bit stealing game

Chapter 26 Zodiac Signs

Early that morning in Laba, Lou Shiqi and I said goodbye to the archaeological team and waited obediently for the organization to pick us up.

After coming out of the underground temple yesterday, 279 changed his attitude towards traveling at public expense and immediately arranged an itinerary. Even though Li Yuan had just poured a bucket of cold water on his head, he was finally able to participate in 279's action.

, I am still full of expectations.

The people who came to pick us up were Teacher Bai, Han Jiangxue and He Rongchuan. The driver was a middle-aged man he had never seen before, and He Rongchuan called him Master Xie.

Master Xie drove the car very steadily and knew the driving habits of Egypt very well. He introduced us to many interesting things about Egypt along the way, which made the journey to the Valley of the Kings less boring.

Teacher Bai wants to take another look at the tomb of Thutmose III to look for any clues related to the [Bone of Seth], [Metal Ore] and [Unknown God].

The tomb of Thutmose III is very famous for the relatively well-preserved "Book of the Afterlife", which is regarded as the royal exclusive version of the Book of the Dead.

The pharaoh's resting place itself is a dark room that symbolizes the underworld. The tomb creates a sacred space through the depictions and inscriptions of the twelve hours at night on the murals, expressing a vision of reversing time and resurrecting the pharaoh.

Unlike 279, which obviously has clues and is full of purpose, this tomb is still an ordinary treasure house of Egyptian civilization to me. After everyone listened to me briefly talk about the structure of the tomb and the details of this part, Teacher Bai asked me if I still remember

What is painted on the ceiling of the Nameless Temple?

I recalled it.

Yesterday I was too busy looking at the murals, and the light was really not that good, so I really didn’t pay much attention to the ceiling. I only vaguely remembered that there seemed to be a zodiac star chart painted above my head.

The zodiac refers to the orbit of the sun as observed on the earth when the earth revolves around the sun. This circle is 360 degrees, which covers the orbits of most planets. Because of the twelve constellations

It is also among them and distributed evenly, so we borrowed its name and called it [Zodiac].

However, in fact, the zodiac signs do not represent constellations, but the solar terms in the solar calendar. The zodiac signs in some ancient Egyptian temples and tombs basically use specific images to represent each season, accompanied by the numbers on the star chart.

Stars. For example, during the winter solstice, someone or a god stabs an ox with a spear, and the image of the ox is always missing a front leg.

In ancient Egypt, the zodiac was a circular relief with twelve gods painted on it. The twelve hours of night in the ancient Egyptian Book of the Dead correspond to the dominant gods of the zodiac. It is not just about the sky and time.

It embodies and is the epitome of the ancient Egyptians’ worldview.

Since Napoleon's expedition to the east, the discovery of the first ancient Egyptian zodiac in the Temple of Dendera, and the frantic move of the temple ceiling back to France, many Western scholars have started the traditional art of obsessing about ancient civilizations.

Some people believe that as long as they find the corresponding times of the zodiac, they can crack the code left by ancient Egypt; while some people think that the zodiac has no real astronomical significance and is just a depiction of religious rituals.

However, no matter which one it is, it seems that it cannot explain the twelve signs of the zodiac in the temple beneath the archaeological site.

Teacher Bai said that the moon phases of the twelve signs of the zodiac in the Nameless Temple are different from those in other ancient Egyptian ruins. It seems that they are not drawn according to common astronomy, or even an astrological chart that conforms to the ideals of ancient Egypt.

It is normal for ancient civilizations to depict ideal Feng Shui patterns in important buildings such as mausoleums and ancestral temples, rather than realistic portrayals. However, this is not the case in the Nameless Temple.

When it comes to the zodiac, I always feel like something is wrong.

"I don't know enough about ancient Egyptian civilization. I have some questions that I would like to ask Dr. Wang." Teacher Bai gently interrupted my thinking.

I waved my hand quickly. "I really don't dare to overestimate this. I can't even understand the twelve signs of the zodiac, but you know much better than me."

Teacher Bai said modestly: "I just have a good memory, but I only know its appearance but not its meaning."

This is not as simple as having a better memory.

To be able to memorize the murals on the ceiling of an underground temple in such a short period of time, and even compare them with other existing temples in ancient Egypt. The insight and information processing capabilities required for this are amazing.

