《中英對照讀新聞》Limestone ’Venus’ 23,000 years old dug up in France 有2萬3000年歷史的石灰石「維納斯」在法國出土

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A limestone statuette of a shapely woman some 23,000 years old has been discovered in northern France.

一尊2萬3000年前豐滿勻稱的石灰石女子塑像，在法國北部被發現。

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Archaeologists stumbled on the Paleolithic-era sculpture during a dig in the summer in Amiens, the first such find in a half-century.

考古學家夏季在亞眠地區的挖掘工作中，偶然發現這尊舊石器時代的雕像，這是半世紀以來，首次有這類發現。

"The discovery of this masterpiece is exceptional and internationally significant," said Nicole Phoyu-Yedid, the head of cultural affairs in the area, on showing the find to the media.

「這個傑作的發現非比尋常，且具國際重大意義，」該區文化事務首長傅尤．葉迪德，在向媒體展示這項發現時表示。

"We were expecting to find classical vestiges such as tooled flint or bones," said archaeologist Clement Paris. But on their second day of fieldwork, the team found a pile of limestone that included fragments that did not seem natural. “That same night we carefully pieced together the 20-odd fragments and realized it was a female statuette,” he added.

「我們希望找到加工過的燧石、骨骼等古典文物，」考古學家巴黎斯說。但在他們第二天的現場工作中，考古團隊發現一堆石灰石，包括似乎非天然成形的碎塊。「當晚我們小心翼翼地組合這20塊奇特的殘塊，發現這是一個女性塑像。」他補充道。

Carbon-14 dating showed the statue to be 23,000 years old. About 12 centimeters high, it shows a woman with big breasts and buttocks. The head and arms are less detailed.

碳14年份測定顯示，該塑像有2萬3000年歷史。這尊約12公分高的雕像，是一名豐胸肥臀的女子。頭與手臂較不精細。

"The fact that the sculpture is not totally realistic shows the intent was to produce a symbolic image of a woman linked to fecundity," Paris said. （AFP）

「這座雕像並非完全寫實，顯示其意圖是製造出與繁殖力有關的女性象徵性形象，」巴黎斯說。（法新社）

新聞辭典

shapely：形容詞，形狀美觀的、豐滿勻稱的，也有具條理之意，例如：a shapely conception（清楚的概念）。

stumble on：偶然遇到、碰巧找到。例句：I stumbled on the interesting book at the library yesterday.（昨天我在圖書館碰巧找到這本有趣的書。）

piece together：拼合、組合。例句：She tried hard to piece together all the facts. （她努力將所有的事實拼湊起來。）