PBS. 新星.失落的帝国.巨石阵（1997）

这是世界上最神秘的
It's one of the most mysterious
地方之一
places in the world.
一群奇异的石头
A strange set of stones,
孤单的矗立在
arranged like no other,
英格兰南部平原上
stands silently above the plains
这就是巨石阵
of souther England. Stonehenge.
几个世纪以来
For centuries,
没人知道是谁建造了它
no one knew who built it.
根据中世纪的传说
According to medieval legend,
它是亚瑟王的宫廷男巫
it was the work of Merlin,
墨林所造
the wizard of King Arthur's court.
在这之后 这座建筑
Later, credit for the construction
被视为罗马人的杰作
went to the Romans,
再后来又被认为异教♥徒♥的
and then to an ancient pagan cult,
德鲁伊教团员们所建
the Druids.
只是在最近几年
Only in recent years have archaeologists
考古学家们才最终确定了
finally begun to discover
巨石阵的建立时间和为谁所建
who really built Stonehenge—and when.
科学家们相信
Scientists now believe
这些巨石
that these stones were erected
是大约在4，500年前
almost four thousand,
被竖立起来的
five hundred years ago—
这远早于亚瑟王和罗马人的时代
long before King Arthur or the Romans,
应属石器时代末期
at the end of the Stone Age.
这是个不可思议的成就
It was an amazing achievement.
每一块竖立的巨石
Each of the colossal uprights weighs
都重达五至八万磅
between fifty and eighty thousand pounds.
这些巨石比花岗岩还坚硬
The stones are harder than granite,
但它们却被仔细修整后
but most were carefully shaped
仔细的堆叠在一起
and joined together—
如同堆木头一般
as if they were made of wood.
即使是在
And although the monument
倾斜的地面上
stands on sloping ground,
那些被叫做"横梁"的
the line of the horizontal stones
横向巨石
—called lintels—
也以一种近乎完美的方式置成水平
runs almost perfectly level.
所有这些都是在
All this was done in an age
没有机械 没有文字
without machinery, without writing,
没有任何金属工具的时代完成的
and without any metal tools.
即使是已经对巨石阵
Even after fifteen years
做了15年的研究
of studying the area around Stonehenge,
考古学家朱利安·理查兹
archeologist Julian Richards
依然对这个古代奇迹赞叹不已
is still impressed by this ancient wonder.
这是巨石阵中最大的一块石头
This is the biggest stone at Stonehenge.
它非常大
It's absolutely enormous.
它比我高20英尺
It towers over twenty feet above me,
并且埋在地下
and there's eight feet of it
8英尺
buried in the ground.
我很讨厌
I get really fed up
人们来到这里
when people come to Stonehenge
说它比预想中的要小
and say it's smaller than they expected.
这可是一大块石头
I mean this is a massive stone.
那里曾经也竖着
It used to have a pair standing there
一块跟它一样大的
as well.
但很遗憾 这一块
That one, unfortunately only buried
只埋了4英尺深
four feet in the ground,
已经倒下几个世纪了
fell over a couple of centuries ago.
这两块石头
And these two stones,
这两块巨大的竖石
these two massive uprights
上面架着很大的横梁
with a great lintel on top,
组成巨石牌坊 这也是
form a trilithon, one of the biggest
巨石阵最吸引人的地方之一
and most impressive elements of Stonehenge.
所使用的这些
The use of massive blocks,
重达40吨♥的巨石
weighing up to 40 tons,
是很不同寻常的
is all the more remarkable,
因为在巨石阵的附近
because there is no natural source
找不到它们的天然来源
for large stones anywhere near Stonehenge.
在中世纪
In the Middle Ages,
有神秘的传说
the mystery inspired reports
说这些岩石是由巨人族的军队
that the rocks were brought from Africa
从非洲运来的
by an army of giants.
现今 考古学家们对巨石来源的解释
Today, archaeologists have come up
虽然少了很多的浪漫成分
with a less romantic,
可依然是令人印象深刻
but still impressive, explanation.
距离巨石阵北方20英里
Twenty miles north of Stonehenge
建有另一座石圈
stands another stone circle,
没有这么复杂 却更大
not as elaborate, but much larger.
它差不多周长一英里
It's nearly a mile in circumference
现在城镇的一部分已经进入其中
and now encloses part of a town.
这是埃夫伯里
This is Avebury,
这个不可思议的巨大石圈
incredibly huge stone circle,
建造要早于巨石阵
built before Stonehenge,
但它与巨石阵
but what it's got in common
相同的特点是
with Stonehenge,
它们都用同一种岩石建成
is some of the rocks that it was made of.
它由一种硬的出奇的砂岩--砂岩漂砾
Sarsens, an incredibly hard sandstone,
与硅石结合而成
cemented together with silica,
它是我们所知的
one of the hardest rocks
英格兰最坚硬的岩石
that we know of in this part of England.
在埃夫伯里四周
Around Avebury,
山谷中到处都是
the valleys are littered
砂岩漂砾
with sarsen boulders.
少数在巨石阵的周围
A few on the scale of Stonehenge
仍然被半埋在地下
still lie half buried in the ground.
显然 建造巨石阵的石头
Obviously, this is where they came
就来源于这里
to get the stones for Stonehenge.
因为只有这里
The only place around here
可以提供
where there's a supply of stones
大小合适的石头
of the right sort of size.
来自马萨诸塞州的
Roger Hopkins is a stonemason
罗杰·霍普金斯是一位专门从事
from Massachusetts who specializes
花岗岩搬运和修整的石匠
in moving and shaping granite.
多年以来
For years,
他都惊奇于
he's been amazed
巨石阵建造者们
by the Stonehenge builders' mastery
对坚硬岩石特性的完美理解
of hard stone.
你看这个地方
You know, looking at this site,
沿途有这么多的碎石
with all these stones in the way,
要把石块放到雪橇上
it must have been a real chore
那可不是件容易的事
to get these on a—a sled
更别说再把它们运出这个地方
and get 'em out of these fields.
我是说他们不必——
I mean, they weren't using it—I mean,
不必去开采石头
it wasn't quarried.
不必去把一块大石头
You didn't have to dig into solid rock
挖出来
to get this out,
应该是在周围的地方
it would have just lain
就可以找到
around all over the place.
那么这两地之间
What's the contour,
地形是什么样子的
the terrain like between here and there?
地形很复杂
It varies quite a lot.
有一个比较平坦的河谷
There's a fairly flat river valley,
还有一座很陡的山
and then a very steep hill
一直延伸到索尔兹伯里平原
to get you up onto Salisbury Plain,
经过微微有些起伏不平的平原
from whereon it just undulates gently
就到达巨石阵了
until you get all the way to Stonehenge.
如果说埃夫伯里就是
If Avebury was the source
巨石的源产地
for the massive sarsens,
那么那些古代的建造者们
how did the ancient builders
又是如何将它们运过20英里
transport them across twenty miles
连绵起伏的山地 再将它们
of rolling hills and erect them