There are remains of Stone Age life doted all over Britain and Ireland.
石器时代的遗迹遍布于不列颠与爱尔兰
But nowhere as abundantly as Orkney,with its mounds, graves
尤以奥克尼群岛为最 大量鼓起的坟堆
and bavol its great circles of standing stones like here at Brodgar.
以及像布罗德盖石圈一样耸立着的巨石阵
Vast, imposing and utterly unknowable.
雄伟壮观 并散发着不可知的神秘气息
But Orkney boasts another Neolithic site,
而岛上有一处新石器时代的遗址
there is, in its way, even more impressive than Brodgar,
甚至比布罗德盖 更令人惊叹
the last thing you would expect from the Stone Age,
你永远想象不到 遥远的石器时代
a shockingly familiar glimpse of ancient domestic life.
远古的家庭生活 竟在这里揭开了神秘面纱
Perched on the western coast of Orkney's main island,a village called Skara Brae.
这处遗址就在 位于奥克尼主岛西岸 一个叫做斯卡拉布雷的村庄
Here, beneath an area no bigger than the 18th grade of a golf course
在这不足一个十八洞高尔夫球场大的地下
lies Europe's most complete Neolithic community,
静静沉睡着欧洲最完整的新石器时代部落
miraculously preserved for 5,000 years under a blanket of sand and grass
在草与沙之下 奇迹般地保留着五千年前的风貌
until uncovered in 1850 by a ferocious sea storm.This is a recognisable village.
直到1850年的一次巨大海上风暴 揭开了她的真实面目 村落的面貌清晰可见
Neatly fitted into its landscape between pasture and sea,intimate, domestic and self-sufficient.
完美地镶嵌在牧场与海洋之间 联系紧密 以家庭为单位 自给自足
And although they were technically still the Stone Age and Neolithic period,
虽然这一时期仍被划分在新石器时代
these dwellings are not huts,they're true houses,
这些寓所却已不再是临时的窝棚 而是真正的房屋
built from sandstone slabs that lie all around the island
由遍布岛上的砂石板材筑造
and which gave stout protection to villagers here at Skara Brae,from their biting Orcadian winds.
坚实地保护着斯卡拉布雷的村民们 免受奥克尼凶猛海风的侵袭