Lesson77AsuccessfuloperationDidthedoctorsfindouthowthewomandied?ThemummyofanEgyptianwomanwhodiedin800B.C.hasjusthadanoperation.ThemummyisthatofShepenmutwhowasonceasingerintheTempleofThebes.TempleofThebesLuxor['l?ks?:]

TempleisalargeAncientEgyptiantemplecomplexlocatedontheeastbankoftheRiverNileinthecitytodayknownasLuxor(ancientThebes)andwasfoundedin1400BCE.Luxor:acityincentralEgyptontheeastbankoftheNilethatisacenterforvisitorstotheruinsofandaroundThebesEntranceofLuxorTempleApanoramic[,p?n?'r?mik]viewoftheinterior[in'ti?ri?]oftheLuxortemple,justinsidetheentrance.Themosque[m?sk]builtovertheruinsisontheleftStatueatTempleEntranceAstherewerestrangemarksontheX-rayplatestakenofthemummy,doctorshavebeentryingtofindoutwhetherthewomandiedofararedisease.Theonlywaytodothiswastooperate.Theoperation,whichlastedforoverfourhours,provedtobeverydifficultbecauseofthehardresinwhichcoveredtheskin.Thedoctorsremovedasectionofthemummyandsentittoalaboratory.polyamide[,p?li‘?maid]resin聚酰胺樹脂TheyalsofoundsomethingwhichtheX-rayplatesdidnotshow:asmallwaxfigureofthegodDuamutef.DuamutefwasoneoftheFourSonsofHorus['h?:r?s]（古代埃及的太陽神）andaprotectiongodoftheCanopicjars卡諾皮克罐.Duamutef,sonofHorusCommonlyheissaidtobethesonofthegodHorustheElderandthegoddessIsis['aisis]（古埃及的豐饒女神）.ThereisanothermyththatdescribesDuamutefandhisbrothersassonsofOsiris[?u'sai?ris]司陰府之神，地獄判官.Accordingtothismyththeywerebornfromalotus['l?ut?s]蓮花；荷花blossomthatarosefromtheprimeval[prai'mi:v?l]原始的；初期的ocean.ThenameDuamutefmeans"Whoadoreshismother".CanopicjarCanopicjarswereusedbytheAncientEgyptiansduringthemummificationprocesstostoreandpreservetheviscera[‘vis?r?]內(nèi)臟oftheirownerfortheafterlife.Theywerecommonlyeithercarvedfromlimestone石灰?guī)rorweremadeofpottery陶器.ThesejarswereusedbyAncientEgyptiansfromthetimeoftheOldKingdomupuntilthetimeoftheLatePeriodorthePtolemaicPeriod,bywhichtimethevisceraweresimplywrappedandplacedwiththebody.Alltheviscerawerenotkeptinasinglecanopicjar,butrathereachorganwasplacedinajarofitsown.Thename’canopic‘reflectsthemistakenassociationbyearlyEgyptologists[,i:d?ip’t?l?d?ist]埃及古物學(xué)者withtheGreeklegendofCanopus[k?‘n?up?s]老人星（supergiantstar650lightyearsfromEarth;secondbrighteststarinthesky）.Thejarswerefourinnumber,eachchargedwiththesafekeepingofparticularhumanorgans:thestomach,intestines[in'testin]腸,lungs,andliver肝臟.Thedesignofthesechangedovertime.IntheOldKingdomthejarshadplainlids,thoughbytheFirstIntermediatePeriodjarswithhumanheads(assumedtorepresentthedead)begantoappear.CanopicjarsofNeskhons,wifeofPinedjemII.Madeofcalcite,withpaintedwoodenheads.Circa990-969BC.OndisplayattheBritishMuseum.Thisgodwhichhastheheadofacowwasnormallyplacedinsideamummy.Thedoctorshavenotyetdecidedhowthewomandied.Theyfearedthatthemummywouldfalltopieceswhentheycutitopen,butfortunatelythishasnothappened.Themummysuccessfullysurvivedtheoperation.

Topicsfordiscussion

1HowhasthediscoveryofX-raysaffectedourlives?2Howdoreligiousbeliefsinfluenceburialcustomsindif