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There are remains of Stone Age life doted all over Britain and Ireland.
石器時代的遺跡遍布于不列顛與愛爾蘭
But nowhere as abundantly as Orkney,with its mounds, graves
尤以奧克尼群島為最 大量鼓起的墳堆
and bavol its great circles of standing stones like here at Brodgar.
以及像布羅德蓋石圈一樣聳立著的巨石陣
Vast, imposing and utterly unknowable.
雄偉壯觀 并散發著不可知的神秘氣息
But Orkney boasts another Neolithic site,
而島上有一處新石器時代的遺址
there is, in its way, even more impressive than Brodgar,
甚至比布羅德蓋 更令人驚嘆
the last thing you would expect from the Stone Age,
你永遠想象不到 遙遠的石器時代
a shockingly familiar glimpse of ancient domestic life.
遠古的家庭生活 竟在這里揭開了神秘面紗
Perched on the western coast of Orkney's main island,a village called Skara Brae.
這處遺址就在 位于奧克尼主島西岸 一個叫做斯卡拉布雷的村莊
Here, beneath an area no bigger than the 18th grade of a golf course
在這不足一個十八洞高爾夫球場大的地下
lies Europe's most complete Neolithic community,
靜靜沉睡著歐洲最完整的新石器時代部落
miraculously preserved for 5,000 years under a blanket of sand and grass
在草與沙之下 奇跡般地保留著五千年前的風貌
until uncovered in 1850 by a ferocious sea storm.This is a recognisable village.
直到1850年的一次巨大海上風暴 揭開了她的真實面目 村落的面貌清晰可見
Neatly fitted into its landscape between pasture and sea,intimate, domestic and self-sufficient.
完美地鑲嵌在牧場與海洋之間 聯系緊密 以家庭為單位 自給自足
And although they were technically still the Stone Age and Neolithic period,
雖然這一時期仍被劃分在新石器時代
these dwellings are not huts,they're true houses,
這些寓所卻已不再是臨時的窩棚 而是真正的房屋
built from sandstone slabs that lie all around the island
由遍布島上的砂石板材筑造
and which gave stout protection to villagers here at Skara Brae,from their biting Orcadian winds.
堅實地保護著斯卡拉布雷的村民們 免受奧克尼兇猛海風的侵襲
