Hawwass said evidence had been found showing that farmers in the Delta and Upper Egypt had sent 21 buffalo and 23 sheep to the plateau every day to feed the builders, believed to number around 10,000 - or about a tenth of Greek historian Herodotus's estimate of 100,000.

哈瓦斯說，已發(fā)現(xiàn)的相關證據(jù)表明，當時（尼羅河）三角洲和埃及南部地區(qū)的農(nóng)民每天都往建筑工地送21頭水牛和23只羊，以解決工人們的吃飯問題，當時共有約1萬名工人參與金字塔建造，僅為希臘歷史學家希羅多德所估計的10萬人的十分之一。

　　
These farmers were exempted from paying taxes to the government of ancient Egypt - evidence that he said underscored the fact they were participating in a national project.

這些農(nóng)民無需向古埃及政府繳納賦稅，哈瓦斯說這進一步證實了他們參與的是一個國家工程。

　　
The first discovery of workers' tombs in 1990 came about accidentally when a horse stumbled on a brick structure 10 meters (yards) away from the burial area.

此類墓群于1990年首次發(fā)現(xiàn)，當時一匹馬在距離墳地10米（碼）遠的一處土磚墻處跌倒，由此帶來了這一偶然的發(fā)現(xiàn)。

Vocabulary:

mammoth: extremely large 極其巨大的；龐大的

excavation: the activity of digging in the ground to look for old buildings or objects that have been buried for a long time （對古物的）發(fā)掘，挖掘

Khufu: Egyptian Pharaoh of the 27th century BC who commissioned the Great Pyramid at Giza 胡夫，埃及第四王朝第二位法老，在位期間建造了大金字塔

Khafre: king of Egypt (c. 2550 bc) of the 4th dynasty. He built the second pyramid and is thought to have built the Sphinx at Giza 哈夫拉，埃及第四王朝的第三位法老，他繼承了胡夫的王位，在吉薩建立了世界上第二大金字塔--哈夫拉金字塔和獅身人面像

graffiti: drawings or writing on a wall, etc. in a public place. They are usually rude, humorous or political. （公共墻壁等上通常含有粗俗、幽默或政治內(nèi)容的）涂畫，涂鴉

necropolis: a place where dead people are buried, especially a large ancient one 墳場；（尤指）古代大墓地

buffalo: a large cow with horns that curve upwards 水牛

Herodotus: 希羅多德，古羅馬時代歷史學家，被譽為“歷史之父”，著有《歷史》一書

exempt sb. from sth.: to release someone from the obligation to do something; to allow a person not to be affected by a rule or law 豁免某人，使某人免于做某事