10個關於維京人的有趣新發現(下)

ate Change Didn't Kill The Greenland Viking Settlement

5.氣候變化沒有毀滅格陵蘭島的維京人

For years, it has been widely believed within the scientific community that climate change killed the Viking settlement in Greenland. Specifically, it was assumed that the Greenland Vikings died within a 200-year period of worsening climate known as the Little Ice Age. However, a new study suggested that this might not have been the case.

多年來，科學界普遍相信，氣候變化毀滅了格陵蘭島的維京人。確切地說，他們死於一場長達200年的氣候惡化——小冰期。不過，一項新研究發現，事實也許並非如此。

It's true, the Vikings experienced "years of harsh and cold winters and summers," they were cut off from their homelands in Europe due to lack of timber for building ships, and they were left entirely on their own when Scandinavian traders stopped passing by Greenland, but these challenges "didn't knock them out." They were good at adapting and were able to outlive climate change and its devastating effects for centuries.

確實，維京人經歷了很多年“嚴酷寒冷的冬夏”，由於缺乏造船的木材，失去了與歐洲故鄉的聯繫。北歐商人不再經過格陵蘭後，他們就與世隔絕了。但這些挑戰“沒有把他們抹去”。他們很善於適應環境，挺過了氣候變化和它長達幾世紀的災難性影響。

So why did they disappear? Experts still do not know, but one thing's for sure. Climate change has been eliminated from the list.

那他們消失的原因是什麼？專家們還不知道答案，但氣候變化肯定不在其列。

ng Parliament

4.維京議會

For years, the exact location of a Viking Parliament in Dingwall, Scotland, have eluded archaeologists and historians alike. It was only in 2013 when it was finally located. After excavating for more than a year, archaeologists hit the jackpot—they unearthed the remains of the lost Viking parliament at a parking lot known as the Cromartie Memorial car park.

多年來，考古學家和歷史學家都沒有找到蘇格蘭丁沃爾的維京議會，直到2013年才確定它的位置。發掘一年多後，考古學家中彩了——在一個叫Cromartie Memorial car park的停車場，維京議會遺蹟出土了。

More popularly known as a "Thing," the Viking parliament was built on the instructions of a powerful Viking earl named Thorfinn the Mighty. Aside from the Thing, Thorfinn also commissioned the construction of a ditch, an aqueduct, and a road.

維京議會又名“Thing（東西）”，由一個叫強大託芬的維京伯爵下令建造，他還主導建造了一條溝、一座高架渠和一條路。

This discovery has elicited excitement among historians in the United Kingdom since it could "help them learn more about the Norse Vikings, who battled for control of land across the north of Scotland."

這個發現使英國曆史學家興奮異常，因爲它能“幫他們更多地瞭解爭奪蘇格蘭北海控制權的北歐海盜。

ark's Oldest Viking Crucifix

3.丹麥最古老的維京十字架

In 2016, a metal enthusiast named Dennis Fabricius Holm discovered what experts dubbed as "Denmark's oldest Viking crucifix." The pendant, which was found on the Danish island of Fune, measures 4.06 centimeters (1.6 in) in height and weighs 12.76 grams (0.45 oz).

2016年，金屬探測器愛好者丹尼斯·霍爾姆發現了一件東西，專家稱之爲“丹麥最古老的維京十字架”。這個墜子在丹麥菲英島出土，高4.06釐米，重12.76克。

Archaeologists estimated that the rare Viking crucifix dated back to the half of the 900s, making it much older than "Harald Bluetooth's runic stone in Jelling." Up until the discovery of the crucifix, Harald's massive runestones were considered to be the earliest representation of Jesus Christ on a cross in Denmark. This discovery suggested that the Vikings converted to Christianity much earlier than previously thought.

考古學家估計，這個罕見的維京十字架可以追溯到0900年代，於是比“藍牙哈拉爾的耶靈石”還古老得多。在十字架出土之前，那兩塊大盧恩石被當作丹麥最早的耶穌受難十字架。這個發現表示，維京人皈依耶穌基督比以前認爲的早得多。

er Of Thor

2.雷神之錘

Since the first millennium, more than 1,000 hammer-shaped pendants have been unearthed across Northern Europe. For years, experts have debated over the true significance of these amulets. It was only recently when the mystery was finally solved—the pendants represented the Mjolnir, Thor's powerful hammer.

上個千年以來，北歐出土了1000多個錘子形狀的墜子。科學家討論了很多年這些護身符的真正意義，謎底最近才揭曉：這些墜子象徵了妙爾尼爾，即雷神托爾令人生畏的鐵錘。

This breakthrough was made when a team of Danish researchers unearthed a 10th-century Viking amulet on the island of Lolland in Denmark. This particular amulet was the only one with a runic inscription. The words "Hmar x is" was inscribed on the pendant, and when translated to modern English, it meant "This is a hammer."

這個突破的到來，是因爲一個丹麥研究團隊，他們在丹麥洛蘭島出土了一個10世紀的維京護身符。就是這個護身符，帶有有古代盧恩銘文Hmar x is，翻譯成現代英語就是“這是錘子”。

Basing on this discovery, the researchers concluded that the hammer-shaped pendants found across Northern Europe were Thor's mini-hammers, and Vikings wore them for protection.

基於這個發現，研究人員得出結論，北歐發現的錘子形墜子都是迷你雷神之錘，維京人帶着他們以求保佑。

1.'For Allah' Inscription

1.“爲了安拉”銘文

In the late 1800s, a team of archaeologists unearthed a ring with a pink-violet colored stone at Birka, Sweden. During the Viking era, Birka was an important trading center. The mysterious object was discovered inside a rectangular wooden coffin containing the remains of a female Viking. Intriguingly, the ring contained an Arabic inscription.

1800年代末，一個考古團隊在瑞典比爾卡挖到一塊帶粉色和紫色的石頭。在維京時代，比爾卡是一個重要的貿易中心。這塊神祕的石頭被放在一個長方形木棺中，裏面還有一個維京婦女的遺骸。有趣的是，戒指上有一句阿拉伯語銘文。

Being the only ring with an Arabic inscription ever discovered in Scandinavia, the object caught the interest of an international team of researchers. They analyzed the ring, and in 2015 they announced that the inscription meant "For Allah" or "To Allah."

這是北歐發現的唯一帶有阿拉伯銘文的戒指，於是吸引了一個國際化研究團隊的注意。他們分析這個戒指，並於2015年宣佈，這句銘文的意思是“爲了安拉”或“致安拉”。

The researchers suggested that the woman who wore the ring could have been from the Islamic world or that "a Swedish Viking got (it), by trade or robbery, while visiting the Islamic Caliphate." Regardless of how the ring ended up in Birka, this monumental discovery proved that the Scandinavian Vikings did come in contact with Islamic kingdoms.

他們認爲，帶這個戒指的婦女可能來自伊斯蘭世界，或者“一個瑞典維京人在拜訪伊斯蘭哈里發國時得到了（它），不是買的就是搶的”。不管這個戒指是如何來到比爾卡的，這個重大發現都證明，北歐維京人確實和伊斯蘭王國有過來往。