英國大爺牀底發現2300年前希臘王冠

An elderly man from Somerset, England had perhaps just a bit of a surprise when he discovered that the crown shoved under his bed in a dirty cardboard box is actually worth about $150,000 to $300,000.

英格蘭薩默塞特一位長者發現，他牀底下一個髒兮兮的紙板箱裏藏着一個價值約15萬到30萬美元的皇冠，這還真蠻令人驚訝的。

The wreath is about 2,300 years old and believed to be ancient Greek—dating from roughly to the Hellenistic period, the time following the death of Alexander the Great (300 BCE).

這枚花冠可以追溯到2300年前的古希臘，即亞歷山大大帝離世不久後的希臘化時期(公元前300年)。

The man, who wishes to remain anonymous, possesses many items from his grandfather, who was a well-seasoned traveler. He decided to have appraisers from Duke’s of Dorchester—a nearby auction house—look at a few of the items he had of the appraisers, Guy Schwinge, was present at the man rifled through a box filled with crumpled newspaper to bring out the delicate crown.

這名男子不願透露姓名，其祖父是名資深旅人，他從祖父那兒繼承了不少物品。他此番決定去附近一家名爲“多切斯特公爵”的拍賣行找人看看他繼承的幾樣物品。其中一名鑑賞家圭·斯文哲就親眼目睹了這名男士從塞滿報紙的盒子裏拿出精巧的皇冠。

Despite its age and unusual method of storage (besides being stored under the bed, bits of dirt in the gold suggest it was once buried), the wreath is apparently in marvelous condition.

儘管有些年歲了，儲藏方式也不同一般(除卻放在牀底下不說，從金冠上的塵埃可以看出皇冠一度被埋起來過)，但皇冠顯然一看就是質地絕佳。

Of course, being found in a cottage with no provenance to speak of makes it a challenge to know much about the wreath at all.

當然，皇冠在一間名不見經傳的小屋裏發現，也給人們進一步瞭解這枚花冠帶來了困難。

‌Crowns made of real plants—like branches of laurel, myrtle, oak, and olive trees—that were given to victors in athletic and artistic contests worn in ancient Greece for religious ver, the golden versions were so delicate, they were only worn rarely, for special occasions.

由月桂、橡樹、桃金娘還有橄欖樹等真實植物製成的皇冠在古希臘是頒給藝術運動競技的王者的，在宗教場合佩戴。然而，金冠精密又脆弱，所以盡在特別場合戴。

As to how the owner’s grandfather got ahold of such a rare artifact, no one’s quite sure. The family believes he probably picked it up during his travels.

至於皇冠主人的祖父是從何獲得這一稀世珍品的，無人能知曉，家人認爲大約是旅行途中所得。