好萊塢男星同意把偷來的恐龍化石歸還蒙古

Eight years ago, the skull of a Tyrannosaurus bataar was the star artifact in a natural history-themed luxury auction in Manhattan. It sold for $276,000 to an anonymous buyer.

八年前，一具勇士特暴龍(Tyrannosaurus bataar)的骨架成了曼哈頓一場自然歷史主題豪華拍賣會上的明星拍品。一位匿名買家以27.6萬美元將其買下。

As it turns out, the skull had been stolen from the Gobi Desert in Mongolia, and the buyer was Nicolas Cage, an actor who among his dozens of films has starred in a movie franchise about the hunt for rare treasures.

後來，有人發現這具骨架是從蒙古的戈壁沙漠偷來的，而這位買家則是尼古拉斯·凱奇(Nicolas Cage)，他曾經主演過幾十部影片，還曾經在一部系列大片中飾演尋寶者。

A publicist for Mr. Cage confirmed that he bought the skull from the Beverly Hills gallery I.M. Chait in 2007, according to Reuters. The Department of Homeland Security contacted Mr. Cage about the skull last year, and the actor agreed to turn it over.

據路透社報道，凱奇的公關人員確認，他是2007年在比弗利山莊的I.M. Chait畫廊買下這具骨架的。去年國土安全部曾就這具骨架與凱奇接洽，凱奇答應歸還。

Since 2012, the office of Preet Bharara, the United States attorney in Manhattan, has worked to return artifacts taken from Mongolia. Many stolen remains have been traced to a Florida man named Eric Prokopi, who in 2012 was arrested and charged with smuggling illegal goods and possessing stolen property. Last year, Mr. Prokopi was sentenced to three months in prison.

自2012年開始，曼哈頓地區聯邦檢察官普利特·巴拉拉(Preet Bharara)的辦公室開始致力於歸還來自蒙古的珍貴物品。很多被竊物品都與一個名叫埃裏克·普羅科皮(Eric Prokopi)的佛羅里達男子有關，他與2012年遭到逮捕，以非法走私貨物和持有贓物被起訴。去年，普羅科皮被判入獄三個月。

The Tyrannosaurus bataar skull Mr. Cage bought from I.M. Chait was also from a seller in Florida.

凱奇從t購得的這具勇士特暴龍骨架也是來自一個佛羅里達賣家。

“Cultural artifacts such as this Bataar Skull represent a part of Mongolian national cultural heritage,” Glenn Sorge, a special agent with Mr. Bharara’s office, said in a statement. “It belongs to the people of Mongolia. These priceless antiquities are not souvenirs to be sold to private collectors or hobbyists.”

“暴龍骨架這類文化物品是蒙古國家文化遺產的一部分，” 巴拉拉辦公室的特別探員格倫·索格(Glenn Sorge)在一份聲明中說。“它屬於蒙古人民。這些無價之寶不應被販賣給私人藏家和業餘愛好者。”

Several skeletons of the Tyrannosaurus bataar, a large, carnivorous dinosaur that was a close relative of Tyrannosaurus rex, have been returned to Mongolia in recent years. Mr. Prokopi has assisted prosecutors in recovering at least 17 other fossils, Reuters reported.

勇士特暴龍是一種大型食肉恐龍，是霸王龍的近親。近年來，已經有若干具勇士特暴龍的骨架被歸還給蒙古。據路透社報道，普羅科皮協助檢方歸還了至少17具化石。

The private sales of such artifacts have worried paleontologists because it makes it harder for the scientific community to learn more about how the dinosaurs once lived.

古生物學家爲這種物品的私下售賣感到憂慮，因爲這使得科學界研究恐龍生活的工作變得更加困難。

“We’re losing science, we’re losing education, we’re losing valuable specimens,” Kevin Padian, a paleontologist at University of California, Berkeley, told The Times after the sale of the skull in 2007.

“我們損失了科學，我們損失了教育，我們損失了極有價值的標本，”加利福尼亞大學伯克利分校的古生物學家凱文·帕迪安(Kevin Padian)在接受《紐約時報》採訪時，這樣評價2007年的那次頭骨交易。

Mr. Cage is known as an avid collector, with interests that include real estate, rare cars and comic books: In 2011, he sold a like-new copy of Action Comics No. 1, which featured the first appearance of Superman, for $2.1 million.

凱奇是出了名的狂熱收藏家，他的興趣包括不動產、珍稀轎車和漫畫書。2011年，他以210萬美元出售了一本接近全新的《動作漫畫》(Action Comics)第一期，其中有超人的第一次亮相。