And I noticed yesterday that Teacher Bai seems to be able to see in the dark. This is not a skill that a doctor needs.

"According to what you said, even if the Egyptian mythology system has been added and modified many times, the Pharaoh ultimately wants to board the golden sun ship of God Ra and be reborn with the sun, right?"

I recovered from my doubts and nodded towards Teacher Bai. He continued to ask: "Then why is it a golden ship? Is there anything special about this?"

I thought about it for a while.

"The voyage of a ship in the underworld means rebirth. In fact, this is also found in Greek mythology. Of course, it is difficult to say to what extent it is influenced by Egypt. However, the practice of using daily transportation to depict the journey after death is common in all civilizations.

There are manifestations. For example, a carriage was found in a tomb of the Shang Dynasty in our country. The four wheels of a carriage were disassembled at the four corners of the tomb, symbolizing that the soul of the deceased would ascend to heaven in the carriage.

However, because ancient Egypt has never achieved an axial breakthrough, that is, it has not understood that people cannot be resurrected after death, so their tomb culture reflects the cycle of reincarnation. Our country does not have this. The emperor wanted to live forever, not the pharaoh.

The resurrection of the dead."

After all, in a desolate place like Egypt, it is really difficult to survive this life without the desire for the afterlife.

Teacher Bai praised: "We are now fortunate to be able to peek into the ancient people's view of life and death. It is really thanks to the hard work of you archaeologists."

I quickly waved my hand and said that I didn't dare to take it. I had learned it all.

Teacher Bai then said a little apologetically: "Xiao Wang, I have a question for you. Don't think I'm looking for trouble."

I said that wouldn't happen.

He then asked: "Actually, what I want to know is why this ship is the Sun Gold Ship? Is there any special meaning or is this the name given by later scholars?"

I really hadn’t thought about this issue, so I told the truth.

"I don't know much about Egyptian funerary literature, but as far as I know, the Golden Sun Ship was later used by scholars to refer to the ship on which the sun god appeared in the Book of the Dead and the Book of the Afterlife." I pointed at the mural.

The boat we boarded. "Look at the picture in the Book of the World. You can't tell the texture. I guess it's because the sun is golden? In addition, the flesh and blood of gods are not all made of gold.

Well, maybe the ancient Egyptians thought gold was a more divine material. Maybe it’s the same as the bronze from Sanxingdui and the jade from Longshan.”

Teacher Bai nodded and went to take a closer look at the "Sun Golden Boat" on the mural. Han Jiangxue pushed up her glasses and leaned over to take a look curiously.

Lou Shiqi pointed to an image of a god on the boat and asked me: "Wang Yu, who is this? Why is there a bug on the head?"

I rolled my eyes towards the ceiling.

"This is Kaibri, the incarnation of the sun god in the morning. It is a scarab. The ancient Egyptians arranged three persons for the sun god. In the morning, there is the newborn Kaibri, and at noon, there is the strong Ra, who is usually an eagle-headed or adult person.

Male, with a sun disk on his head, and a cobra entwined in front of the sun disk. At night is the old Atum. The pharaoh's tomb is generally called the 'horizon of eternity', symbolizing the place where humans and gods coexist.

The place where two worlds connect, the place where the sun boat patrols.

What we are looking at now is Khebri, which symbolizes the rising sun. The reason why it is a scarab is mainly because the ancient Egyptians believed that the sun was rolled up from the horizon like a dung ball by dung beetles. Isn’t it very vivid?”

Really, Bai has been following the archaeological team these past few months. If it weren't for Teacher Bai and the others being here, I would definitely have said something bad to him.

Lou Shiqi smiled sheepishly, and He Rongchuan patted him on the shoulder.

Teacher Bai finally moved his eyes away from the mural. He had just looked at the wall again, quickly and carefully, as if he wanted to remember every detail. When he turned his head

He looked at me and asked a second question: "Where does this statement about God's flesh and blood being gold come from?"

Teacher Bai asked me so hard that I gritted my teeth.

This is a good question to answer in itself, because [the hair of ancient Egyptian gods is lapis lazuli and their bodies are gold] is similar to common sense in Egyptology. Hollywood screenwriters know it.

No one would question common sense.

But I can't quite figure out where this statement comes from.

Teacher Bai probably wanted to find out the connection between the Sun Golden Boat, the gold blood of the gods, and the sesame-like metal ore sacrifice in the underground temple. But I am not good at studying and I don't want to understand it clearly, so I can't answer it.

