Da Vinci Code village ‘fed up with treasure hunters’

According to legend, the former parish priest left a hidden fortune in the commune.

据传说，先前的教区牧师在公社里留下了一笔秘密的财富。

A historic French village has gotten fed up following a spate of "treasure hunts" that have resulted in illegal excavations and vandalism in the area.

一个历史悠久的法国小村庄受够了接踵而至的“寻宝者”们，他们不仅非法挖掘这片区域，同时也严重地破坏了这里的文物。

A metre-deep hole by a church in Rennes-le-Château, a small commune near Carcassonne in southern France, was uncovered in late December by residents. The police were called, but the suspects remain at large.

雷恩堡的一座教堂边有一个一米深的洞，这个在法国南部靠近卡尔卡松的小公社在十二月底被当地居民发现。虽然警方已介入此事，但是嫌疑人任然逍遥法外。

Deputy Mayor Marcel Captier said the hole-digging brought back memories of earlier attacks by vandals.

副市长Marcel Captier 说这样挖洞的行为带回了过往被文物破坏者袭击的回忆。 

“Above all, this kind of thing mustn’t start happening again. We don’t want to find ourselves with another wave of treasure hunters,” he told Le Parisien.

“最重要的是，一定要杜绝这类事情的再次发生。我们不想再看到一波新的寻宝者了。”他向巴黎人报表明。

The St. Mary Magdalene Church lies at the centre of an intriguing tale. Legend has it that a nineteenth-century priest, Abbe Saunière, became rich after uncovering royal treasure from inside one of its pillars.

St. Mary Magdalene教堂是一个传奇故事的主人公。传说中，一位十九世纪的牧师，Abbe Saunière，在教堂内的一根柱子内发现了皇室的宝藏，变得十分富有。

He would go on to use his fortune to construct a luxurious villa, the Magdala tower and completely restore the then-dilapidated church.

他用这些财富建造了一个奢华的乡村，Magdala塔，并且彻底地重修了当时荒废的教堂。

The story inspired Da Vinci Code author Dan Brown, who named a character in the bestselling novel after the Roman Catholic cleric.

这个故事给予了达芬奇密码的作者Dan Brown灵感，他随后在他的畅销书中将一个人物以这位罗马天主教牧师的名字来命名。

Tens of thousands of visitors are received at the scenic hilltop village every year, many of whom are no doubt drawn by the allure of stumbling upon a hidden fortune.

每年，成千上百的游客都来到这个位于山顶风景如画的小村庄，他们其中的很多人都无疑是被可能碰巧撞到宝藏这一诱惑所吸引。

The treasure hunt began in the early 1900s when Saunière’s maid Marie Dénarnaud claimed the priest had buried jewels and coins under Rennes-le-Château. In the years since, researchers, mediums and amateur excavators have flocked to the area and marred the landscape—so much so that in the 1960s, the mayor banned unauthorized digging. But the curiosity of travelers clearly persisted.

这样的寻宝是从二十世纪初开始的，那时Saunière的女佣Marie Dénarnaud声称Saunière在雷恩堡下面埋了珠宝和硬币。自从那时起，研究者，媒体以及业余寻宝者都一窝蜂地来到这个地区并且对它进行严重的破坏，以至于在二十世纪六十年代，当时的市长禁止未被许可的挖掘。然而游客们的好奇心依旧不减。

In the 1970s, Saunière’s body was moved and buried under concrete after brazen treasure hunters dug up graves and tunneled their way into the church. They left empty-handed.

二十世纪七十年代，在一群厚颜无耻的寻宝者挖开坟墓，并且挖隧道进入教堂后，Saunière的尸体被转移并埋藏在混凝土下。而这些寻宝者也只能空手而归。

Despite legend and conspiracy theories, many historians conclude Saunière amassed his riches by stealing donations and duping parishioners into paying for masses he never gave.

然而抛开传说和阴谋论的说辞，许多历史学家却认为Saunière是通过偷窃捐赠物以及诱骗教区居民购买他从未真正出售的财务来积累起自己的财富的。

But Saunière never revealed the source of his wealth. He died on 22 January 1917, taking his secret to his grave.

但是Saunière从来没有透露过他财富的来源。他于1917年1月22日去世，至此无人知晓他的秘密。

Vocabulary

Excavation: n. 挖掘

Vandalism: n. 蓄意毁坏文物

Parson: n. 牧师

Parishioner: n. 教区居民

Dupe sb. into doing sth. 欺骗某人做某事