Fight on to save Stone Age Atlantis
By Eleanor Williams
BBC News, Hampshire
A race against time is under way to try to save a Stone Age settlement found buried at the bottom of the sea in the Solent.
塵封在Solent海底一處石器時代聚落,一場與時間競賽的搶救工作正在此處分秒必爭的進行中.
Eight thousand years ago the area would have been dry land, a valley and woodland criss-crossed by rivers.
八千年前,此處曾是一片乾地, 由河流交錯切割而成的山谷與林地.
A swamped prehistoric forest was identified off the northern Isle of Wight coast in the 1980s, but Bouldnor Cliff's buried Stone Age village was only found - by chance - a few years ago.
1980年代就已經知道在Wight島北部海域有一座沉沒於水下的史前森林, 但被掩埋在Bouldnor斷崖一處石器時代村落, 則是最近幾年的一個意外的發現.
Divers taking part in a routine survey spotted a lobster cleaning out its burrow on the seabed and to their surprise the animal was throwing out dozens of pieces of worked flint.
潛水人員在一次例行勘測時, 恰巧看到海床上有一隻龍蝦正在清理它的洞穴, 讓這些潛水人員感到吃驚的是這隻動物清出了許多加工過的燧石.
Maritime archaeologists from the Hampshire and Wight Trust for Maritime Archaeology have carried out a number of underwater excavations at the 8,000-year-old site.
來自Hampshire及Wight Trust的水下考古學家在這個擁有八千年歷史的地點完成了幾處水下的挖掘工作.
For the first time they are bringing up sections of the Mesolithic village from the seabed and going through the sediments.
這是他們第一次從海床的沉積物中打撈出中石器時代村莊的殘片.
But they have to work fast, as the site is literally being washed away by tidal currents, which eat away at the submerged cliff at a rate of 12in (30cm) a year.
但是他們必須加緊腳步, 因為這個地點在潮汐的沖刷下, 正以一年12英吋的速度侵蝕著這個已沒入水中的斷崖.
Garry Momber, director of the charity - which is supported by English Heritage - said the project is unique and helps to shed light on a time in British history which very little is known about.
一個由英國遺產署所支持的慈善團體主任Garry Momber表示,這個專案難能可貴, 而且可以幫助我們了解這段英國最不為人知的歷史.
He said: "This is the only site of its kind in Britain and is extremely important to our understanding of our Stone Age ancestors from the lesser-known Mesolithic period.
他說:"像這種類型的遺址在英國只有這一個, 而且對了解我們這些鮮為人知的中石器時代祖先是極為重要的"
"It reveals a time before the English Channel existed when Europe and Britain were linked."
"它揭露了一段時期, 是當英國與歐洲大陸相連, 英吉利海峽還不存在之際."
"The people who lived on this site could have walked over to Calais without too much trouble."
"當時居住在這裡的人不費什麼力就可以很輕鬆走到Calais."
The Isle of Wight was then the highest point of a chalk ridge stretching out along the south coast with valleys on either sides.
Wight島在當時是個至高點, 白堊丘陵沿著南方海岸延伸, 丘陵兩側都是谷地.
After the ice cap - which had covered most of northern Europe - melted, the sea levels started to rise and the settlement was swamped and buried under the sea.
覆蓋在大部份歐洲北方的冰帽融化後, 海平面開始上升, 聚落被湮沒並且掩埋在海水之下.
In the process, silt formed on top and preserved both tools, such as flint knives and scrapers, as well as charcoal, worked pieces of wood, nuts and other organic material, which would have disappeared on land.
在這樣的過程中, 淤泥漸漸堆積在上頭保存了從陸地上消失的各種工具,諸如燧石刀和刮削器, 同時也保存了木炭, 加工過的木片, 堅果, 等其他有機物質.
"It's called the Stone Age because, on land, we find stones from this period but under water a whole lot more survives," Mr Momber said.
"這個時期被稱做石器時代是因為在陸地上我們只找到許多石器, 但在水面下殘存的則更多更完整,"
"I believe these people were far more sophisticated than we give them credit for."
"我相信這些人比起我們所認定的更文明."
Among the discoveries are wooden poles and structures believed to have been used to build houses and canoes.
木頭柱子和結構也在發現之列, 相信是用來建造房屋和獨木舟.
"The reason so little is known about the lives of the Mesolithic people, is because most of the sites where they settled are now on the seabed," Mr Momber added.
"對中石器時代人類的生活知之甚少的原因, 是因為大部份他們所居住的地方目前都在海底," Mr Momber說道.
"The whole of the North Sea could be covered in sites like this one.
