英国巨石阵:永远的未解之谜
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在英格兰索尔兹伯里平原上矗立着一群巨石建筑。这群建筑已经经历了几千年的风风雨雨。长期以来，有关巨石阵的种种争论一直没有停止过。有人说它是研究星象的观象台，也有人说它是宗教祭祀的场所，甚至有人认为它是外星人造访地球的飞船基地……种种猜测为巨石阵蒙上了一层神秘的面纱，使其成为一个永恒的谜。
About 5,000 years ago, the people of the 1)Neolithic period decided to build a huge 2)monument using earth, 3)timber and stones. They placed it high on Salisbury Plain in Wiltshire, England ?about 137 kilometres southwest of London. Why anyone ever decided to build Stonehenge remains a mystery, with theories ranging from 4)religion to 5)astronomy.
Construction of Stonehenge
Perhaps the most impressive part of Stonehenge is how it was built. 6)Excavations at Stonehenge suggest the monument was constructed in three phases.
In the first phase, Stonehenge was a large earthwork or 7)Henge, 8)comprising a 9)ditch, bank, and the Aubrey Holes, all probably built around 3100 BC. The Aubrey Holes, named for their discoverer, the 17th-century 10)antiquarian John Aubrey, are round pits in the 11)chalk. They form a circle about 86 metres in diameter. Human bones were found in some of the chalk filling, but the holes themselves were probably made, not for the purpose of graves, but as part of the religious 12)ceremony. Shortly after this phase Stonehenge was 13)abandoned, left untouched for over 1000 years.
The second phase of Stonehenge started around 2150 BC. Some 82 14)bluestones from the Preseli Mountains, in southwest Wales, were transported to the site. It is thought these stones, some weighing 4 tons each, were dragged on rollers and 15)sledges to the 16)headwaters on Milford Haven, and then loaded onto rafts. They were carried by water along the south coast of Wales and up the rivers Avon and Frome, before being dragged overland again to Wiltshire.
This astonishing journey covers nearly 386 kilometres. Once at the site, these stones were set up in the centre to form an 17)incomplete double circle.
The third phase, about 2000 BC, saw the arrival of the 18)Sarsen stones. The Sarsen stones were transported from the Marlborough 19)Downs, 32 kilometres to the north. The largest of the Sarsen stones weighed 50 tons. It would have been impossible to transport them by water. The stones could only have been moved using sledges and ropes. Modern 20)calculations show that it would have taken 500 men using leather ropes to pull one stone.
These stones were placed in an outer circle with a 21)continuous run of 22)lintels. Inside the circle, five 23)trilithons were placed in a horseshoe 24)arrangement, the remains of which can still be seen today.
Soon after 1500 BC, the bluestones were rearranged in the horseshoe and circle formations that we see today. The 25)original number of stones in the bluestone circle was probably around 60, though many have long since been removed or broken up.
Who Built Stonehenge?
Stonehenge is a 26)series of structures that were rebuilt and 27)revised over a period of about 1,500 years. Little is known of its builders. In the 17th century, John Aubrey 28)proposed that Stonehenge was a temple built by Druids, an 29)order of Celtic注 priests 30)encountered by the Romans as they 31)conquered ancient Britain in the 1st century AD. Another early notion was that the Romans themselves constructed the monument. These theories were disproved in the 20th century, when 32)archaeologists showed that work on Stonehenge began some 2,000 years before Celts, and later Romans, had arrived in the area.
Today, it is widely believed that the Stonehenge site was 33)fashioned by the people of the late Neolithic period (around 3000 BC), and carried forward by people from a new economy which was arising at this time. These “new”people, known as Beaker Folk, had begun using metal tools and living in a more 34)communal fashion than their 35)ancestors.
Purpose of Stonehenge
Why Stonehenge was constructed remains unknown. Most scholars agree that it must have been a special place of religious ceremonies.
In the early 1960s, American astronomer Gerald S. Hawkins proposed that Stonehenge was an astronomical 36)observatory and calendar of 37)complexity. Hawkins suggested that ancient peoples used Stonehenge to 38)anticipate astronomical 39)phenomena, including the summer and winter 40)solstices and 41)eclipses of both the Sun and the Moon. This 42)interpretation remains popular today, despite many uncertainties.
The true purpose of Stonehenge is an enduring mystery. We can only speculate about what it meant to its builders, and what 43)impulse drove them to put so much labor and care in creating it.
