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Lesson 303  An unknown goddess

Some time ago，an interesting discovery was made by archaeologists on the Aegean island of Kea．An American team explored a temple which stands in an ancient city on the promontory of Ayia Irini．The city at one time must have been prosperous，for it enjoyed a high level of civilization．Houses--often three [1]storeys high--were built of stone．They had large rooms with beautifully decorated walls．The city was even [2]equipped with a drainage system，for a great many clay pipes were found beneath the narrow streets．

The temple which the archaeologists explored was used as a place of worship from the fifteenth century [3]B.C. until Roman times. In the most sacred room of the temple, clay fragments of fifteen statues were found. Each of these represented a goddess and had, at one time, been painted. The body of one statue was found among remains [4]dating from the fifteenth century B.C. Its missing head happened to be among remains of the fifth century B.C. This head must have been found in Classical times and carefully preserved. It was very old and precious even then. When the archaeologists reconstructed the fragments, they were amazed to find that the goddess turned out to be a very modern-[5]looking woman. She stood three feet high and her hands rested on her hips. She was wearing a full-length skirt which swept the ground. Despite her great age, she was very graceful indeed, but, so far, the archaeologists have been unable to discover her identity.

不知名的女神

   不久之前，在愛琴海的基亞島上，考古學家有一項有趣的發現。一個美國(考古)隊探索一間神殿，座落在Ayia Irini海角上一座古城裡的神殿。這座古城肯定一度很繁榮，因為它曾享有高度的文明。房子一般有三層樓高，用石塊建造。房子有大房間，伴有華麗裝飾的牆壁。城裡甚至還裝備有排水系統，因為在狹窄的街道底下發現了許許多多陶土製作的排水管道。

    那些考古學家探索的這座神殿從西元前十五世紀直到羅馬時代一直被用來當祭祀祈禱的場所。在該神殿中最神聖的一間殿堂裡，發現了十五尊雕像的陶土碎片。這些雕像中的每一(尊)代表一位女神，而且一度上過色。其中一尊雕像的軀體是在始於西元前十五世紀的歷史文物(遺跡/廢墟)中發現的。 它那顆失蹤的頭殼碰巧在西元前五世紀的文物堆當中。這頭殼一定是在古希臘羅馬時代就已為人所發現，並受到謹慎的保存。即使在當時，它是非常古老且珍貴。當考古學家重新拼裝(修復)這些碎片(後)，驚奇地發現那位女神原來是一位相貌十分摩登的(現代的)女郎。她身高三英尺，雙手叉(放置在)腰(髖部)。她身穿一件拖掃地面的長裙(全長等身的)，儘管上了年紀，但姿態確實優美。不過，至今，考古學家未能查明(知道/發現)這位女神的身份。