考古人員可能找到了《堂·吉訶德》作者的遺骨

In a discovery that could create a new venue for literary pilgrims, Spanish investigators said on Tuesday that they might have located part of the remains of Cervantes, whose novel “Don Quixote” has enthralled readers over centuries with stories of its eponymous knight and his servant, Sancho Panza.

馬德里——星期二，西班牙研究者宣佈，他們可能發現了塞萬提斯(Cervantes)的部分遺骨，他的小說《堂·吉訶德》(Don Quixote)講述騎士堂·吉訶德與他的僕人桑丘·潘沙(Sancho Panza)的故事，幾個世紀以來吸引着無數讀者，這項研究亦可能創造出一個新的文學朝聖地。

Cervantes, often lauded as having written the first modern novel, died in 1616 after requesting burial in a convent in Madrid where, for almost a year, investigators have been searching the subsoil for bones that they now believe to include some of the author’s.

塞萬提斯通常被譽爲現代小說的創始人，他於1616年逝世，生前要求將自己埋葬在馬德里的一個修道院內。研究者們在修道院的下層土中尋找了將近一年，現在，他們認爲自己找到的骨骼中有一部分屬於這位作家。

“Everything coincides to lead us to believe that Cervantes is there,” a forensics expert, Francisco Etxeberria, said at a news conference in Madrid, Reuters reported.

根據路透社報道，法醫學專家弗朗西斯科·艾特克塞伯利亞(Francisco Etxeberria)在馬德里舉辦的新聞發佈會上說：“所有的一切都能吻合，所以我們相信，塞萬提斯就在這兒。”

The investigators cautioned, however, that it may be impossible to guarantee that the bones are those of the writer. Almudena García-Rubio, an archaeologist, said that there was “no confirmed genetic identification,” although DNA tests were being performed.

但研究者們也提醒說，沒有辦法百分之百確保這些骨骼一定屬於塞萬提斯。考古學家阿爾蒙德納·加西亞-盧比奧(Almudena García-Rubio)說，“沒有確鑿的基因證據，”儘管他們已經做過DNA檢測。

The whereabouts of Cervantes’s tomb had been a mystery since the Convent of the Discalced Trinitarians was rebuilt in the late 17th century. The remains were finally found below the ground of the crypt of the church, at a depth of about 50 inches in a box that contained bones from 10 adults and five children, according to Fernando de Prato, a historian who led the search for Cervantes.

自從跣足聖三修道院於17世紀末重修以來，塞萬提斯的墳墓所在地一直不爲人知。領導此次尋找塞萬提斯遺骨活動的歷史學家費爾南多·德·普雷託(Fernando de Prato)說，此次，這些遺骨是在教堂地窖內發現的，埋在大約50英寸之下的一個箱子裏，裏面盛放着十具成人的遺骨與五具孩子的遺骨。

Mr. de Prato said that the forensic team still faced “a lot of work” to separate the bones, perhaps try to reconstruct the bodies, and perform DNA testing. “It would of course have been better to find his remains complete,” to establish the identity of Cervantes with certainty, he said, “but I still have the feeling today of having reached the end of a journey.”

德·普雷託說，法醫組仍然有“大量工作”要做，去分開這些骨骼，或許還要試圖重建軀體，進行DNA測試。他說，爲了確定塞萬提斯屍體的身份，“當然，最好還是能找到他的整具屍體，但是我今天仍然有走到旅行終點的感覺。”

The team of investigators used infrared cameras, 3D scanners and radar to search the crypt and its alcoves.

調查組使用了紅外攝像機、3D掃描儀和雷達來搜索這個地窖及其壁龕。

During the excavations, the investigators found decayed wood from a coffin with the letters M and C marked out in tacks. (Cervantes’s full name was Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra.) The discovery of the coffin was announced in January, but it turned out to contain the remains of a child rather than those of the writer, Mr. de Prato said.

開掘過程中，研究者們發現了一具棺材，朽木上面用釘子打着“M”和“C”字樣——塞萬提斯的全名正是“米格爾·德·塞萬提斯·薩維德拉”(Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra)。發現棺材的消息是在1月宣佈的，但是德·普雷託說，開棺後卻發現裏面是一個孩子的骨骼，而不是這位作家。

Cervantes is most often remembered for “Don Quixote,” which gave the world the word quixotic in acknowledgment of its central character and his adventures, including his joust with windmills. The expression “tilting at windmills” also denotes people who take on imaginary adversaries.

塞萬提斯因作品《堂·吉訶德》被世人銘記，書中的同名主人公曾經用長矛大戰風車，他和他的冒險故事爲世人帶來了“吉訶德式的”(quixotic)這個詞。“衝向風車”也用來形容那種與想像中的對手搏鬥的人。

But such recognition as a writer came too late to bring Cervantes any fortune, after a life spent mostly as a soldier — including a five-year spell in captivity after pirates intercepted his naval ship.

但是這些認可來得太遲，沒有爲塞萬提斯帶來任何財富，他一生幾乎都是在軍旅生涯中度過；有一次，海盜劫持了他所在的海軍船，他因此還度過了五年的囚禁生涯。

The discovery of the possible remains comes as Spain and the literary world celebrate the 400th anniversary of the publication of the second volume of “Don Quixote” (the first one was published in 1605).

就在遺骨找到之際，西班牙與文學界迎來了《堂·吉訶德》第二卷出版400週年的週年紀念（第一卷於1605年出版）。

The authorities in Madrid are hoping to build a monument within the church to commemorate the writer, with the goal of completing that work by April of next year, the 400th anniversary of his death.

馬德里當局希望在教堂內建立一座紀念碑，以紀念這位作家，這項工作計劃在明年四月完成，明年亦是塞萬提斯逝世400週年。