中英對照讀新聞》9,500-year-old decorated skulls found in Syria 敘利亞發現9,500年前有裝飾的頭骨

Archaeologists said they had uncovered decorated human skulls dating back as long as 9,500 years ago from a burial site near the Syrian capital Damascus.

考古學家表示，他們已經在敘利亞首都大馬士革附近的一處墓地發現數具有裝飾的人類頭骨，其年代最早的距今達9500年。

"The human skulls date back between 9,500 and 9,000 years ago, (on which) lifelike faces were modeled with clay earth ... then colored to accentuate the features," said Danielle Stordeur, head of the joint French-Syrian archaeological mission behind the discovery.

「這些約9000年到9500年前的頭骨，外面以黏土形塑出類似生前的面孔…並以顏料強調五官」，發現頭骨的法敘聯合考古隊領隊斯多赫德說。

Located at a burial site near a prehistoric village, the five skulls were found earlier this month in a pit resting against one another, underneath the remains of an infant, said Stordeur.

本月稍早，在一個史前村落附近的墓地內，曾在一個墓坑內發現5具頭骨，彼此緊靠著，在頭骨上面有一具嬰孩遺骸，斯多赫德說。

The French archaeologist described as "extraordinary" the find at the Neolithic site of Tell Aswad, at Jaidet al-Khass village, 35 kilometers from Damascus.

這位法國考古學家表示，在這個卡哈斯村的「泰爾．阿斯瓦德」新石器遺址的發現，「非比尋常」。卡哈斯村距大馬士革35公里。

The discovery was not the first of its kind in the Middle East, but "the realism of two of these skulls is striking," stressed Stordeur, in charge of the excavation along with Bassam Jamous, the chief of antiquities of Syria’s National Museum.

這樣的發現在中東地區並非第一次，但是「（這次）其中兩具頭骨（面目）的真實性非常驚人，」斯多赫德強調。他與敘利亞國家博物館古文物主管賈慕斯共同負責挖掘工作。