A mysterious discovery saw the remains of cheetahs up to 1,800-years-old found in a cave.

在一处洞穴中，人们有了神秘发现——找到了距今多达1800年的猎豹遗骸。

The mummified remains range from 130 years old to over 1,800-years-old and were excavated by researchers in Saudi Arabia. Seven mummies, along with the bones of 54 other cheetahs, were excavated from a site near the city of Arar.

这些猎豹木乃伊遗骸的年龄跨度从130岁到1800多岁不等，是由沙特阿拉伯的研究人员发掘出土的。 在阿拉尔市附近的一处遗址中，研究人员发掘出了7具猎豹木乃伊，以及另外54只猎豹的骨骼。

Pictures of the preserved creatures show cloudy eyes and shriveled limbs, resembling dried-out husks. Experts are currently mystified by the discovery, but some think it could have been a denning site where mothers birthed and raised their young.

这些保存完好的猎豹图片显示，它们眼睛浑浊，四肢干瘪，宛如干枯的外壳。 专家们目前对这一发现感到困惑，不过有人认为，这里可能曾是一个母猎豹产崽并哺育幼崽的巢穴。

Mummification prevents decay by preserving dead bodies. Egypt's mummies are the most well-known, but the process can also happen naturally in places like glacier ice, desert sands and bog sludge.

木乃伊化能通过保存尸体来防止其腐烂。 埃及的木乃伊最为人所熟知，但这一过程在冰川冰、沙漠沙和沼泽泥浆等地方也能自然发生。

"It's something that I've never seen before," said Joan Madurell-Malapeira with the University of Florence in Italy, who was not involved with the discovery.

“这是我从未见过的景象，”意大利佛罗伦萨大学的琼·马杜雷尔-马拉佩拉说道， 她并未参与此次发现。

Scientists have uncovered the rare mummified remains of other big cats, including a saber-toothed cat cub in Russia.

科学家们曾发现过其他大型猫科动物的罕见木乃伊遗骸，包括在俄罗斯发现的一具剑齿虎幼崽。

It's uncommon for large mammals to be preserved to this degree. Besides being in the right environment, the carcasses also have to avoid becoming a snack for hungry scavengers like birds and hyenas.

大型哺乳动物能保存到这种程度实属罕见。 除了要处于合适的环境中，这些动物尸体还必须避免成为饥饿的食腐动物（如鸟类和鬣狗）的点心。

Cheetahs once roamed across most of Africa and parts of Asia, but now live in just nine percent of their previous range and haven't been spotted across the Arabian Peninsula for decades. That's likely due to habitat loss, unregulated hunting and lack of prey, among other factors.

猎豹曾遍布非洲大部分地区和亚洲部分地区， 但如今它们的栖息地仅占以往范围的9%，且在阿拉伯半岛已有数十年未见其踪迹。 这很可能是由于栖息地丧失、无节制捕猎以及猎物减少等因素造成的。

In a first for naturally mummified big cats, scientists were also able to peek at the cheetahs' genes and found that the remains were most similar to modern-day cheetahs from Asia and northwest Africa. That information could help with future efforts to reintroduce the big cats to places they no longer live.

对于自然木乃伊化的大型猫科动物， 科学家们首次得以窥探其基因，并发现这些遗骸与现今亚洲和西北非的猎豹最为相似。 这些信息可能有助于未来将这些大型猫科动物重新引入它们已不再栖息的地方。

It comes after archaeologists have found evidence of a Roman industrial hub on the banks of the River Wear, close to the present-day site of the Nissan car plant.

此前，考古学家在威尔河河畔发现了罗马工业中心的证据， 此处靠近日产汽车厂现址。

More than 800 whetstones – used to sharpen blades – have been found at the site at Offerton near Sunderland, as well as 11 stone anchors.

在桑德兰附近的奥弗顿遗址，考古学家发现了800多块磨刀石（用于磨利刀刃）以及11个石锚。

Analysis of sediment by Durham University archaeologists has confirmed the site on the Wear dates back to the Roman period.

杜伦大学的考古学家对沉积物进行分析后证实，威尔河畔的这处遗址可追溯至罗马时期。

The site was discovered by volunteers from the Vedra Hylton Community Association.

该遗址是由维德拉·希尔顿社区协会的志愿者发现的。

Experts say the find is important as it shows the north east of England had an important industrial role within Roman Britain – long before the successive eras of coalmining, shipbuilding and car manufacturing.

专家表示，这一发现意义重大，因为它表明，在英格兰东北部，早在煤矿开采、造船和汽车制造等相继兴起的时代之前， 罗马不列颠时期这里就已具有重要的工业地位。