Stealing Game

Chapter 24 The Bone of Seth
After revealing that Thutmose III's sacrifice to an unknown god was iron ore, I was faced with a flock of owls with their heads tilted.

I cleared my throat without bringing out the hesitation and uncertainty.

"Originally, I guessed that the thing that was sent to the nameless god was sesame candy. If the god had eyes, nose and mouth lined up like a human being, then depending on the position, it was basically sent directly to the mouth. In the stereotyped art of ancient Egypt, generally only food such as wine and bread had this kind of treatment.

This mural is right behind the altar, such an important position must be something unusual.It is likely that it was specially prepared for this nameless god, his exclusive offering.But the bone of Seth mentioned in the inscription on the side is obviously not something as harmless as food.

According to the legend of a certain period in ancient Egypt, the punishment of the gods for Seth's brother-killing and competing for the throne of his nephew Horus was to drain his blood.Because the Egyptians believed that blood was the key to the resurrection of the gods.But there is no mention of gnawing bones in this legend.Not even Horus would want to eat Seth's bones, even though he was watching. "

After that, I pointed to the oppressive Eye of Horus behind me.

"But the inscription really talked about the bones of a certain god, and it also wrote that the god gave back to Thutmose III for stability. At first I wondered if I read it wrong. It is said here that it is actually the backbone of Osiris, because His spine represents stability. But I read it repeatedly, and the inscription says Seth.

Then I have a guess.That plate of sesame candy-like things is not edible at all.The ancient Egyptians believed their gods had lapis lazuli hair and gold bodies.The Bone of Set is used in some texts to refer to underground metal.Because Seth is the god of the desert, and metal mines are buried deep underground.But this kind of argument is rare, and I didn't think about it at first, but now it seems that this explanation is the most reasonable.Of course, the Bone of Set may also refer to other metals. I guess iron ore is because it looks like sesame candy. "

Afraid that this would appear unprofessional, I added another sentence: "It would be great if we could know who this god is. After all, as far as I know, metal raw materials are used as sacrifices."

It is unheard of to sacrifice metal ore to the gods, and it is still unprocessed.It wouldn't be so strange if there were bronze chariots or golden crowns in the murals.

Li Yuan had been listening silently, but now he turned his gaze from the mural to me.

After looking at each other, I knew that we wanted to go together.Metal mines and 279, isn't this the standard equipment for his grandfather when he followed the prospecting room into Qilian Mountains.Well, the experience of our ancestors is now being repeated for us.

Thinking of this, I quietly looked at the 279 present.

Meng Weiqing's expression didn't change, as if he had his own calculations.This person likes to act out of color, but it doesn't make people feel that he is pretending to be advanced, as if he should calculate a few steps more than others.

I don't know if it's my illusion, but Meng Weiqing and Teacher Bai know exactly what to look for in this temple.Therefore, even though the murals were full of inexplicable things, they seemed to have verified their own ideas.

But no one has entered this temple since the French in the last century, and there was no information about this temple in the archaeological records of the French team at that time.Unless there is no record, but the record is not in our hands, and 279 does not know how to get the news.If this is the case, then they may have other considerations when they came to this temple.

In addition, Ali swears that this temple belongs to the god from the desert, and he has seen miracles.Some woman Ali knew, whose blood was turned to gold by the god.

Speaking of this.

"On the altar there is also written [Take Your Blood as a Sacrifice]."

Meng Weiqing and others all looked over.

I thought about it, and added: "Actually, I'm not sure if the translation is correct. Many places in this temple are different from the ones I've seen, and they may not be able to be interpreted in the traditional way. Besides, I'm also very ignorant. It’s better to go and call the team leader to take a look.”

Meng Weiqing didn't say anything, just nodded.Instead, Teacher Bai thanked me with a smile, saying that they had gotten what they needed to know.

Sure enough, they came with a purpose.And my uninformed deduction confirmed their conjecture.

Li Yuan and I exchanged glances.

The play of pretending to be a stranger has to come to an end.If there is any news from him, we can communicate with each other, otherwise we can only be used by 279 as a fool.

As I walked out, I wondered if there was any connection between the Bone of Set and the geological activities of Qilian Mountain.That was the first time Li Yuan's family got involved with 279, and it ended in a mess.

