PART 2

Hello, I'm Hayden. I'm one of the archaeologists investigating the site here at Bidcaster.

你好，我是海登。我是在比德卡斯特调查这个遗址的考古学家之一。

This is the third summer for this community project, and most of the people digging here are volunteers.

这是这个社区项目的第三个夏天，大多数在这里发掘的人都是志愿者。

I'm a full-time archaeologist for the town council, but I was asked to join the project by NHA, a charity which sets up projects like this up and down the country.

我是镇议会的全职考古学家，但我被 NHA 邀请加入这个项目。NHA 是一个慈善机构，在全国各地设立类似的项目。

As you can see, we're next to Bidcaster Castle, which is great because the owners let us use their facilities.

如你所见，我们就在比德卡斯特城堡旁边，这个地方很棒，因为业主允许我们使用他们的设施。

So, how did we get to where we are today? Many archaeology projects happen when an ancient object is found, and in our case, that object was a gold coin.

那么，我们是如何走到今天这一步的呢？许多考古项目都是因为发现了古代物品而启动的，而在我们的案例中，那个物品是一枚金币。

Coins are often found by people using metal detectors to look for things buried in the ground – or coins are uncovered when wild animals like rabbits have been digging tunnels.

硬币通常是人们使用金属探测器寻找埋在地下的东西时发现的 —— 或者是在野生动物 (如兔子) 挖掘隧道时发现的。

Here, a walker found it on the ground after a rainstorm washed away some of the earth and sand.

在这里，一位步行者在一场暴雨冲走了一些土壤和沙子后，在地上发现了它。

When the story of the gold coin hit the news, Peter Swift, an amateur historian, contacted me to say he believed there had been a village on this site, centuries before the castle was built.

当金币的故事成为新闻时，业余历史学家彼得・斯威夫特联系我，说他相信在这个地方曾经有过一个村庄，比城堡建造的时间早了几个世纪。

Just by chance, the team found some old maps and documents in our library which showed five-hundred-year-old drawings of ruined buildings on the grassy area between the outer stone walls of the castle and the river.

纯属偶然，团队在我们的图书馆里发现了一些旧地图和文件，展示了城堡外石墙和河流之间草地上五百年前的废弃建筑图纸。

We knew then we were onto something.

那时我们就知道我们找到了一些线索。

Over the three summers the team has been here, we've found the remains of several buildings, and more broken pots than you can count! Normally you'd expect to find brooches and other jewellery, but we're still waiting to uncover any such items.

在团队来到这里的三个夏天里，我们发现了几座建筑的遗迹，以及数不胜数的破碎陶罐！通常你会期待找到胸针和其他珠宝，但我们仍在等待发现任何类似的物品。

The people who once lived here were skilled at making tools from animal bones, as you'll see when you visit the exhibition.

曾经居住在这里的人们擅长用动物骨头制作工具，你参观展览时就会看到这一点。

Besides the discovery of the village, we've also found evidence of human activity on the other side of the river – no other houses or huts so far, but we can see the borders of an ancient field system.

除了发现村庄外，我们还在河对岸发现了人类活动的证据 —— 目前还没有其他房屋或小屋，但我们可以看到一个古老田野系统的边缘。

At one point we found a long wall and thought it was an ancient palace, but it turned out to be a modern wall.

在某个地方，我们发现了一堵长墙，原以为是一座古老的宫殿，结果发现那是一堵现代化的墙。

This summer's work will end soon, but we'll be back next summer.

这个夏天的工作很快就会结束，但我们明年夏天还会再来。

In the meantime, we're putting on a series of guided tours for school groups this autumn. Oh and, maybe you saw the TV documentary about our project.

与此同时，我们将在今年秋天为学校团体开展一系列导览活动。哦，对了，也许你看过关于我们项目的电视纪录片。

That suggested the objects we've found are going to the town's museum, but we don't know that for sure yet.

这表明我们发现的物品可能被送往镇上的博物馆，但我们还不能确定。

When you enter the site, please make sure you keep to the paths at all times.

当你进入现场时，请确保始终沿着小路前进。

There are a few other things – the highlights of the site, if you like – that I want to mention.

还有一些其他事情 —— 如果你愿意的话，可以称之为网站的亮点 —— 我想提一下。

Take a look at the map; our present location is marked at the bottom.

看看地图；我们当前的位置标记在底部。

This year we've identified the foundations of an ancient bridge.

今年，我们发现了一座古桥的基础。

And it's really exciting today because a team of divers are in the river searching for lost objects.

今天真的很令人兴奋，因为一队潜水员正在河里寻找丢失的物品。

To reach the bridge, take the main path ahead of you, go straight on and keep going till the path bends to the left.

要到达那座桥，请沿着前方的主路一直走，直到小路向左拐。

You'll see a smaller track leading off to the right.

你会看到一条向右延伸的小路。

Follow that to take you to the river, where the divers are.

沿着那条路走就能到达河边，那里有潜水员。

You might be interested to see the rubbish pit.

你可能会有兴趣看看垃圾坑。

This is very near the castle walls in the northwest corner of the site.

这里非常靠近遗址西北角的城堡围墙。

It actually dates to the time of the castle and not the ancient village.

这实际上是在城堡时期而不是古村庄时期发现的。

We found oyster shells and fish bones, and we assume they were thrown from the castle kitchen above.

我们发现了牡蛎壳和鱼骨，我们推测这些是从上面的城堡厨房里扔下来的。

One area we excavated in the first summer uncovered the site of a meeting hall.

我们在第一个夏天发掘的一个区域发现了一个会议厅的遗址。

We knew it was an important building because it had two rows of post holes, deep enough to support a large roof.

我们知道这是一座重要的建筑，因为它有两排柱孔，深度足以支撑一个大型屋顶。

It's the largest structure in the central area of the site, next to the current excavation area.

这是该遗址中心区域最大的建筑，紧邻目前的发掘区域。

Last year we discovered a fish pond in the ancient village.

去年，我们在古老的村庄里发现了一个鱼塘。

Normally these were beside a river.

通常，这些都在河流旁边。

The pond here is further away, but it's possible the river has moved slightly.

这里的池塘离得更远，但河流可能稍微移动了一些。

Anyway, to get there from here, you turn right at the first information board you come to, and follow the path into the trees.

总之，要从这里到达那里，你在遇到的第一个信息指示牌处右转，然后沿着小路走进树林。

Before you come out of the trees, you'll see it on your right.

在你走出树林之前，你会在右边看到它。

If you reach the river, you've gone too far. So, does anyone …

如果你到达河边，你就已经走得太远了。那么，有人......