英国发现石器时代古建筑
文章来源:未知 文章作者:meng 发布时间:2010-08-11 00:06 字体: [ ]  进入论坛
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Archaeologists(考古学家) working on Stone Age remains1 at a site in North Yorkshire say it contains Britain's earliest surviving house. A team from the Universities of Manchester and York reveal today that the home dates to at least 8,500 BC - when Britain was part of continental2 Europe.

The research has been made possible by a grant(拨款,授予物) from the Natural Environment Research Council, early excavation3(挖掘,发掘) funding from the British Academy, and from English Heritage who are about to schedule the site as a National Monument . The Vale of Pickering Research Trust has also provided support for the excavation works.

The research team unearthed4(发掘,破获) the 3.5 metres circular structure next to an ancient lake at Star Carr, near Scarborough, a site comparable in archaeological importance to Stonehenge.

The team are currently excavating5 a large wooden platform next to the lake, made of up timbers(木材,木料) which have been split and hewn(砍) . The platform is the earliest evidence of carpentry(木器,木工手艺) in Europe.

A large tree trunk has also been uncovered by the team. Despite being 11,000 years old it is well preserved with its bark still intact.

The house predates what was previously6 Britain's oldest known dwelling7 at Howick, Northumberland, by at least 500 years.

Dr Chantal Conneller and Barry Taylor from The University of Manchester with Dr Nicky Milner from the University of York have been working at Star Carr since 2004.

The house, which was first excavated8 by the team two years ago, had post holes around a central hollow which would have been filled with organic matter such as reeds(芦苇属植物) , and possibly a fireplace.

Universities and Science Minister, David Willetts, said: "This exciting discovery marries world-class research with the lives of our ancestors. It brings out the similarities and differences between modern life and the ancient past in a fascinating way, and will change our perceptions for ever. I congratulate the research team and look forward to their future discoveries."

The site was inhabited by hunter gatherers from just after the last ice age, for a period of between 200 and 500 years.

According to the team, they migrated from an area now under the North Sea, hunting animals including deer, wild boar, elk9(麋鹿) and enormous wild cattle known as auroch(一种古代野牛) .

Though they did not cultivate the land, the inhabitants did burn part of the landscape to encourage animals to eat shoots(嫩枝) and they also kept domesticated10(家养,驯化) dogs.

Dr Milner said: "This is a sensational11 discovery and tells us so much about the people who lived at this time.

"From this excavation, we gain a vivid picture of how these people lived. For example, it looks like the house may have been rebuilt at various stages.

"It is also likely there was more than one house and lots of people lived here.

"The platform is made of hewn and split timbers; the earliest evidence of this type of carpentry in Europe. And the artefacts of antler, particularly the antler head-dresses, are intriguing12(有趣的,迷人的) as they suggest ritual activities."

Dr Conneller said: "This changes our ideas of the lives of the first settlers to move back into Britain after the end of the last Ice Age.

"We used to think they moved around a lot and left little evidence. Now we know they built large structures and were very attached to particular places in the landscape."

Barry Taylor added: "The ancient lake is a hugely important archaeological landscape many miles across.

"To an inexperienced eye, the area looks unremarkable - just a series of little rises in the landscape.

"But using special techniques I have been able to reconstruct the landscape as it was then.

"The peaty nature of the landscape has enabled the preservation13 of many treasures including the paddle of a boat, the tips of arrows and red deer skull14 tops which were worn as masks.

"But the peat(泥煤,泥炭) is drying out, so it's a race against time to continue the work before the archaeological finds decay."

English Heritage recently entered into a management agreement with the farmers who own the land at Star Carr to help protect the archaeological remains.

Keith Emerick, English Heritage Inspector15 of Ancient Monuments, explained:

"We are grateful to the landowners for entering into this far reaching agreement.

"Star Carr is internationally important, but the precious remains are very fragile.

"A new excavation currently underway will tell us more about their state of preservation and will help us decide whether a larger scale dig is necessary to recover information before it is lost for ever."