"整個北海可能佈滿了像這樣的遺址."
"If we want to understand the Mesolithic people - how they went from hunter-gatherers to farming - we need to look under the water."
"如果我們想知道中石器時代的人類是如何從魚獵生活轉為農耕 - 我們必須從水下開始查起."
In 2004, the team carried out another excavation on a less intact site 300yds (275m) away.
2004年, 考古隊對300碼以外一處保存較不完整的地點進行挖掘.
This showed signs of having been by a river and Mr Momber believes the two sites were linked.
結果顯示曾有河流流經此處的跡象, Mr Momber相信這兩個遺址是有關聯的.
He said it was likely the larger one was where the people lived and the other where they went to catch fish.
他說, 較大的遺址有可能是人們拿來做居所用, 較小的則是他們常去補魚的地方.
However, there is still a lot more work to be done until it is known what Bouldnor Cliff looked like and how the site was used.
然而, 還有更多的工作得要繼續進行, 直到了解Bouldnor斷崖的原樣以及這個遺址的用途.
To put it in perspective, Mr Momber compared the find to one of the more "modern" historic finds in the Solent.
為了確保其正確性, Mr Momber將這個發現拿來和在Solent屬較近代的歷史發現做比較.
"The Mary Rose is only about 500 years old - this was well before that, well before the pyramids, which are 3,000 years old and way before Stonehenge was built, which was only 5,000 years ago," he said.
"瑪麗.羅斯號只有約500年的歷史 - 這個比它來得久遠, 比3000年歷史的金字塔久遠, 也比5000年前所建的巨石陣來得久遠," 他說.
Mr Momber added they hoped to secure more funding so they could continue their work before the artefacts were lost forever, as the Bouldnor Cliff area was being washed away fast.
Mr Momber接著說, 在這些歷史工藝品永遠消失前, 他們希望能籌措更多的資金, 好讓他們繼續進行挖掘工作, 因為Bouldnor正快速的流失中.
Story from BBC NEWS:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/2/hi/uk_news/england/hampshire/6928293.stm
Published: 2007/08/08 11:07:23 GMT
© BBC MMVII
※瑪麗.羅斯號(1509-1511年建造)是第一批可做到舷炮齊射的船隻，並得到亨利八世國王的偏愛，被形容為「海洋上一朵最美的花」.沉沒於1545年7月19日.
BBC News, Hampshire
A race against time is under way to try to save a Stone Age settlement found buried at the bottom of the sea in the Solent.
塵封在Solent海底一處石器時代聚落,一場與時間競賽的搶救工作正在此處分秒必爭的進行中.
Eight thousand years ago the area would have been dry land, a valley and woodland criss-crossed by rivers.
八千年前,此處曾是一片乾地, 由河流交錯切割而成的山谷與林地.
A swamped prehistoric forest was identified off the northern Isle of Wight coast in the 1980s, but Bouldnor Cliff's buried Stone Age village was only found - by chance - a few years ago.
1980年代就已經知道在Wight島北部海域有一座沉沒於水下的史前森林, 但被掩埋在Bouldnor斷崖一處石器時代村落, 則是最近幾年的一個意外的發現.
Divers taking part in a routine survey spotted a lobster cleaning out its burrow on the seabed and to their surprise the animal was throwing out dozens of pieces of worked flint.
潛水人員在一次例行勘測時, 恰巧看到海床上有一隻龍蝦正在清理它的洞穴, 讓這些潛水人員感到吃驚的是這隻動物清出了許多加工過的燧石.
Maritime archaeologists from the Hampshire and Wight Trust for Maritime Archaeology have carried out a number of underwater excavations at the 8,000-year-old site.
來自Hampshire及Wight Trust的水下考古學家在這個擁有八千年歷史的地點完成了幾處水下的挖掘工作.
For the first time they are bringing up sections of the Mesolithic village from the seabed and going through the sediments.
這是他們第一次從海床的沉積物中打撈出中石器時代村莊的殘片.
But they have to work fast, as the site is literally being washed away by tidal currents, which eat away at the submerged cliff at a rate of 12in (30cm) a year.
但是他們必須加緊腳步, 因為這個地點在潮汐的沖刷下, 正以一年12英吋的速度侵蝕著這個已沒入水中的斷崖.
Garry Momber, director of the charity - which is supported by English Heritage - said the project is unique and helps to shed light on a time in British history which very little is known about.
一個由英國遺產署所支持的慈善團體主任Garry Momber表示,這個專案難能可貴, 而且可以幫助我們了解這段英國最不為人知的歷史.
