Archaeologists have uncovered what may have been a village for workers near the mysterious stone circle Stonehenge in England.
The village was located at Durrington Walls, about 3.2km from Stonehenge, and is also the location of a wooden version of the stone circle.
Eight houses have been excavated and the researchers believe there were at least 25 of them, archaeologist Mike Parker Pearson said at a briefing held by the National Geographic Society.
PHOTO: AP
The village was carbon-dated to about 2600BC, about the same time Stonehenge was built. The Great Pyramid in Egypt was built at about the same time, said Parker Pearson of Sheffield University. "We think we are looking at the village of the actual builders of Stonehenge."
The small wooden houses had a central hearth, he said, and are almost identical to stone houses built at about the same time in the Orkney Islands, Scotland.
The researchers speculated that Durrington Walls was a place for the living and Stonehenge — where several cremated remains have been found — was a cemetery and memorial.
Parker Pearson said remains of stone tools, animal bones, arrowheads and other artifacts were uncovered in the village. Remains of pigs indicated they were about nine months old when killed, which would mark a midwinter festival, he said.
Parker Pearson said Stonehenge was oriented to face the midsummer sunrise and midwinter sunset, while the wooden circle at Durrington Walls faced the midwinter sunrise and midsummer sunset.
Thousands of tourists flock to Stonehenge for the summer solstice on June 21 each year. Druids also perform ceremonies to mark both the summer and winter solstices. The excavation is expected to continue until 2010.
(Catherine Thomas, staff writer with agencies)
考古學家已在神秘的英格蘭巨石陣附近發現一處村落遺址,當時的住戶可能就是巨石陣的建造者。這個村落遺址位在離巨石陣約三點二公里遠的杜靈頓垣牆,此地還有一個類似巨石陣的木陣。
考古學家麥克?帕克?皮爾森在美國國家地理學會舉辦的簡報會上表示,已有八間房屋被挖掘出來,而且研究人員相信這樣的房屋至少有二十五間。
經過碳元素檢測,確定這些村落大約建於西元前2600年,與巨石陣豎立的年代相當。雪菲爾大學的帕克?皮爾森表示,埃及金字塔差不多也建於這個時期。「我們認為,我們發現的是巨石陣真正建造者所居住的村落。」
這些木造小屋的中央設有壁爐,皮爾森表示,其格局與蘇格蘭奧克尼島上大約同一時期興建的石造屋幾乎相同。
人員推測,杜靈頓垣牆是人們生活的地方,而發現了好幾具火化遺體的巨石陣則是墓園及紀念碑的所在。
帕克?皮爾森表示,在這個遺址中還發現了石器、動物骸骨、箭頭及其他手工藝品。他說,遺址中挖出的豬骨骸顯示,這些可能被當作冬至祭典祭品的豬隻,被宰殺時都只有九個月大左右。
帕克?皮爾森說,巨石陣是對準夏至日出及冬至日落的方向修建,而杜靈頓垣牆木陣則是對準冬至日出及夏至日落的方向。
每年六月二十一日總有成千上萬名遊客湧到巨石陣欣賞夏至奇觀。督伊德教徒也會舉行慶祝夏至與冬至的儀式。整個遺址挖掘工作預計將持續到二0一0年。
(綜合外電/翻譯:林倩如)
Tangbao are one of the most internationally renowned delicacies, that win the hearts of both locals and tourists. Their charm lies in the paper-thin flour wrapper that needs to be folded evenly almost 20 times. Folding a tangbao requires skill to deal with a bulging filling and a thin wrapper. Tangbao are served in a bamboo steamer in which they are steamed, not only adding to the visual appearance, but ensuring they do not get cold before reaching the table. The best way to enjoy a tangbao is to dip it in a mixture of vinegar and soy sauce with
The Bank of Japan (BoJ) announced a seismic change in direction on March 19, hiking interest rates for the first time in 17 years. The move represents an unwinding of an ultra-loose — and maverick -- policy aimed at putting Japan’s “lost decades” of stagnation and deflation behind it. The last time the BoJ raised interest rates was in 2007, but its war against deflation began in earnest in 2013 under then-prime minister Shinzo Abe. “Abenomics” combined generous government spending and central bank monetary easing. The BoJ spent vast amounts on bonds and other assets to pump liquidity into the
Have you ever wished for an extra hour to prepare for exams or finish homework? In some countries, people actually adjust their clocks to gain or lose an hour, all for the sake of Daylight Saving Time (DST). Specifically, clocks are set forward by an hour in March and then set back in November. One of the primary reasons for implementing DST is to make better use of natural daylight so that people can reduce energy consumption. The concept originated with Benjamin Franklin in 1784 and became widely adopted during World War I. Today, this system is in place
A: Wow, YouTuber Xander 73’s channel “73_Tricking” now has over 10 million subscribers, making him Taiwan’s first 10-million YTR. B: Cool! But what’s “tricking?” A: Basically, it’s a sport derived from extreme martial arts. B: Xander 73’s income is as high as NT$600,000 per month. What’s the secret of his success? A: He often uses English catchphrases in his videos to attract more viewers from around the world. This shows how important English is. A: 哇,YouTuber奇軒的「奇軒Tricking」頻道訂閱突破千萬人, 成為台灣首位千萬YTR! B: 好厲害,但什麼是tricking啊? A: 聽說是極限武術所衍生的運動。 B: 奇軒月入60萬,成功的秘訣是什麼呢? A: 他常使用英文標語,所以能吸引全球觀眾,可見英文多重要。 (By Eddy Chang, Taipei Times/台北時報張聖恩)