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1 remains 1kMzTy     
n.剩余物,残留物;遗体,遗迹
参考例句:
  • He ate the remains of food hungrily.他狼吞虎咽地吃剩余的食物。
  • The remains of the meal were fed to the dog.残羹剩饭喂狗了。
2 continental Zazyk     
adj.大陆的,大陆性的,欧洲大陆的
参考例句:
  • A continental climate is different from an insular one.大陆性气候不同于岛屿气候。
  • The most ancient parts of the continental crust are 4000 million years old.大陆地壳最古老的部分有40亿年历史。
3 excavation RiKzY     
n.挖掘,发掘;被挖掘之地
参考例句:
  • The bad weather has hung up the work of excavation.天气不好耽误了挖掘工作。
  • The excavation exposed some ancient ruins.这次挖掘暴露出一些古遗迹。
4 unearthed e4d49b43cc52eefcadbac6d2e94bb832     
出土的(考古)
参考例句:
  • Many unearthed cultural relics are set forth in the exhibition hall. 展览馆里陈列着许多出土文物。
  • Some utensils were in a state of decay when they were unearthed. 有些器皿在出土时已经残破。
5 excavating 5d793b033d109ef3f1f026bd95b1d9f5     
v.挖掘( excavate的现在分词 );开凿;挖出;发掘
参考例句:
  • A bulldozer was employed for excavating the foundations of the building. 推土机用来给楼房挖地基。 来自《简明英汉词典》
  • A new Danish expedition is again excavating the site in annual summer digs. 一支新的丹麦探险队又在那个遗址上进行一年一度的夏季挖掘。 来自辞典例句
6 previously bkzzzC     
adv.以前,先前(地)
参考例句:
  • The bicycle tyre blew out at a previously damaged point.自行车胎在以前损坏过的地方又爆开了。
  • Let me digress for a moment and explain what had happened previously.让我岔开一会儿,解释原先发生了什么。
7 dwelling auzzQk     
n.住宅,住所,寓所
参考例句:
  • Those two men are dwelling with us.那两个人跟我们住在一起。
  • He occupies a three-story dwelling place on the Park Street.他在派克街上有一幢3层楼的寓所。
8 excavated 3cafdb6f7c26ffe41daf7aa353505858     
v.挖掘( excavate的过去式和过去分词 );开凿;挖出;发掘
参考例句:
  • The site has been excavated by archaeologists. 这个遗址已被考古学家发掘出来。
  • The archaeologists excavated an ancient fortress. 考古学家们发掘出一个古堡。 来自《简明英汉词典》
9 elk 2ZVzA     
n.麋鹿
参考例句:
  • I was close enough to the elk to hear its labored breathing.我离那头麋鹿非常近,能听见它吃力的呼吸声。
  • The refuge contains the largest wintering population of elk in the world.这座庇护所有着世界上数量最大的冬季麋鹿群。
10 domesticated Lu2zBm     
adj.喜欢家庭生活的;(指动物)被驯养了的v.驯化( domesticate的过去式和过去分词 )
参考例句:
  • He is thoroughly domesticated and cooks a delicious chicken casserole. 他精于家务,烹制的砂锅炖小鸡非常可口。 来自《简明英汉词典》
  • The donkey is a domesticated form of the African wild ass. 驴是非洲野驴的一种已驯化的品种。 来自《简明英汉词典》
11 sensational Szrwi     
adj.使人感动的,非常好的,轰动的,耸人听闻的
参考例句:
  • Papers of this kind are full of sensational news reports.这类报纸满是耸人听闻的新闻报道。
  • Their performance was sensational.他们的演出妙极了。
12 intriguing vqyzM1     
adj.有趣的;迷人的v.搞阴谋诡计(intrigue的现在分词);激起…的好奇心
参考例句:
  • These discoveries raise intriguing questions. 这些发现带来了非常有趣的问题。
  • It all sounds very intriguing. 这些听起来都很有趣。 来自《简明英汉词典》
13 preservation glnzYU     
n.保护,维护,保存,保留,保持
参考例句:
  • The police are responsible for the preservation of law and order.警察负责维持法律与秩序。
  • The picture is in an excellent state of preservation.这幅画保存得极为完好。
14 skull CETyO     
n.头骨;颅骨
参考例句:
  • The skull bones fuse between the ages of fifteen and twenty-five.头骨在15至25岁之间长合。
  • He fell out of the window and cracked his skull.他从窗子摔了出去,跌裂了颅骨。
15 inspector q6kxH     
n.检查员,监察员,视察员
参考例句:
  • The inspector was interested in everything pertaining to the school.视察员对有关学校的一切都感兴趣。
  • The inspector was shining a flashlight onto the tickets.查票员打着手电筒查看车票。
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