国家地理-2008-06-14 New View on Stonehenge Burials 巨石阵新解

The tantalizing¹ mysteries of Stonehenge may have come one step closer toward being solved. New radiocarbon dates of human cremation² burials there indicate that Stonehenge was used as a cemetery³ from its inception⁴ just after 3,000 BC until well after the large sarsen stones went up around 2,500 BC. Archeologist Mike Parker Pearson has a new theory that Stonehenge was just half of a large religious complex and also functioned as a huge cemetery.

"Stonehenge is full of burials. It's our biggest cremation cemetery from that time."

 With National Geographic⁵'s support, Mike Parker Pearson leads the Stonehenge Riverside Project. Parker Pearson's teams excavating⁶ the plain surrounding Stonehenge have discovered the largest Stone Age settlement found in northern Europe.

"We knew this was a big village, and I was thinking maybe a few hundred houses. But what we found out this year is that it was really big. We are looking at well over a thousand houses."

Parker Pearson suspects this was the lost city of the builders of Stonehenge.

"I think what we are seeing is a community that are bringing all their stock with them coming here for short parts of the year. This isn't a full-time⁷ permanent settlement."

He has found evidence that people came here to celebrate an important event in their calendar, the longest day of the year, the midsummer solstice. He believes they used Stonehenge as a monument to the death.

Perhaps on the same day, less than two miles away at Durrington Walls the ancient Britons celebrated⁸ life. Here a vast circular earthwork known as a henge dominates the landscape. It's 20 times larger than Stonehenge and was surrounded by a ditch and bank 18 feet deep and 30 feet wide.

In new excavations¹⁰ outside the henge of Durrington walls, archeologists found remains¹¹ of houses from the third millennium¹² BC. Among the most remarkable¹³ discoveries are the remains of an oval-shaped hearth¹⁴ with two thick grooves¹⁵ visible in the floor where the person who did the cooking kneeled.

"The thing that really got my imagination going was the, the knee holes that you get by the hearth over there. And that, that just triggers  the imagination of someone everyday sitting by the fire to cook or tend to the hearth, and little things out there really get your imagination going."

Parker Pearson hopes to find more clues to the Stonehenge mystery over the final three years of the excavation⁹ project. His findings are featured in the June issue of National Geographic Magazine and revealed in a National Geographic Channel special Stonehenge Decoded¹⁶ premiering Sunday June 1st. Check local listings.

Notes:
Stonehendge: a group of very large, tall stones that are arranged into a large circle with a smaller circle inside it, which stand on Salisbury Plain in Wiltshire, southern England. People think that they were put there about 4000 years ago and were used for studying the movements of the Sun, Moon, and stars. Some people also believe that they were used by the Druids (=ancient priests before the Christian¹⁷ period) in religious ceremonies.

inception: the beginning of something
Sarsen stones: stone blocks found in quantity on Salisbury Plain, the Marlborough Downs, in Kent, and in smaller quantities in Berkshire, Oxfordshire, Dorset and Hampshire. They are the remains of a cap of tertiary sandstone which once covered much of southern England.

Vocabulary Mix:
cremation: the reduction of a corpse to ashes as a way of disposing of it

1 tantalizing   

adj.逗人的；惹弄人的；撩人的；煽情的v.逗弄，引诱，折磨( tantalize的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• This was my first tantalizing glimpse of the islands. 这是我第一眼看见的这些岛屿的动人美景。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• We have only vague and tantalizing glimpses of his power. 我们只能隐隐约约地领略他的威力，的确有一种可望不可及的感觉。 来自英汉非文学 - 历史

2 cremation   

n.火葬，火化

参考例句：

• Cremation is more common than burial in some countries. 在一些国家，火葬比土葬普遍。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Garbage cremation can greatly reduce the occupancy of land. 垃圾焚烧可以大大减少占用土地。 来自互联网

3 cemetery   

n.坟墓，墓地，坟场

参考例句：

• He was buried in the cemetery.他被葬在公墓。
• His remains were interred in the cemetery.他的遗体葬在墓地。

4 inception   

n.开端，开始，取得学位

参考例句：

• The programme has been successful since its inception.这个方案自开始实施以来一直卓有成效。
• Julia's worked for that company from its inception.自从那家公司开办以来，朱莉娅一直在那儿工作。

5 geographic   

adj.地理学的，地理的

参考例句：

• The city's success owes much to its geographic position. 这座城市的成功很大程度上归功于它的地理位置。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Environmental problems pay no heed to these geographic lines. 环境问题并不理会这些地理界限。 来自英汉非文学 - 环境法 - 环境法

6 excavating   

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

7 full-time   

adj.满工作日的或工作周的，全时间的

参考例句：

• A full-time job may be too much for her.全天工作她恐怕吃不消。
• I don't know how she copes with looking after her family and doing a full-time job.既要照顾家庭又要全天工作，我不知道她是如何对付的。

8 celebrated   

adj.有名的，声誉卓著的

参考例句：

• He was soon one of the most celebrated young painters in England.不久他就成了英格兰最负盛名的年轻画家之一。
• The celebrated violinist was mobbed by the audience.观众团团围住了这位著名的小提琴演奏家。

9 excavation   

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。

10 excavations   

n.挖掘( excavation的名词复数 )；开凿；开凿的洞穴（或山路等）；（发掘出来的）古迹

参考例句：

• The excavations are open to the public. 发掘现场对公众开放。
• This year's excavations may reveal ancient artifacts. 今年的挖掘可能会发现史前古器物。 来自辞典例句

11 remains   

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。

12 millennium   

n.一千年，千禧年；太平盛世

参考例句：

• The whole world was counting down to the new millennium.全世界都在倒计时迎接新千年的到来。
• We waited as the clock ticked away the last few seconds of the old millennium.我们静候着时钟滴答走过千年的最后几秒钟。

13 remarkable   

adj.显著的，异常的，非凡的，值得注意的

参考例句：

• She has made remarkable headway in her writing skills.她在写作技巧方面有了长足进步。
• These cars are remarkable for the quietness of their engines.这些汽车因发动机没有噪音而不同凡响。

14 hearth   

n.壁炉炉床，壁炉地面

参考例句：

• She came and sat in a chair before the hearth.她走过来，在炉子前面的椅子上坐下。
• She comes to the hearth,and switches on the electric light there.她走到壁炉那里，打开电灯。

15 grooves   

n.沟( groove的名词复数 )；槽；老一套；（某种）音乐节奏v.沟( groove的第三人称单数 )；槽；老一套；（某种）音乐节奏

参考例句：

• Wheels leave grooves in a dirt road. 车轮在泥路上留下了凹痕。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Sliding doors move in grooves. 滑动门在槽沟中移动。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

16 decoded   

v.译（码），解（码）( decode的过去式和过去分词 )；分析及译解电子信号

参考例句：

• The control unit decoded the 18 bits. 控制器对这18位字进行了译码。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Scientists have decoded the dog genome. 科学家已经译解了狗的基因组。 来自辞典例句

17 Christian   

adj.基督教徒的；n.基督教徒

参考例句：

• They always addressed each other by their Christian name.他们总是以教名互相称呼。
• His mother is a sincere Christian.他母亲是个虔诚的基督教徒。