2022年11月14日 VOA慢速英语：意大利欢呼发现古代青铜雕像

Archeologists have discovered more than twenty bronze statues from ancient Roman times in Tuscany, Italy over the past few weeks. They said the statues were well protected in thermal baths and are calling the discovery "exceptional."
过去几周，考古学家在意大利托斯卡纳发现了二十多尊古罗马时代的青铜雕像。他们说这些雕像在温泉浴场中得到了很好的保护，并称这一发现是“非凡的”。

The statues were found in the town of San Casciano dei Bagni, about 160 kilometers north of Rome. It is a place where archaeologists have explored the ancient ruins of a bathhouse for the past three years.
这些雕像是在罗马以北约 160 公里的圣卡夏诺德巴尼镇发现的。过去三年来，考古学家在这里探索了古老的澡堂遗址。

Jacopo Tabolli is a professor at the University for Foreigners in Siena, Italy. He is the lead archaeologist on the project. He told Reuters on Tuesday, "It is a very significant, exceptional finding."
Jacopo Tabolli 是意大利锡耶纳外国人大学的教授。他是该项目的首席考古学家。他周二告诉路透社，“这是一个非常重要的特殊发现。”
 
Tabolli said the statues represent Greco-Roman religious figures like Apollo, the god of the sun. He explained that they were used to honor a holy place before they were put into the thermal baths as part of a ceremony during the height of the Roman Empire, "probably around the 1st century AD." Tabolli said about the ceremony, "You give to the water because you hope that the water gives something back to you."
塔博利说，这些雕像代表了希腊罗马的宗教人物，比如太阳神阿波罗。他解释说，在罗马帝国鼎盛时期（“大概在公元 1 世纪左右”），在将它们放入温泉浴场之前，它们被用来纪念圣地，作为仪式的一部分。 Tabolli 谈到这个仪式时说，“你给水，因为你希望水能回馈你一些东西。”
 
The hot waters of San Casciano helped to protect the statues, which Tabolli said were, "almost like as on the day they were immersed."
圣卡夏诺的热水帮助保护了雕像，塔博利说，这些雕像“几乎就像他们被淹没那天一样。”

There were 24 large statues and several smaller ones. And they were also covered with nearly 6,000 bronze, silver, and gold coins.
有 24 座大型雕像和几座较小的雕像。并且他们还被覆盖了近6000枚铜币、银币和金币。

Tabolli said that the use of bronze for the statues was unusual. At that time, statues were normally made from terracotta or red clay from the earth. This suggests that the bronze statues were made by a high-level group of people.
塔博利说，这些雕像使用青铜是不寻常的。当时，雕像通常是用赤土或红土制成的。这表明这些铜像是由一群高层人士制作的。
 
Italy's Culture Ministry said the statues come from the 2nd century BC and the 1st century AD. That period was a time of great change in Tuscany as government rule moved from Etruscan to Roman.
意大利文化部表示，这些雕像来自公元前 2 世纪和公元 1 世纪。那个时期是托斯卡纳发生巨大变化的时期，政府统治从伊特鲁里亚人转移到罗马人。

Many conflicts and cultural exchanges happened during this time. The bathhouse of San Casciano was a safe place for those escaping unrest and war to share culture and language, the ministry said.
这段时间发生了许多冲突和文化交流。该部表示，San Casciano 的澡堂是那些逃离动乱和战争的人分享文化和语言的安全场所。

Gennaro Sangiuliano is Italy's Culture Minister. He welcomed the finding and said that it would help with tourism. "This is an exceptional discovery which confirms once again that Italy is a country of immense and unique treasures," Sangiuliano said in a statement.
Gennaro Sangiuliano 是意大利文化部长。他对这一发现表示欢迎，并表示这将有助于旅游业。桑朱利亚诺在一份声明中说：“这是一项非凡的发现，再次证实意大利是一个拥有巨大而独特宝藏的国家。”
 
ANSA, the Italian news agency reported that the statues will be cleaned and repaired before returning to San Casciano dei Bagi for a new museum.
意大利安莎通讯社报道称，这些雕像将被清理和修复，然后返回圣卡夏诺德伊巴吉的新博物馆。