世界上十大神祕地標性建築(上)
The world is filled with ancient monuments built by master craftsmen in order to honor everything from kings and presidents to religious figures. And although most of these landmarks have been carefully studied and researched by scientists and historians, some are simply so old, incomplete, or obscure that we still don't know very much about why they were built or what purpose they served. The following are 10 world landmarks that, whether by intention or simply due to the passage of time, continue to baffle the people who study them.
世界上存留了很多古老建築，它們由傑出的工匠修建，用來紀念國王、酋長和宗教人士。科學家和歷史學家雖然已經研究過大多數的標誌性建築，但是其中一些非常古老、不完整、或者模糊不清，所以我們現在仍然還不是很清楚修建它們的目的以及用途。無論是出於某種目的或僅僅是無意之作，以下10種地標性建築仍然困惑着研究人員。Cahokia Mounds
10.卡霍基亞土丘羣
Cahokia is the name given to an Indian settlement that exists outside of Collinsville, Illinois. Archeologists estimate that the city was founded sometime around 650 AD, and its complex network of burial grounds and sophisticated landscaping prove that it was once a thriving community. It has been estimated that at its peak the city was home to as many as 40,000 people, which would have made it the most populous settlement in America prior to the arrival of the Europeans. The most notable aspect of Cahokia today are the 80 mounds of earth, some as high as 100 feet, which dot the 2,200-acre site. These helped create a network of plazas throughout the city, and it is believed that important buildings, like the home of the settlement's chief, were built on top of them. The site also features a series of wooden posts that archeologists have dubbed "woodhenge." The posts are said to mark the solstices and equinoxes, and supposedly figured prominently in the community's astronomical mythology.
卡霍基亞是生活於伊利諾伊州科林斯維爾城外的殖民者的總稱。考古學家推測，這座城市建立於公元650年，其複雜的墓地佈局和景觀遺址足以證明它曾經是一座繁華的城市。有人估計，在這座城市最繁華的時候，其人口多達四萬，在歐洲人到來之前，這一度是美國人口最稠密的城市。今天的卡霍基亞最引人注目的就是它的80個土堆，其中一些高達100英尺，佔地2200英畝。這一點有助於建立一個貫穿城市的廣場。一些重要的建築物，比如酋長的家就是建造在上面的。這個地方還有一系列考古學家稱爲"史前欄杆"的特色木樁。據說這些木樁是用來標記二至點和二分點的，它們或許已經準確刻畫出了部落的天文神話。
The Mystery
謎團Although scientists are constantly discovering new information about the Cohokia community, the biggest mystery that remains is which modern Indian tribe is descended from the residents of the ancient city, as well as just what it was that caused them to abandon their settlement.
雖然科學家們不斷髮現卡霍基亞的新消息，但是如今的印第安部落是哪個古老城市居民的後裔，以及到底是什麼原因讓他們放棄自己的居住地，這仍是最大的謎團。range
9.紐格萊奇墓
Considered to be the oldest and most famous prehistoric site in all of Ireland, Newgrange is a tomb that was built from earth, wood, clay, and stone around 3100 BC, some 1000 years before the construction of the pyramids in Egypt. It consists of a long passage that leads to a cross-shaped chamber that was apparently used as a tomb, as it contains stone basins filled with cremated remains. The most unique feature of Newgrange is its careful and sturdy design, which has helped the structure remain completely waterproof to this day. Most amazing of all, the entrance to the tomb was positioned relative to the sun in such a way that on the winter solstice, the shortest day of the year, the rays from the sun are channeled through the opening and down the nearly 60 foot passageway, where they illuminate the floor of the monument's central room.
紐格萊奇墓被視爲愛爾蘭最古老最有名的史前遺址，它是由泥土、木頭、黏土和石頭於公元前3100年修建成的墓穴，比埃及金字塔還早1000年建成。紐格萊奇墓內有一條直接通往十字形房間的長長的通道，因爲裏面有一個盛滿骨灰的石盆，所以顯然這是用來作爲墓穴的地方。紐格萊奇墓最奇特的特徵是它細緻堅固的設計，這就使得它如今還能完全防水。最讓人吃驚的是墓口的朝向與太陽有關，這樣在冬至日（一年中白天最短的一天），太陽光線可以從墓室入口的上方天窗照射進來，佈滿將近60英尺的通道，照亮墓穴裏的堂室。The Mystery
謎團Archeologists know Newgrange was used as a tomb, but why and for who still remains a mystery. The painstaking design needed to guarantee that the yearly solstice event occurs suggests that the site was held in high regard, but other than the obvious hypothesis that the sun featured prominently in the mythology of the builders, scientists are at a loss to describe the true reason for Newgrange's construction.