大约五千年前，新石器时代的人们决定用泥土、木材和石头建造一个巨大的纪念碑。他们把这个纪念碑建在英格兰索尔兹伯里平原上的威尔特郡，位于伦敦西南部137公里处。他们为何要建造这样一个巨石阵？人们试图用宗教和天文学等各种理论来解释，不过至今这仍是一个未解之谜。
巨石阵的建造
巨石阵最引人关注的也许是其建造方式。考古发掘表明，这座纪念碑的建造经历了三个阶段。
第一阶段，大约在公元前3100年，巨石阵是一个巨大的土木建筑，或者说是一个“圆形的石木结构”。它由壕沟、土堤和“奥布里坑”组成。“奥布里坑”以它们的发现者―十七世纪的古文物研究者约翰•奥布里命名。它们是白垩地上的圆坑，这些圆坑围成一圈，构成一个直径约86米的圆圈。人们在某些白垩填埋料中发现了人类骸骨。不过这些圆坑不是作墓地之用，可能是作为宗教仪式的一部分。这一阶段之后不久，巨石阵被搁置，在接下来一千多年的时间里乏人问津。
巨石阵第二阶段的建造大约始于公元前2150年。82块青石从威尔士西南部的普雷塞利山运到建造地点。这些石块中有的重达4吨，人们猜测这些岩石是通过滚木和大橇被拖到米尔福德港上游，然后装上木筏。它们通过水路沿着威尔士南岸一直向上前进，进入埃文河和弗罗姆河流域，最后经由陆路被运送到威尔特郡。
这一惊人的旅程将近386公里。这些石块被运到建造地后被竖立在（圆坑的）中央，形成不完整的双圆。
第三阶段，大约在公元前2000年，人们把砂岩运来。这些砂岩是从北面32公里外的莫尔伯勒丘陵运过来的，最重的一块达50吨。因此用水路运输是不可能的，只有借助大橇和绳索才能搬运这些石头。现代的计算显示，要拉动一块石头需要500人拉动皮绳。
这些石头被竖立在外圈，上方是首尾相连的横楣。在圈内是五组三石塔，它们排列成马蹄形，我们今天仍能看到它们的遗址。
公元前1500年之后，青石被重新排列成马蹄形和圆形结构，也就是我们现在看到的形状。最初青石圈石头的数量大概为60块，但后来许多被陆续移走或损坏了。
谁建造了巨石阵？
巨石阵是一个连续结构群，在1500年的时间里被不断重建和修缮。关于它的建造者我们知之甚少。在17世纪，约翰•奥布里提出巨石阵是德鲁伊特人建造的一座庙宇。德鲁伊特人是凯尔特人的祭司阶级。公元1世纪，罗马人在征服古英国时曾与德鲁伊特人交战。另外一些早期的观点认为是罗马人自己建造了这个纪念碑。这些观点在20世纪都被证明是错误的，考古学家证实巨石阵的建造在凯尔特人和后来的罗马人到达这个地区之前两千多年就开始了。
今天，人们普遍认为巨石阵是由新石器时代后期（约公元前3000年）的人建造的。这项工程后来由当时新兴的、属于另外一个经济制度的人继续进行。这些被称作比克人的“新兴”人类已经开始使用金属工具，生活的组织形式也比他们的祖先更为公社化。
建造巨石阵的目的
前人为何建造巨石阵，至今我们仍不得而知。大部分学者认为它是一个与宗教仪式有关的特殊场所。
20世纪60年代早期，美国天文学家杰拉尔德•S•霍金斯提出一个观点，指巨石阵是一个天文观测台和复杂的天文日历。霍金斯指出，古人通过巨石阵来观测天文现象，包括夏至、冬至，以及日蚀、月蚀等。尽管还存在很多无法确定的方面，这种观点至今仍被广泛认同。
建造巨石阵的真正目的是一个千古之谜。它对建造者有什么样的意义，是什么驱使他们不遗余力地去建造这样一群建筑物，我们都无从得知，只能靠我们的想象去寻找答案。
Link链接：
Ancient Stonehenge Village Unearthed
远古巨石阵村庄浮出水面
Jill Egan
Researchers have uncovered a village that may have been home to the builders of Stonehenge. The village of small houses dates back to about 2600 BC. That’s about the same time Stonehenge was built.
The ancient houses are at a site known as Durrington Walls, about three kilometres from Stonehenge. Researchers believe that Stonehenge was a memorial site or a cemetery[墓地] for the villagers. The village also had a wooden version of the stone circle. It may have been used by people attending festivals at Stonehenge.
Eight of the houses have been excavated. Researchers say there may be as many as 25 of them. The wooden houses were square and about 4 metres along each side. There are signs of bed frames along the walls and of a dresser[食具橱] or storage[存储] unit. The houses also had fireplaces.
Two of the houses were separate from the others. They may have been the homes of community[团体] leaders. Researchers say those sites didn't contain the debris[残余物] and household items[（一组事物中的）一件] found in the other homes.
Stone tools, animal bones, arrowheads and other artifacts[人工制品] have been found throughout the village site.
研究人员最近发现了一个可能是巨石阵建造者居住的村庄。这个由众多小屋构成的村庄可以追溯到公元前2600年，与巨石阵建造的时间相当接近。
这些古代房屋位于一个叫杜灵顿垣墙的地方，距离巨石阵只有3公里。研究人员认为巨石阵是村民举行祭典的地方，或者是他们的墓地。这个村庄还有一个与巨石阵结构相同的木制圆环，可能在巨石阵进行祭祀活动时使用。
目前已经发掘出八间房屋。研究人员说可能共有25间这样的房屋。这些木制房屋呈正方形，每边长4米。沿墙的位置可以看到床的布局安排以及食具橱或储物柜的位置。房屋中还有火灶。
有两间房屋与其它房屋分开，可能是部落首领居住的地方。研究人员说在这两间房屋中没有发现在其它房屋找到的残余物和生活用品。
在这个村庄的多个地方还发掘出石制工具、动物骨骼、箭头以及其它人工制品。