He said: "This is the only site of its kind in Britain and is extremely important to our understanding of our Stone Age ancestors from the lesser-known Mesolithic period.
他說:"像這種類型的遺址在英國只有這一個, 而且對了解我們這些鮮為人知的中石器時代祖先是極為重要的"
"It reveals a time before the English Channel existed when Europe and Britain were linked."
"它揭露了一段時期, 是當英國與歐洲大陸相連, 英吉利海峽還不存在之際."
"The people who lived on this site could have walked over to Calais without too much trouble."
"當時居住在這裡的人不費什麼力就可以很輕鬆走到Calais."
The Isle of Wight was then the highest point of a chalk ridge stretching out along the south coast with valleys on either sides.
Wight島在當時是個至高點, 白堊丘陵沿著南方海岸延伸, 丘陵兩側都是谷地.
After the ice cap - which had covered most of northern Europe - melted, the sea levels started to rise and the settlement was swamped and buried under the sea.
覆蓋在大部份歐洲北方的冰帽融化後, 海平面開始上升, 聚落被湮沒並且掩埋在海水之下.
In the process, silt formed on top and preserved both tools, such as flint knives and scrapers, as well as charcoal, worked pieces of wood, nuts and other organic material, which would have disappeared on land.
在這樣的過程中, 淤泥漸漸堆積在上頭保存了從陸地上消失的各種工具,諸如燧石刀和刮削器, 同時也保存了木炭, 加工過的木片, 堅果, 等其他有機物質.
"It's called the Stone Age because, on land, we find stones from this period but under water a whole lot more survives," Mr Momber said.
"這個時期被稱做石器時代是因為在陸地上我們只找到許多石器, 但在水面下殘存的則更多更完整,"
"I believe these people were far more sophisticated than we give them credit for."
"我相信這些人比起我們所認定的更文明."
Among the discoveries are wooden poles and structures believed to have been used to build houses and canoes.
木頭柱子和結構也在發現之列, 相信是用來建造房屋和獨木舟.
"The reason so little is known about the lives of the Mesolithic people, is because most of the sites where they settled are now on the seabed," Mr Momber added.
"對中石器時代人類的生活知之甚少的原因, 是因為大部份他們所居住的地方目前都在海底," Mr Momber說道.
"The whole of the North Sea could be covered in sites like this one.
"整個北海可能佈滿了像這樣的遺址."
"If we want to understand the Mesolithic people - how they went from hunter-gatherers to farming - we need to look under the water."
"如果我們想知道中石器時代的人類是如何從魚獵生活轉為農耕 - 我們必須從水下開始查起."
In 2004, the team carried out another excavation on a less intact site 300yds (275m) away.
2004年, 考古隊對300碼以外一處保存較不完整的地點進行挖掘.
This showed signs of having been by a river and Mr Momber believes the two sites were linked.
結果顯示曾有河流流經此處的跡象, Mr Momber相信這兩個遺址是有關聯的.
He said it was likely the larger one was where the people lived and the other where they went to catch fish.
他說, 較大的遺址有可能是人們拿來做居所用, 較小的則是他們常去補魚的地方.
However, there is still a lot more work to be done until it is known what Bouldnor Cliff looked like and how the site was used.
然而, 還有更多的工作得要繼續進行, 直到了解Bouldnor斷崖的原樣以及這個遺址的用途.
To put it in perspective, Mr Momber compared the find to one of the more "modern" historic finds in the Solent.
為了確保其正確性, Mr Momber將這個發現拿來和在Solent屬較近代的歷史發現做比較.
"The Mary Rose is only about 500 years old - this was well before that, well before the pyramids, which are 3,000 years old and way before Stonehenge was built, which was only 5,000 years ago," he said.
"瑪麗.羅斯號只有約500年的歷史 - 這個比它來得久遠, 比3000年歷史的金字塔久遠, 也比5000年前所建的巨石陣來得久遠," 他說.
Mr Momber added they hoped to secure more funding so they could continue their work before the artefacts were lost forever, as the Bouldnor Cliff area was being washed away fast.
Mr Momber接著說, 在這些歷史工藝品永遠消失前, 他們希望能籌措更多的資金, 好讓他們繼續進行挖掘工作, 因為Bouldnor正快速的流失中.
Story from BBC NEWS:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/2/hi/uk_news/england/hampshire/6928293.stm
Published: 2007/08/08 11:07:23 GMT
© BBC MMVII
※瑪麗.羅斯號(1509-1511年建造)是第一批可做到舷炮齊射的船隻，並得到亨利八世國王的偏愛，被形容為「海洋上一朵最美的花」.沉沒於1545年7月19日.
沒有留言:
張貼留言