考古學家雖然知道紐格萊奇墓曾用來作爲墓穴，但是爲何而建，爲誰而建仍然是個謎。這個設計需要確保每年冬至日出現奇觀，其設計難度之高，表明建造過程中墓室受到了高度重視。除了太陽在神話中主要象徵着造物主這一假說外，科學家們沒能解釋紐格萊奇墓的構造的真正原因。Yonaguni Monument
8.與那國島海底地形
Of all the famous monuments in Japan, perhaps none is more perplexing than Yonaguni, an underwater rock formation that lies off the coast of the Ryuku Islands. It was discovered in 1987 by a group of divers who were there to observe Hammerhead sharks, and it immediately sparked a huge amount of debate in the Japanese scientific community. The monument is made up of a series of striking rock formations including massive platforms, carved steps, and huge stone pillars that lie at depths of 5-40 meters. There is a triangular formation that has become known as "the turtle" for its unique shape, as well as a long, straight wall that borders one of the larger platforms. The currents in the area are known for being particularly treacherous, but this has not stopped the Yonaguni monument from becoming one of the most popular diving locations in all of Japan.
與那國島海底地形（Yonaguni Monument）位於離琉球羣島（Ryuku Islands）海岸線不遠處，是一處沉入水底的巨石建築遺址，也許日本所有著名的石碑建築中沒有哪個可以與與那國島海底地形相提並論。1987年一羣觀測雙髻鯊（Hammerhead）的潛水者發現了與那國島海底地形，此後立即引起了日本學界激烈的討論。這處遺址由一系列奇特的岩石構成，包括巨大的石臺、雕琢出來的石階以及高達5~40米的巨大石柱。還有一處因爲其獨特的形狀被形象地稱作"海龜"的三角地帶，以及環繞在巨大石臺邊緣又長又直的城牆。這處海底地形附近的水域以其水流格外變幻莫測著稱，但這絲毫不妨礙這裏成爲全日本最受歡迎的潛水勝地。The Mystery
謎團The ongoing debate surrounding Yonaguni centers on one key subject: is the monument a natural phenomenon, or is it man-made? Scientists have long argued that millennia of strong currents and erosion have carved the formations out of the ocean floor, and they point to the fact that the monument is all one piece of solid rock as proof that it was not assembled by a builder. Others, though, point to the many straight edges, square corners and 90-degree angles of the formation as proof that it's artificial. They often cite one formation in particular, a section of rock that resembles a crude carving of a human face, as evidence. If they are right, then an even more interesting mystery presents itself: who constructed the Yonaguni Monument, and for what purpose?
圍繞着與那國島海底地形有着持續的爭論，其爭論的焦點可以總結爲：這個石陣到底是自然形成的還是人類文明的遺蹟。有些科學家一直以來堅持認爲，是長達數千年的水流強力沖刷和腐蝕對海底的岩層進行了雕琢。他們指出這處海底地形就是一塊堅硬的岩石，而不是由建造者完成的組裝品。但是，另外一些人則認爲諸多筆直的邊緣，棱角，以及90度角的存在，無一不證明這裏是由人工建造的。他們經常用一塊很像簡單的人臉雕刻的特殊岩石，作爲證據支持他們的觀點。如果這些人的觀點是對的，那麼另一個更加有趣的問題來了：到底是建造了與那國島海底地形？又是出於什麼目的呢？Nazca Lines
7.納斯卡地畫
The Nazca lines are a series of designs and pictographs carved into the ground in the Nazca Desert, a dry plateau located in Peru. They cover an area of some 50 miles, and were supposedly created between 200 BC and 700 AD by the Nazca Indians, who designed them by scraping away the copper colored rocks of the desert floor to expose the lighter-colored earth beneath. The lines have managed to remain intact for hundreds of years thanks to the region's arid climate, which sees it receive little rain or wind throughout the year. Some of the lines span distances of 600 feet, and they depict everything from simple designs and shapes to characterizations of plants, insects, and animals.
