How Art Made The World 说服的艺术 -03

So what happened? How did imagery come to be used as a political tool? Well it's a process that happens at different times in various parts of the world. But in one of those parts, Britain, archeologists believe that they’ve recently hit upon the time and the place. It's new light on one of the country's oldest and best-known monuments, Stonehenge.

This is the biggest prehistoric¹ monument in Europe. Something extraordinary must have happened here for a structure of this size to be built by people living in small isolated² communities. This was one of the great mysteries of the ancient world. Now, through our understanding of the persuasive³ power of art, we may have found an answer.

It all began with the chance discovery of a burial site near Stonehenge. Archeologists expected to find a Roman burial ground, common in this part of the world. What none of them knew at the time was that they had stumbled into one of the most momentous⁴ archeological discoveries ever made in Britain.

"I knew straight away that the grave wasn't Roman because it had a kind of portrait in it, that dated to the beginning of the Bronze Age, so it was almost 2,000 years older than the Roman graves, so we knew we had something very different."

Andrew Fitzpatrick and his team had uncovered the skeleton of a man dating back nearly 4,500 years, and next to it, dozens of objects. It was the sheer scale of the find that suggested this was no ordinary grave and no ordinary man.

"It's normal in a burial of this age to find just one or two objects, and we would've called a grave maybe with ten things in it rich, but as the numbers mounted and mounted, it was clear that this grave was of exceptional importance. And as the numbers got to almost 100, we realized that it was the richest grave not just in Britain but in Continental⁵ Europe as well."

An examination of the objects revealed further surprises. There were a number of fine objects designed for personal display, like a stone belt buckle⁶, a wrist guard used by an archer⁷ and some tiny copper⁸ knives. But in amongst all of these, there were something very special, 2 identical pieces of gold.


word to remember:

buckle: A clasp for fastening two ends, as of straps⁹ or a belt, in which a device attached to one of the ends is fitted or coupled to the other.扣环(皮带)

ep.: belt buckle

1 prehistoric   

adj.（有记载的）历史以前的，史前的，古老的

参考例句：

• They have found prehistoric remains.他们发现了史前遗迹。
• It was rather like an exhibition of prehistoric electronic equipment.这儿倒像是在展览古老的电子设备。

2 isolated   

adj.与世隔绝的

参考例句：

• His bad behaviour was just an isolated incident. 他的不良行为只是个别事件。
• Patients with the disease should be isolated. 这种病的患者应予以隔离。

3 persuasive   

adj.有说服力的，能说得使人相信的

参考例句：

• His arguments in favour of a new school are very persuasive.他赞成办一座新学校的理由很有说服力。
• The evidence was not really persuasive enough.证据并不是太有说服力。

4 momentous   

adj.重要的，重大的

参考例句：

• I am deeply honoured to be invited to this momentous occasion.能应邀出席如此重要的场合，我深感荣幸。
• The momentous news was that war had begun.重大的新闻是战争已经开始。

5 continental   

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。

6 buckle   

n.扣子，带扣；v.把...扣住，由于压力而弯曲

参考例句：

• The two ends buckle at the back.带子两端在背后扣起来。
• She found it hard to buckle down.她很难专心做一件事情。

7 archer   

n.射手，弓箭手

参考例句：

• The archer strung his bow and aimed an arrow at the target.弓箭手拉紧弓弦将箭瞄准靶子。
• The archer's shot was a perfect bull's-eye.射手的那一箭正中靶心。

8 copper   

n.铜；铜币；铜器；adj.铜(制)的；(紫)铜色的

参考例句：

• The students are asked to prove the purity of copper.要求学生们检验铜的纯度。
• Copper is a good medium for the conduction of heat and electricity.铜是热和电的良导体。

9 straps   

n.带子( strap的名词复数 )；挎带；肩带；背带v.用皮带捆扎( strap的第三人称单数 )；用皮带抽打；包扎；给…打绷带

参考例句：

• the shoulder straps of her dress 她连衣裙上的肩带
• The straps can be adjusted to suit the wearer. 这些背带可进行调整以适合使用者。