The Lost Continent 遗失的大陆-20

Entombed by a 30-foot layer of volcanic¹ pumice for more than 3,500 years, the city was clearly related to the ruins of Minoan Crete. Hundreds if not thousands of years ahead of its time, among the city's ruins was evidence of complex drainage systems, showers, flushing toilets, even hot and cold running water. Here too, were exquisite² wall paintings, their rich colors preserved by the centuries of confinement³, their subject matter unlike anything previously⁴ discovered in the region.

We look at the fresco⁵s and we see very free flowing, beautiful art. And it's made scholars think of them as gentle people, people without any violence in them, we find that the cities and palaces on Crete are not fortified, so again we get this vision of a, sort of Utopian society.

Clearly the Minoans have been an exceptional and artistic⁷ people, far ahead of their contemporaries in many fields, but were they really the Atlanteans of legend? There were both many similarities and many differences between Plato's story of Atlantis and the discoveries on Santorini and Crete. Like the Atlanteans, the Minoans had been in contact with the earliest Greeks as well as the Egyptians. But the Minoans disappeared from history near 900-9,000 years before Plato's time. And even though only a fraction of the city of Acroteria has been excavated⁸, so far, it bears little resemblance to the city of Atlantis described by Plato. It is certainly nowhere near the middle of the Atlantic Ocean. Academic opinion remains⁹ divided.

What Marinatos has found was very important, he was able to produce evidence which could form the base for at least part of the story of Atlantis. Maybe not the whole thing, but part of it. And that was the crucial thing.

There's no comparison whatsoever¹⁰ between the Minoans and the Atlanteans. The Minoans had a high level of culture, but nothing extraordinary. It was a very open society, and they had an empire but it was run by a fleet, none of which seems to fit the description of Atlantis at all.

Nevertheless, there's one group of people who stick firmly to the belief that Santorini was Atlantis, the islanders themselves.

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entomb: v. 埋葬
exquisite: adj. 优美的
fresco: n. 壁画
fortify¹¹: v. 加强
islander: 岛上居民

1 volcanic   

adj.火山的；象火山的；由火山引起的

参考例句：

• There have been several volcanic eruptions this year.今年火山爆发了好几次。
• Volcanic activity has created thermal springs and boiling mud pools.火山活动产生了温泉和沸腾的泥浆池。

2 exquisite   

adj.精美的；敏锐的；剧烈的，感觉强烈的

参考例句：

• I was admiring the exquisite workmanship in the mosaic.我当时正在欣赏镶嵌画的精致做工。
• I still remember the exquisite pleasure I experienced in Bali.我依然记得在巴厘岛所经历的那种剧烈的快感。

3 confinement   

n.幽禁，拘留，监禁；分娩；限制，局限

参考例句：

• He spent eleven years in solitary confinement.他度过了11年的单独监禁。
• The date for my wife's confinement was approaching closer and closer.妻子分娩的日子越来越近了。

4 previously   

adv.以前，先前（地）

参考例句：

• The bicycle tyre blew out at a previously damaged point.自行车胎在以前损坏过的地方又爆开了。
• Let me digress for a moment and explain what had happened previously.让我岔开一会儿，解释原先发生了什么。

5 fresco   

n.壁画；vt.作壁画于

参考例句：

• This huge fresco is extremely clear and just like nature itself.It is very harmonious.这一巨幅壁画，清晰有致且又浑然天成，十分和谐。
• So it is quite necessary to study the influence of visual thinking over fresco.因此，研究视觉思维对壁画的影响和作用是十分必要的。

6 fortified   

adj. 加强的

参考例句：

• He fortified himself against the cold with a hot drink. 他喝了一杯热饮御寒。
• The enemy drew back into a few fortified points. 敌人收缩到几个据点里。

7 artistic   

adj.艺术(家)的，美术(家)的；善于艺术创作的

参考例句：

• The picture on this screen is a good artistic work.这屏风上的画是件很好的艺术品。
• These artistic handicrafts are very popular with foreign friends.外国朋友很喜欢这些美术工艺品。

8 excavated   

v.挖掘( excavate的过去式和过去分词 )；开凿；挖出；发掘

参考例句：

• The site has been excavated by archaeologists. 这个遗址已被考古学家发掘出来。
• The archaeologists excavated an ancient fortress. 考古学家们发掘出一个古堡。 来自《简明英汉词典》

9 remains   

n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹

参考例句：

• He ate the remains of food hungrily.他狼吞虎咽地吃剩余的食物。
• The remains of the meal were fed to the dog.残羹剩饭喂狗了。

10 whatsoever   

adv.（用于否定句中以加强语气）任何；pron.无论什么

参考例句：

• There's no reason whatsoever to turn down this suggestion.没有任何理由拒绝这个建议。
• All things whatsoever ye would that men should do to you,do ye even so to them.你想别人对你怎样，你就怎样对人。

11 fortify   

v.强化防御，为…设防；加强，强化

参考例句：

• This country will fortify the coastal areas.该国将加强沿海地区的防御。
• This treaty forbade the United States to fortify the canal.此条约禁止美国对运河设防。