BBC 保加利亚发现欧洲最古老史前城址
Europe's oldest prehistoric town unearthed in Bulgaria
保加利亚发现欧洲最古老史前城址
31 October 2012 Last updated at 14:56 GMT
From BBC News Translated by Rice1919
source from：【大家论坛】http://club.topsage.com/thread-3051038-1-1.html
The prehistoric town at Provadia features two-storey houses and a defensive wall
图注：普洛瓦迪亚古城建筑特色：双层屋舍、防御墙
Archaeologists in Bulgaria say they have uncovered the oldest prehistoric town found to date in Europe.
保加利亚考古学者称，这是迄今为止欧洲发现的最古老的史前城址。
The walled fortified settlement, near the modern town of Provadia, is thought to have been an important centre for salt production.
古城位于今普洛瓦迪亚市近郊。专家认为这座拥有坚实城墙的古城是当时的产盐重地。
Its discovery in north-east Bulgaria may explain the huge gold hoard found nearby 40 years ago.
40年前，这附近出土大量黄金宝藏，如今保加利亚东北部的新发现为大量黄金之谜给出了合理的解释。
Archaeologists believe that the town was home to some 350 people and dates back to between 4700 and 4200 BC.
考古学家相信史前城址的历史可追溯到公元前4700至4200年，城镇规模约350人。
That is about 1,500 years before the start of ancient Greek civilisation.
这比古希腊文明还要早1,500年。
The residents boiled water from a local spring and used it to create salt bricks, which were traded and used to preserve meat.
居住在这里的人们从当地泉水中取材，烧制盐砖，从事食盐交易，当地人还用烧制的食盐腌制肉食。
Salt was a hugely valuable commodity at the time, which experts say could help to explain the huge defensive stone walls which ringed the town.
食盐在那个时代是极贵重的商品，因此，古城四周为何会环绕着坚实的防御性石墙就有了合理的解释。
'Extremely interesting'
“非常有趣”
Excavations at the site, beginning in 2005, have also uncovered the remains of two-storey houses, a series of pits used for rituals, as well as parts of a gate and bastion structures.
史前城址的挖掘于2005年启动，目前考古人员已完成这些二层房舍的挖掘工作，还发现了几处举行仪式的遗址，同时出土的还有部分门体和堡垒结构的建筑。
A small necropolis, or burial ground, was discovered at the site earlier this year and is still being studied by archaeologists.
今年早些时候，人们在史前城址中发现一座小型墓室，考古学家还在对其进行研究。
"We are not talking about a town like the Greek city-states, ancient Rome or medieval settlements, but about what archaeologists agree constituted a town in the fifth millennium BC," Vasil Nikolov, a researcher with Bulgaria's National Institute of Archaeology, told the AFP news agency.
保加利亚国家考古研究所的瓦希尔·尼科洛夫对法新社说，“这座古城既不像希腊城邦，也不同于罗马古城或中世纪的城镇，而是一座公元前五千年的史前古城。”
Archaeologist Krum Bachvarov from the institute said the latest find was "extremely interesting".
研究所的克鲁姆·巴契瓦洛夫表示最新的发现“非常有趣”。
"The huge walls around the settlement, which were built very tall and with stone blocks... are also something unseen in excavations of prehistoric sites in south-east Europe so far," he told AFP.
他对法新社记者说，“古城的城墙是由石头构建，而且墙体很高，这一特点在欧洲东南部出土的史前城址中前所未见。”
Similar salt mines near Tuzla in Bosnia and Turda in Romania help prove the existence of a series of civilisations which also mined copper and gold in the Carpathian and Balkan mountains during the same period.
波斯尼亚图兹拉市和罗马尼亚图尔达市附近地区也发现的类似盐矿，这表明这里曾出现过一系列的人类文明，同时也发现，喀尔巴阡山脉和巴尔干山脉地区在这一时期有开采铜矿和金矿的活动。
BBC Europe correspondent Nick Thorpe says this latest discovery almost certainly explains the treasure found exactly 40 years ago at a cemetery on the outskirts of Varna, 35km (21 miles) away, the oldest hoard of gold objects found anywhere in the world.
