."
"… Thank you." Zhang Zian looked at the time. "You guys are … starting now?"
"Well, it gets dark late in Egypt, and it's too hot during the day. We all work from the afternoon until dark. Sometimes we have to work a little longer after dark, mainly to adapt to the working hours of the locals." Hans gestured to the Egyptians in the team.
The role of the locals in the team was coolie and handyman. They mainly did some rough work, were responsible for excavation work, and simply handled the excavated relics. After all, it was an archaeological site, so excavators could not be used directly.
"Let's go. Follow me."
Hans gestured for him to follow.
Zhang Zian had been worried that they would disturb Fina, but then he realized that their working location was not between the ruins, but on the side of the ruins.
Bastet's Holy Temple covered a large area. Other than the area where the ruins were piled up, a large area around it belonged to Bastet's Holy Temple.
Hans walked in front, and Zhang Zian followed behind him. They walked in the wasteland and headed east. Finally, they stopped next to a big pit that had been dug.
When Zhang Zian and the others arrived, they didn't notice that there was a big pit on the side. There were a few locals working in the pit, half squatting and half kneeling on the ground, using small brushes to clean a few pieces of cultural relics that were exposed on the ground. However, the surface of the cultural relics was covered with a lot of floating soil, so they couldn't tell what they were. As they cleared the floating soil, they carefully continued to dig downwards. Their movements were very, very gentle. At this speed, they might not be able to dig an inch of soil in an hour. Slow work yields fine results.
Hans said, "Since you came here for sightseeing, you must like cats very much, right? In fact, the Temple of Bastet is a relatively important archaeological excavation site. A statue of Ramesses II, carved from red granite, and some other precious relics have been unearthed here, including more than 600 cat statues carved from limestone. Most of them were offerings to the goddess Bastet. "
Zhang Zian suddenly remembered that it was rare to meet an authentic and seemingly experienced archaeologist. He should ask him if he knew anything about the Holy Cat statue.
"Hans, what do you know about the Gayer-Anderson Cat? Has a similar statue been unearthed here before? "
Hans chuckled. "You're interested in that statue? No, no similar statue has been unearthed here. It is said that there used to be a huge statue of Bastet in the Temple of Bastet, but it may have been destroyed by war or vandalism … You know, in the early 19th century, the Egyptians turned the nearby temples into quarries in order to save time when building houses. They dismantled the stones in the temples and moved them home. A total of 13 temples are known to have been destroyed just like that. "
"What a pity." Zhang Zian clicked his tongue.
"However, the statue of Bastet that is worshipped here should look different from the Gayer-Anderson Cat." Hans's expression suddenly showed doubt and uncertainty. "The Gayer-Anderson Cat is really a very strange statue. It is the only statue of a cat goddess that has been unearthed so far with a nose ring. The statue was donated to the British Museum by Major Anderson in 1939. Before that, there was a photo of the statue in Cairo. The earrings it was wearing in the photo are very different from the earrings we see today. "
According to Hans, in 2007, the British Museum held a grand exhibition with the theme "The Holy Cat: A Conversation with the Gods of Ancient Egypt." Hans had also participated in the exhibition when he was young.
Before the exhibition started, scientists used new technology to re-examine and analyze the Gayer-Anderson Cat, and the results were surprising.
According to the scientists' appraisal, the statue itself had been restored in 1930. The golden nose ring and earrings weren't there at the beginning of the casting, but had been added later for some unknown purpose. The age of the nose ring and earrings wasn't certain, but they were definitely very old.
Zhang Zian understood what he was implying. The statue of a god was very solemn, and there were rules for how it should be carved. After it was carved, it should not be added or removed at will. For example, there used to be a statue of Taishang Laozi. If you insisted on adding earrings and a nose ring to Taishang Laozi, it would be a very disrespectful act of blasphemy.
If such a thing happened in today's China, everyone could laugh, and maybe even make it into an emoticon and spread it on the Internet. But in ancient times, the consequences would have been very serious. Not to mention ancient times, even in Western countries, if someone made a joke of the statue of Jesus, it would cause a lot of people to be disgusted.
Obviously, the Holy Cat statue was shrouded in a layer of mystery that even scientists and archaeologists could not understand.
Zhang Zian could guess that the person who installed the nose ring and earrings on the Holy Cat statue was most likely a believer who worshipped evil and darkness. Through the blasphemy of adding the nose ring and earrings, the real Holy Cat statue became the evil god that they believed in.
It was not convenient for him to tell Hans the inside story. Even if he did, Hans might not believe him. Maybe one day in the future, archaeologists would be able to find new relics to solve this mystery.
While they were talking, a local who was working in the pit shouted. He carefully picked up a long stick and shouted, "Come here! Another one! "
In the man's hand was a mummified cat.
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