I told the truth, and Teacher Bai didn't ask any more questions, just said: "It doesn't matter, I'm just asking. Weiqing may be able to find some clues."

I'm still a little confused, after all, this is not very advanced knowledge.

Han Jiangxue jumped in at the right time and said: "Can I ask a stupid question? How did the ancient Egyptians choose which god to be on the Sun Golden Boat?"

I was very grateful to her for rescuing me, so I smiled at her.

"This must not be said to be a stupid question. In fact, in different versions, the gods on the Sun Golden Ship are different. For example, in the original legend, the Sun Golden Ship sailed to the seventh chapter of the night and met the god Ra.

The twin brother Apep, the snake of darkness. Apep, who lives on chaos, is naturally the most difficult opponent for the order-conscious ancient Egyptians. Apep drank all the water in the river, stranding the Sun God's ship and unable to continue its voyage of rebirth.

.Set was the god who fought with it and pierced its belly to let the river flow out again. At that time, he was still an indispensable member of the Sun Golden Boat. But later Seth evolved into killing his brother to seize power and bullying his nephew.

The villain will no longer appear on the Sun Gold Ship.

However, there will be several fixed gods on this ship. The Sun God, Thoth God and Osiris will usually be on the ship. Needless to say about the Sun God, this is his ship after all. Osiris is the first mummy and controls the

The key to resurrection from the dead is to merge with the sun god. The god Thoth is regarded as the creator of ancient Egyptian writing, and it is said that he also compiled the Book of the Dead. Therefore, he is often present on the ship.

In addition, Thutmose itself means "the person favored by the god Thoth", so it is understandable that he appears in the murals of Thutmose III."

He Rongchuan and others all nodded and said that I was very powerful.

While I was saying, "These are introductory knowledge to Egyptology," I thought that I had never found out when the legend of Seth began to change so much. If it was to protect the Dutch

If Ruth's divine right to rule was to consolidate the Pharaoh's inheritance, there must be an evolution process.

Moreover, in addition to Set, a familiar god appeared in the underground temple, namely Horus.

Is this a coincidence? Or does Thutmose III want to express something through the Bone of Seth and the Eye of Horus? Will the clue to the identity of the nameless god lie between the uncle and nephew?

"Xiao Wang, I remember you said that there is a left eye of Horus painted in the temple below your construction site?" Teacher Bai suddenly asked.

"Yes, it's just above the picture of the Bones of Seth." I answered. Then I explained to them that usually the Eye of Horus would appear in the tomb to ensure that no evil spirits would harm the Pharaoh's sleep and Tutmo.

The Eye of Horus was painted on the coffin of Tutankhamun, who was also the pharaoh of the Eighteenth Dynasty.

"Then which eye of Horus is usually used? Is there any difference between his left eye and right eye?" Teacher Bai then asked.

I seemed to understand something all of a sudden.

The myths of ancient Egypt are constantly changing with the needs of history. At a certain period of time, Horus was regarded as the god of the sky. His left eye represented the moon, and his right eye represented the sun. So the Eye of Horus

Could it mean not only guarding the temple, but also giving guidance on time? Does it mean sacrificing iron ore to the nameless god when the moon comes out? In addition, I ignored the ecliptic on the ceiling of the temple.

The twelfth house is probably also related to the moon phase.

Speaking of the moon, the god Thoth, the origin of Thutmose III's name, was also revered as the moon god at a certain period of time. He also bet with Kongsu, a professional moon god in legend. Kongsu was in the Senet game

He lost to Thoth, the god of wisdom, so he could not have all his magic power outside of the full moon. And Toth would also be depicted as a baboon holding a crescent moon. Then the Eye of Horus in the Nameless Temple,

It is probably related to the time of sacrifice.

As long as you can look at the zodiac signs in that temple again, you may be able to know the phases of the moon during the sacrifice.

The more I think about it, the more it makes sense.

But this is like confirmation bias. When people have an idea, they will look for clues that can prove their point of view, and interpret the existing information in a direction that supports their point of view.

On the one hand, looking at it rationally, and another reason that prevents me from immersing myself in inertial thinking is: even if these speculations about the moon phase and sacrifices are true, the most important question is still unanswered:

Who are the gods to whom offerings are made?