BBC驻欧洲记者尼克·索普说，最新的发现几乎准确的解答了40年前大量黄金出土之谜。40年前，瓦尔纳郊外35公里处的一块墓地中出土了大量黄金宝藏，这批宝藏是世界上最古老的黄金器物。
保加利亚发现欧洲最古老史前城址
31 October 2012 Last updated at 14:56 GMT
From BBC News Translated by Rice1919
 |
source from：【大家论坛】http://club.topsage.com/thread-3051038-1-1.html
The prehistoric town at Provadia features two-storey houses and a defensive wall
图注：普洛瓦迪亚古城建筑特色：双层屋舍、防御墙
Archaeologists in Bulgaria say they have uncovered the oldest prehistoric town found to date in Europe.
保加利亚考古学者称，这是迄今为止欧洲发现的最古老的史前城址。
The walled fortified settlement, near the modern town of Provadia, is thought to have been an important centre for salt production.
古城位于今普洛瓦迪亚市近郊。专家认为这座拥有坚实城墙的古城是当时的产盐重地。
Its discovery in north-east Bulgaria may explain the huge gold hoard found nearby 40 years ago.
40年前，这附近出土大量黄金宝藏，如今保加利亚东北部的新发现为大量黄金之谜给出了合理的解释。
Archaeologists believe that the town was home to some 350 people and dates back to between 4700 and 4200 BC.
考古学家相信史前城址的历史可追溯到公元前4700至4200年，城镇规模约350人。
That is about 1,500 years before the start of ancient Greek civilisation.
这比古希腊文明还要早1,500年。
The residents boiled water from a local spring and used it to create salt bricks, which were traded and used to preserve meat.
居住在这里的人们从当地泉水中取材，烧制盐砖，从事食盐交易，当地人还用烧制的食盐腌制肉食。
Salt was a hugely valuable commodity at the time, which experts say could help to explain the huge defensive stone walls which ringed the town.
食盐在那个时代是极贵重的商品，因此，古城四周为何会环绕着坚实的防御性石墙就有了合理的解释。
'Extremely interesting'
“非常有趣”
Excavations at the site, beginning in 2005, have also uncovered the remains of two-storey houses, a series of pits used for rituals, as well as parts of a gate and bastion structures.
史前城址的挖掘于2005年启动，目前考古人员已完成这些二层房舍的挖掘工作，还发现了几处举行仪式的遗址，同时出土的还有部分门体和堡垒结构的建筑。
A small necropolis, or burial ground, was discovered at the site earlier this year and is still being studied by archaeologists.
今年早些时候，人们在史前城址中发现一座小型墓室，考古学家还在对其进行研究。
"We are not talking about a town like the Greek city-states, ancient Rome or medieval settlements, but about what archaeologists agree constituted a town in the fifth millennium BC," Vasil Nikolov, a researcher with Bulgaria's National Institute of Archaeology, told the AFP news agency.
保加利亚国家考古研究所的瓦希尔·尼科洛夫对法新社说，“这座古城既不像希腊城邦，也不同于罗马古城或中世纪的城镇，而是一座公元前五千年的史前古城。”
Archaeologist Krum Bachvarov from the institute said the latest find was "extremely interesting".
研究所的克鲁姆·巴契瓦洛夫表示最新的发现“非常有趣”。
"The huge walls around the settlement, which were built very tall and with stone blocks... are also something unseen in excavations of prehistoric sites in south-east Europe so far," he told AFP.
他对法新社记者说，“古城的城墙是由石头构建，而且墙体很高，这一特点在欧洲东南部出土的史前城址中前所未见。”
Similar salt mines near Tuzla in Bosnia and Turda in Romania help prove the existence of a series of civilisations which also mined copper and gold in the Carpathian and Balkan mountains during the same period.
波斯尼亚图兹拉市和罗马尼亚图尔达市附近地区也发现的类似盐矿，这表明这里曾出现过一系列的人类文明，同时也发现，喀尔巴阡山脉和巴尔干山脉地区在这一时期有开采铜矿和金矿的活动。
BBC Europe correspondent Nick Thorpe says this latest discovery almost certainly explains the treasure found exactly 40 years ago at a cemetery on the outskirts of Varna, 35km (21 miles) away, the oldest hoard of gold objects found anywhere in the world.
BBC驻欧洲记者尼克·索普说，最新的发现几乎准确的解答了40年前大量黄金出土之谜。40年前，瓦尔纳郊外35公里处的一块墓地中出土了大量黄金宝藏，这批宝藏是世界上最古老的黄金器物。
