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This week we're sweeping across the vast expanse of Europe and Asia between the ninth and the thirteenth centuries.
本周的我們將橫跨九世紀(jì)至十三世紀(jì)歐亞大陸的廣闊區(qū)域。
And once again we're not going to be focussed on the Mediterranean:we're dealing with two great arcs of trade-one that begins in Iraq and Afghanistan, rises north into Russia and ends here in Britain, and another in the south, spanning the Indian Ocean from Indonesia to Africa.
而再一次我們不會(huì)將焦點(diǎn)限于地中海地區(qū)：一條始于伊拉克和阿富汗，向北延伸至俄羅斯，最后止于英格蘭；另一條則在南邊，從印度尼西亞開始，跨越印度洋，直抵非洲。
The week's objects range from today's precious Viking treasure from Yorkshire to a few pottery fragments from a beach in Africa.
本周的這件物品范圍是從現(xiàn)今約克郡珍貴無比的海盜寶藏，到非洲海灘的一些陶器碎片。
Between them, they bring to life the travellers, the traders and the raiders who helped to shape this world.
在其中，他們?yōu)槁每蛡儙砹松?，貿(mào)易商，而且襲擊者幫助曾改變這個(gè)世界。
When you use the words "traders and raiders", one group of people above all springs to mind: the Vikings.
—提到“商人與劫匪”，浮現(xiàn)在我們腦海里的總是維京人的形象。
Vikings have always excited the European imagination and their reputation has fluctuated violently.
維京人一直刺激著歐洲人的想象力，他們的名聲也總是大起大落。
In the nineteenth century, the British saw them as savage bad guys-horn-helmeted rapers and looters.
在十九世紀(jì)，英格蘭人視他們?yōu)橐靶U的惡棍，戴著牛角頭盔，奸淫擄掠無惡不作。
For the Scandinavians, of course, it was different: the Vikings there were the all-conquering heroes of Nordic legend.
但在北歐人眼中自然并非如此：他們是北歐傳奇中所向披靡的英雄。
The Vikings then went through a stage of being seen by historians as rather civilised-more tradesmen and travellers than pillagers-in fact they became almost cuddly.
一度有考古學(xué)家認(rèn)為維京人的文明程度相當(dāng)高，在本地及外地經(jīng)商的人比海盜多。
This recent discovery of the Vale of York Hoard makes them seem a bit less cuddly and looks set to revive the aggressive Vikings of popular tradition, but now with a dash of cosmopolitan glamour.
不過最近發(fā)現(xiàn)的約克郡寶藏則給他們的形象減分不少，民間流行的侵咯者一說再次回歸，只是增加了一點(diǎn)四海為家的魅力。
And the truth, I think, is that that's what the Vikings have always been about: glitz with violence.
其實(shí)我想，維京人一宜以來的形象都是既暴力又耀眼。
The England of the early 900s was divided between territories occupied by the Vikings-most of the north and the east-while the south and the west were controlled by the great Anglo-Saxon kingdom of Wessex.
十世紀(jì)初，英格蘭一分為二，東、北部被維京人占據(jù)，西、南部則是盎格魯-撖克遜人的韋塞克斯王國。
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