Why does Thutmose III appear in the murals as both a priest and a pharaoh?

To whom are the messages in the murals of the Nameless Temple intended to be conveyed?

Why did later pharaohs bury this temple instead of destroying it more directly?

Unfortunately, these ideas may not have a chance to be tested.

After going to the Underground Temple and watching the sequel yesterday, I asked Lao Zhang and A Tian to go out for a big meal.

They had lost their nervousness about me being invited into the VIP theater again, and instead showed great enthusiasm for research.

"You've been touching pillars every day these days, so why were you invited to watch a movie today?" The Egyptian food remained the same, and Lao Zhang pushed the plate aside without interest. "It's because you went to the one under the construction site.

A temple?"

I said it's possible.

This time in the small theater, in addition to the bionic lotus columns and the overwhelming starry sky, I also saw an altar. The altar was exactly the same as the one we saw in the underground temple. The only difference was that the altar in the small theater was

There is a statue of a god. It’s a pity that I can’t see the face of the statue clearly from my angle.

Speaking of which, my induction of magnetic fields is somewhat limited to certain areas, and it basically didn’t show any signs before I came to Egypt. Apart from the big stone I brought back from Sichuan, it only showed up when Arnold came close to me in London.

"It's not necessarily because of the underground temple." Lao Zhang and I both looked at A Tian, ​​and she stared at me and said, "The triggering condition may be Li Yuan."

I get angry when I mention Li Yuan.

This kid is really not a thing. He obviously knows a lot of things, but he hides it and doesn't tell me. He also says that I shouldn't come to Egypt. I am here for archeology legitimately, and they are the ones doing some shameful things.

But I have finally understood that I am indeed dispensable to Li Yuan. The poor little boy that Grandpa Li and Li Zheng talked about does not exist at all. Yin Yuechen and Yanuohe, who possesses the [Eternal Eye], can extract information from the magnetic field.

Alex, who escaped unscathed, has a lot of friendships. Not only that, he is also the savior of the Yin family once in a thousand years. Even 279 who can stir up troubles has to beg him. He also helped the American expedition team in Antarctica. What about Egypt?

, why don’t you just go to heaven?

But I definitely can’t tell A Tian and Lao Zhang about folding noodles, and I don’t think the small theater I saw has anything to do with Li Yuan.

"You asked Yin Yuechen to touch the pillar?" Lao Zhang repeated suspiciously. "He said he didn't feel anything?"

I nodded.

Lao Zhang put down his fork. "I said Lao Wang, can you be more attentive? Yin Yuechen said he didn't watch the short movie before he did it! He can even lie to you about who he is. Do you still believe him?

"

A Tian also looked at me disapprovingly.

I sighed. "I can't say whether he lied to him or not, but there must be something wrong with that temple."

The team leader went out for a trip in the afternoon, and his expression was not good when he came back. The Egyptians brought the Americans into our construction site without authorization to see that the underground temple was hit by him. The team leader immediately arranged for protective backfilling of the temple. The nameless god left and right.

The temple is not within the scope of our excavation, so it is better to seal it up. Although the archaeological work has made little progress, some people have already obtained what they need.

"Hey, why are these Americans here to join in the fun? Aren't they going to the desert?" Because of Professor Holmes being tricked, Lao Zhang now has great distrust of Americans and feels that something bad will happen if he gets involved.

"Do you remember that there are still people who know about this temple?" A Tian looked at us like we were fools.

That's right. Before we excavated the temple, Ali said that it belonged to the god that his village had been worshiping. We would have to find an opportunity to ask him later.

As for the small temple theater, we also need to control the variables and try again. Now that we can't go down to the underground temple, we can only find Li Yuan again to see if the plot was triggered because of him.

But these are all things for later.

I truthfully told Teacher Bai and the others about the many problems they are facing now, as well as the fact that the underground temple has been sealed again and it is impossible to verify how the twelve zodiac signs on it are different.

In fact, I was quite critical of the team leader's choice to directly backfill without recording the information in the temple, but maybe he also had his own considerations.

Teacher Bai said that it doesn’t matter if there are problems that cannot be solved now. People he will meet later may have the answers.

The purpose of coming to the Valley of the Kings this time is very strong. After seeing the tomb of Thutmose III, we went directly to meet Meng Weiqing and the others to meet the person who has the answer.

Important NPC is about to appear again

(End of chapter)