An unknown goddess
不为人知的女神
How did the archaeologists know that the statue was a goddess?
考古学家是怎么知道这尊雕像是女神的？
an interesting discovery was made by archaeologists on the Aegean island of Kea.
考古学家在爱琴海的基亚岛上发现了一个有趣的发现。
An American team explored a temple
一个美国团队探索了一座寺庙
which stands in an ancient city on the promontory of Ayia Irini.
它矗立在阿依伊里尼海角的一座古城中。
The city at one time must have been prosperous,
这座城市曾经一定很繁荣，
for it enjoyed a high level of civilization.
因为它享有高度的文明。
Houses--often three storeys high--were built of stone.
房屋通常有三层楼高，是用石头建造的。
They had large rooms with beautifully decorated walls.
他们有大房间，墙壁装饰精美。
The city was even equipped with a drainage system,
这座城市甚至配备了排水系统，
for a great many clay pipes were found beneath the narrow streets.
因为在狭窄的街道下面发现了许多粘土管。
The temple which the archaeologists explored
考古学家探索的寺庙
was used as a place of worship from the fifteenth century B.C. until Roman times.
从公元前十五世纪到罗马时代一直被用作礼拜场所。
In the most sacred room of the temple,
在圣殿最神圣的房间里，
clay fragments of fifteen statues were found.
发现了十五尊雕像的粘土碎片。
Each of these represented a goddess and had,at one time, been painted.
这些作品中的每一个都代表着一位女神，并且曾经被画过。
The body of one statue was found among remains dating from the 15th century B.C.
在公元前15世纪的遗骸中发现了一尊雕像的尸体。
Its missing head happened to be among remains of the fifth century B.C.
它失踪的头颅恰好是公元前五世纪的遗骸之一。
This head must have been found in Classical times and carefully preserved.
这个头一定是在古典时代发现的，并被小心翼翼地保存下来。
It was very old and precious even then.
即使在那时，它也非常古老和珍贵。
When the archaeologists reconstructed the fragments,
当考古学家重建碎片时，
they were amazed to find that the goddess turned out to be a very modern-looking woman.
他们惊讶地发现，女神竟然是一个非常现代的女人。
She stood three feet high and her hands rested on her hips.
她站三英尺高，双手放在臀部上。
She was wearing a full-length skirt which swept the ground.
她穿着一条扫地的长裙。
Despite her great age, she was very graceful indeed,
尽管她年纪很大，但她确实非常优雅，
but,so far,the archaeologists have been unable to discover her identity.
但是，到目前为止，考古学家还无法发现她的身份。
