China starts 3rd large-scale excavation秦始皇陵兵马俑展开第三次挖掘

http://www.i21st.cn/story/533.html
China starts 3rd large-scale excavation
秦始皇陵兵马俑展开第三次挖掘
FROM China Daily
PUBLISHED: 2009-06-15
                                            
Archaeologists will begin a third phase of excavation at the famous terracotta army site on Saturday, hoping to find more clay figures and unravel some of the mysteries left behind by the "First Emperor".
Workers prepare for the upcoming third phase of excavation for China’s ancient terra-cotta warriors in No. 1 pit in Xi'an, northwest China's Shaanxi province.
                                                        
File photo shows ancient terra-cotta warriors in No. 1 pit of Qinshihuang mausoleum in Xi’an, northwest China's Shaanxi province.
File photo shows some terra-cotta warriors in No. 1 pit excavated from Qinshihuang mausoleum in Xi'an, northwest China's Shaanxi province.
导读：2009年6月13日是中国第四个“文化遗产日”。下午1时，考古人员开始对被誉为“世界第八奇迹”的秦始皇(First Emperor)兵马俑(Terracotta Warriors)一号坑进行第三次发掘。沉寂20多年后，这次我们将迎来什么样的惊喜？
上周六（6月13日），秦始皇陵兵马俑坑第三次挖掘正式启动，考古学家们希望借此能找到更多陶俑，一解秦始皇身后的重重谜团。
Archaeologists will begin a third phase of excavation at the famous terracotta army site on Saturday, hoping to find more clay figures and unravel some of the mysteries left behind by the "First Emperor".
据悉，挖掘工作主要集中在秦始皇陵3个俑坑中最大的一号坑中北部，面积约为200平米大小的区域。
The excavation work will focus on a 200-sq m patch in the north-central part of the No 1 pit, the largest among three pits at the site.
新华社援引陕西西安秦兵马俑博物馆（以下简称西博）考古队队长刘占成的话说，专家们希望能挖出更多高阶官员的俑像。这种将军俑十分罕见。
Archaeologists hoped to find more clay figures of high-ranking officers, Liu Zhancheng, head of the archeological team under the terracotta museum in Xi’an, capital of Shaanxi province, was quoted by Xinhua News Agency as saying yesterday. Such high-ranking army officers are rare.
现有的大多数兵马俑都是射手、步兵和战车御者。秦始皇希望借助这些人来帮他统治来世。
The majority of the terracotta are archers, infantrymen and charioteers that the emperor hoped would help him rule in the afterlife.
据西博网站公布的信息，目前出土的俑像中“身穿战甲的将军”只有10个。
The museum website said less than 10 such "armored generals" have been unearthed.
刘占成还说，此次挖掘工作对目前的保存技术也是一大考验。数十年来，西博一直致力于研究如何才能使未出土的兵马俑完好无损，确保它们能够维持原色。
Liu also said the excavation will test preservation technology that the museum has spent decades developing to keep the undiscovered terracotta figures intact and retain their original colors.
在过去的挖掘中，秦始皇陵曾出土过一些色彩丰富的陶俑。然而，它们一暴露在空气中，便会因氧化而开始发灰，丧失原有的色泽。
In past excavations, richly colored clay figures were unearthed from the mausoleum of Qinshihuang (259-210BC), the first emperor of a united China, but once they were exposed to the air they began to lose their luster and turned an oxidized grey.
一位不肯透露姓名的西博考古学家表示，多年来，博物馆一直在和某德国文物机构合作，共同研制保护陶俑色泽的技术。如今，该工作已取得一定进展。
A museum archaeologist, who insisted on anonymity, said the museum has been cooperating with a cultural relic department in Germany for years trying to find a satisfactory technology to preserve the color of the terracotta, and has "made some headway."
(Translator & Editor: sylvie AND 小胡)
阅读工具
Terracotta Warriors 兵马俑
excavation  挖掘，发掘
archaeologist 考古学家
infantryman 步兵
charioteer 战车的御者
afterlife (迷信者所说的)死后生活,来世
mausoleum 陵墓