Besides, what exactly are Meng Weiqing and the others hiding?If I remember correctly, Teacher Bai's expression loosened a little after I said the inscription [Take Your Blood as a Sacrifice].Do they really believe in the bone of Seth and the sacrifice of blood to the nameless god?

I was thinking about it, when Lou Shiqi asked me in a low voice: "Hey, Wang Yu, do you think the situation in this temple is a bit similar to those beasts eating farm tools I saw when I was young? Could it be that this iron-eating pica is still Universal?"

When he suddenly mentioned it like this, I felt that it seemed to have something to do with it.And Ali also said that he had seen people who worshiped this god, whose blood turned into gold.Could it be that this god is responsible for turning stone into gold?If Lou Shiqi's hometown had a gold mine, those beasts might not have run into the village.

But I didn't have time to think about it.Li Yuan touched my shoulder lightly, and whispered, "You also feel something is wrong?"

I glanced at him.

It was still the same face with no trace of age.Eyes full of false smiles and sharp lips outline a complete stranger.

I saw Yin Yuechen.

Don't you think something is wrong, it's just fucking evil.

I didn't respond to him, and went out of the temple.

The team leader and others have analyzed the strata of the underground temple, and it is indeed earlier than the Maat Temple.The foundation of the Maat Temple was built in the th Dynasty, and it can be leveled with the soil layer of the Nile River in Tanfangli to the east.From this, it can be judged that this unnamed temple should have been submerged by the Nile River in the late th or th dynasties, and then the Maat Temple was built on it.

The stratigraphic relationship cannot be faked, and with the evidence of the murals in the temple, there is basically no doubt that the builder was Thutmose III.The next question is why was it built and why are there no records of it?
Archeology is like deductive reasoning.We face an established fact, that is, the archaeological site, and we need to find out the civilization carrier that no longer exists based on clues.

Leaving aside the nameless temple below, the pharaohs of later generations had an ambiguous attitude towards it.

The Nile River no longer passed through here in the eighteenth dynasty of ancient Egypt.In other words, someone deliberately attracted water from the Nile River, flooding the land and the temple below.However, looking at the state of preservation of the temple, the purpose is not to destroy the temple, but rather to protect the temple, or hide it, and even build a Maat temple on it for insurance purposes.In this way, when the priests of later generations offered sacrifices to Ma'at, they might also worship the gods in the underground temple.

Since it took so much trouble to hide the temple, rather than destroy it, it is a testament to its importance.However, in the legends and historical documents of ancient Egypt, there is no record about the temple under our feet.It is not in the known Egyptological framework, and no one has been able to answer or even ask questions about the temple.

But this temple is not like the secret itself.

On the wall stared at by the Eye of Horus, there is an inscription that has been erased.It may be that the French archaeological team discovered some crucial information 80 years ago, but refused to let others know.

The bloody inscriptions on the altar, the absent idol, the god that Ali said could turn the blood of worshipers into gold
One mystery after another.

In addition, the role played by 279 in the archaeological operation is different from their official purpose, which is exactly the same as that in Qilian Mountains decades ago.

At this time, an unknown Egyptian old man followed Menistawi.

This old man is also from the village of Gufti. When he was nine years old, he came here with his father to do odd jobs for the French archaeological team.The old mechanic said that he once heard his father say that the French mentioned "two temples" and "underground palace" and so on, saying that they were going to find them in the desert.

We do not see records of other buildings in the temple, so this is probably recorded in the inscriptions that were erased.

One of them may be that the French knew that they couldn't stay in Egypt, and they didn't want others to get the information, so they simply erased it.But in this way, only those French people knew what the "two temples" and the "underground palace" were and where they were.And maybe they erased clues about [Nameless God].

But if the French said that they wanted to go to the desert to find the lair of the nameless god, then this coincided with the legend of Ali and the others.But why would these Arabs know about ancient Egyptian gods that disappeared before they came?

Meng Weiqing listened to the old Egyptian's words, pondered for a while, and went to talk to the team leader.The latter glanced at us and nodded at him.

A plane flew across the sky, flying in the direction of the Valley of the Kings against the sun.A dim half moon lay on the silent ridge.

I vaguely feel that the dusty temple under my feet seems to be waiting for its readers.

And 279 may be the person holding the invitation letter.

(End of this chapter)