納斯卡沙漠位於祕魯的一個乾旱高原，納斯卡地畫就是指一系列刻在這裏的土地上的石壁畫。這些綿延50英里的壁畫，據推測，創作於公元前200年到公元700年之間，是納斯卡土著的印第安人用刮掉沙漠表層的紫銅色岩石以露出底下的淺色土壤的方式設計出來的。這些地畫得以完好無損地保存成百上千年，完全得益於這一地區全年幾乎無風無雨的乾燥氣候。有一些地畫綿延600英尺，描繪着從簡單的圖形到植物、昆蟲和動物形象等一切事物。The Mystery
謎團Scientists know who made the Nazca Lines and how they did it, but they still don't know why. The most popular and reasonable hypothesis is that the lines must have figured in the Nazca people's religious beliefs, and that they made the designs as offerings to the gods, who would've been able to see them from the heavens. Still, other scientists argue that the lines are evidence of massive looms that the Nazcas used to make textiles, and one investigator has even made the preposterous claim that they are the remnants of ancient airfields used by a vanished, technologically advanced society.
科學家們知道是誰製作了納斯卡地畫以及如何進行創作，但是他們無從得知這些人爲什麼創作這些地畫。這些地畫可能反映了納斯卡人的宗教信仰，這是對於這一問題最合理、最廣爲接受的假設。納斯卡人創作這些地畫作爲對上帝的獻禮，他們認爲上帝正在天國凝視着他們。然而，仍有其他科學家有不同意見，他們認爲這些壁畫是納斯卡人用於製作紡織品的巨大織布機存在的證據。甚至有一位研究者提出一個更加荒謬的論斷，他認爲這些地畫是一個已經消失的但科技十分進步的社會用過的古代飛機場的遺址。ck Circle
6.戈瑟克圈
One of the most mysterious landmarks in Germany is the Goseck Circle, a monument made out of earth, gravel, and wooden palisades that is regarded as the earliest example of a primitive "solar observatory." The circle consists of a series of circular ditches surrounded by palisade walls (which have since been reconstructed) that house a raised mound of dirt in the center. The palisades have three openings, or gates, that point southeast, southwest, and north. It is believed that the monument was built around 4900 BC by Neolithic peoples, and that the three openings correspond to the direction from which the sun rises on the winter solstice.
德國最神祕的地標之一是戈瑟克圈，這是一個由土壤、碎石和木質柵欄構成的歷史遺蹟，人們認爲這是最早的原始"太陽觀測臺"。這個圈是由一系列由柵欄牆（這些牆曾一度被重建）圍成的圓形的壕溝圍成的，這些壕溝被中間凸起的土堆覆蓋。這些柵欄有三處開口，也就是三個門，分別指向東南，西南和正北。人們認爲戈瑟克圈大約是在公元前4900年由新石器時代的人建造的，這三個門與冬至日日出方向一致。The Mystery
謎團The monument's careful construction has led many scientists to believe that the Goseck Circle was built to serve as some kind of primitive solar or lunar calendar, but its exact use is still a source of debate. Evidence has shown that a so-called "solar cult" was widespread in ancient Europe. This has led to speculation that the Circle was used in some kind of ritual, perhaps even in conjunction with human sacrifice. This hypothesis has yet to be proven, but archeologists have uncovered several human bones, including a headless skeleton, just outside the palisade walls.
這處歷史遺蹟的精妙構造使得許多科學家認爲戈瑟克圈是用來指示原始太陽能或者陰曆的，但是它的確切功用仍有爭議。有證據表明遠在古歐洲時，"太陽崇拜"流行甚廣。這種說法引起人們猜測戈瑟克圈是用來舉行某種儀式，甚至和人祭聯繫起來。這種說法還有待證實，但是考古學家已經發現了數具人骨，包括在柵欄牆外發現的一具無頭骨架。翻譯:風舞落月8+7 來源:前十網
