评论
打印
Culture
文艺版块
Archaeological sites
考古遗址
In ruins
沦为废墟
Climate change is unearthing and erasing history all at once.
气候变化发掘出了历史，也清除了历史。
It looks, at first glance, like a pile of rubble.
第一眼看过去，这里就像一堆瓦砾。
But hidden beneath the sandbags and tarpaulin is the Knowe of Swandro, an archaeological site that contains the remains of Iron Age and Norse settlements.
但隐藏在沙袋和防水布下面的是苏格兰斯旺德罗海湾的诺威考古遗址，这里有铁器时代和古斯堪的纳维亚定居点的遗迹。
Every summer a team of archaeologists descends on Rousay, one of the Orkney Islands, off the north coast of Scotland, to sift through the evidence.
每年夏天，一队考古学家都会来到苏格兰北部海岸的茹塞岛上（奥克尼群岛之一）筛选历史文物。
Time is not on their side.
但时间站在他们的对立面。
Rising sea levels and more frequent storms are washing away sediment where the site sits.
不断上升的海平面和越来越频繁的风暴正在冲走该遗址所在的沉积层。
Scotland now experiences more winter rainfall than had been predicted for 2050, according to a study by the James Hutton Institute, which conducts environmental research.
根据负责环境研究的詹姆斯·赫顿研究所的一项研究，苏格兰现在的冬季降雨量超过了对2050年的预测水平。
Coastal erosion has destroyed most of the Knowe’s crown jewel, a dwelling from the Iron Age.
海岸侵蚀摧毁了诺威大部分最有价值的遗址：一个铁器时代的住宅。
“The final third” will break apart and disappear “within the next couple of years”, predicts Stephen Dockrill, who co-leads the excavation.
共同领导这次发掘的斯蒂芬·多克里尔预测说，“最后三分之一的遗址”将在“未来几年内”瓦解并消失。
UNESCO, the cultural arm of the United Nations, estimates that one in six cultural heritage sites is threatened by climate change.
联合国的文化机构联合国教科文组织估计，六分之一的文化遗产受到气候变化的威胁。
Hundreds of sites on the Scottish coastline face threats similar to Swandro.
苏格兰海岸线上的数百个地点面临着与斯旺德罗类似的威胁。
At Vindolanda, in the north of England, the waterlogged soil that preserved Roman tablets for millennia is drying out.
在英格兰北部的温多兰达，数千年来保护了罗马石碑的积水土壤正在干涸。
In Iraq, an ancient city is being buried under tonnes of sand.
在伊拉克，一座古城正被数吨沙子掩埋。
And in the Arctic, indigenous artefacts are being destroyed as the permafrost thaws.
在北极，随着永久冻土层的融化，当地土著的手工艺品正在被摧毁。
On the climate change to-do list, archaeological preservation is, understandably, not a top priority.
在气候变化的待办事项清单上，可以理解，考古保护不是首要任务。
The International Council on Monuments and Sites declared a climate emergency only in 2020.
国际古迹遗址理事会直到2020年才宣布进入气候紧急状态。
Archaeologists complain of shallow co-ordination efforts among climate policymakers.
考古学家抱怨，气候政策制定者之间协调不足。
Funding is the main problem.
资金是主要问题。
Archaeology tends to be bankrolled by land developers.
考古活动往往由土地开发商资助。
But when it comes to climate change, there is “no one to pay for it”, says Jorgen Hollesen from the National Museum of Denmark.
丹麦国家博物馆的约根·霍勒森说，但是当涉及到气候变化时，“没有人为此买单”。
Moving sites and other mitigation efforts, such as building protective armour, is costly.
转移遗址和建造防护层等缓解措施的费用高昂。
Many just have to wait and see what happens.
许多人只能等待，看看会发生什么。
Digging deeper, it is not all doom and gloom.
深入挖掘一下这个问题，会发现情况并不全是厄运和黑暗。
Changing weather patterns and rising temperatures have brought some unexpected benefits.
不断变化的天气模式和不断上升的气温带来了一些意想不到的好处。
Several of the most exciting discoveries of recent years, from Nazi warships in the Danube to ancient rock carvings in the Amazon, were revealed after severe drought.
近年来最令人兴奋的考古发现，从多瑙河上的纳粹战舰到亚马逊河上的古代石刻，都是在严重干旱之后才重见天日的。
Storms can also expose hidden gems.
风暴也可以让埋藏的珍宝显露出来。
Skara Brae, a Neolithic site also in Orkney, was concealed by sand dunes until disturbed by a storm in 1850.
斯卡拉布雷也是奥克尼群岛的一个新石器时代遗址，它一直被沙丘掩盖，直到1850年的一场风暴将其发掘出来。
A centuries-old shipwreck reappeared under similar circumstances this year.
今年，一艘百年历史的沉船也在类似的情况下重现于世。
Archaeologists and heritage institutions must answer two pressing questions, says Dr Hollesen: “Which sites should be saved, and which sites should be allowed to decay?”
霍勒森博士说，考古学家和历史遗产机构必须回答两个紧迫的问题："哪些遗址应该被拯救，哪些遗址应该被允许朽烂？”
In poor countries, paying for preservation can be hard to justify, though UNESCO provides funding to its designated World Heritage sites.
尽管联合国教科文组织为其指定的世界遗产提供资金，但在贫穷国家，花钱保护遗址可能很难说是合理的。
(Sub-Saharan Africa has 103; Italy has 59.)
（撒哈拉以南非洲有103个遗址，意大利有59个。）
Countries with fewer resources will get priority in funding, says Lazare Eloundou Assomo, the head of UNESCO’s World Heritage Centre.
联合国教科文组织世界遗产中心负责人拉扎尔·埃隆杜·阿索莫说，资源较少的国家将优先获得资助。
Given the number of sites under threat and limited resources available, many will be lost.
鉴于受到威胁的遗址数量众多，而现有资源有限，许多遗址将不复存在。
As sites are damaged or disappear, historical knowledge and tourism may also go away.
随着遗址被破坏或消失，历史知识和旅游业也可能消失。
According to Mairi Davies of Historic Environment Scotland, which works on preservation, communities must come to terms with changing landscapes—and adapt accordingly.
根据致力于保护遗址的“苏格兰历史环境组织”的迈瑞·戴维斯，社区必须接受不断变化的环境，并相应地适应新环境。
Sites such as Swandro are turning to laser scanning and other technologies to capture a digital record for future generations.
斯旺德罗等遗址正在借助激光扫描和其他技术为后代留下数字记录。
“We have to have conversations about loss and what people value,” Dr Davies says.
戴维斯博士说："我们必须就损失的遗址和人们看重什么进行讨论。"
In the end, what survives will be determined by what people “can come to terms with losing”.
最终，什么能幸存下来将取决于人们“能接受失去什么”。
There is not enough money to save them all.
没有足够的钱去拯救所有的遗址。
