For my presentation today, I'm going to talk about the Céide Fields in the northwest of Ireland, one of the largest Neolithic sites in the world.

在今天的演讲中，我将介绍爱尔兰西北部的塞伊德田野，这是世界上最大的新石器时代遗址之一。

I recently visited this site and observed the work that is currently being done by a team of archaeologists there.

我最近参观了这个遗址，并观察了考古队目前正在那里进行的工作。

The site was first discovered in the 1930s by a local teacher, Patrick Caulfield. 20

世纪30年代，当地教师帕特里克·考尔菲尔德(Patrick Caulfield)首次发现了这个遗址。

He noticed that when local people were digging in the bog, they were constantly hitting against what seemed to be rows of stones.

他注意到，当地人在沼泽地里挖掘时，会不断撞击到一排排石头。

He realised that these must be walls and that they must be thousands of years old for them to predate the bog which subsequently grew over them.

他意识到这些石头一定是城墙，而且有数千年的历史，在沼泽覆盖这片土地前就已经存在了。

He wrote to the National Museum in Dublin to ask them to investigate, but no one took him seriously.

他写信给都柏林的国家博物馆，要求他们进行调查，但没有人把他的话当回事。

It wasn't until 40 years later, when Patrick Caulfield's son Seamus, who had become an archaeologist by then, began to explore further.

直到40年后，帕特里克·考尔菲尔德的儿子谢默斯(Seamus)才开始进一步探索，当时他已经成为一名考古学家。

He inserted iron probes into the bog to map the formation of the stones, a traditional method which local people had always used for finding fuel buried in the bog for thousands of years.

他在沼泽中插入铁探针，用以绘制石头的形成图，这是当地人几千年来一直使用的传统方法，以寻找埋在沼泽中的燃料。

Carbon dating later proved that the site was over 5,000 years old and was the largest Neolithic site in Ireland.

碳年代测定法后来证明，该遗址距今已有五千多年的历史，是爱尔兰最大的新石器时代遗址。

Thanks to the bog which covers the area, the remains of the settlement at Céide Fields, which is over 5,000 years old, are extremely well-preserved.

由于该遗址被沼泽覆盖，赛德菲尔德定居点遗址保存的非常好，这些遗址有五千多年的历史了。

A bog is 90 percent water; its soil is so saturated that when the grasses and heathers that grow on its surface die, they don't fully decay but accumulate in layers.

沼泽 90% 都是水；它的土壤水份非常饱和，以至于生长在其表面的草和红叶石楠死后不会完全腐烂，而是层层堆积。

Objects remain so well preserved in these conditions because of the acidity of the peat and the deficiency of oxygen.

由于泥炭的酸性和缺氧，物品在这种条件下依然保存得很好。

At least 175 days of rain a year are required for this to happen; this part of Ireland gets an average of 225 days.

要达到这样的条件，每年至少要有175天的降雨；而爱尔兰这一地区的平均降雨天数为 225 天。

The Neolithic farmers at Céide would have enjoyed several centuries of relative peace and stability.

在新石器时代，赛伊德地区的农民享受了几个世纪的和平稳定。

Neolithic farmers generally lived in larger communities than their predecessors, with a number of houses built around a community building.

与前人相比，新石器时代的农民一般居住在更大的社区中，在社区建筑周围建造了许多房子。

As they lived in permanent settlements, Neolithic farmers were able to build bigger houses.

他们住在永久性定居点,新石器时代的农民能够建立更大的房子。

These weren't round as people often assume, but rectangular with a small hole in the roof that allowed smoke to escape.

这些房子并不像人们通常认为的那样是圆形的，而是长方形的，屋顶上有一个小孔，可以让烟雾排出。

This is one of many innovations and indicates that the Neolithic farmers were the first people to cook indoors.

这是众多创新之一，表明新石器时代的农民是最早在室内做饭的人。

Another new technology that Neolithic settlers brought to Ireland was pottery. Fragments of Neolithic pots have been found in Céide and elsewhere in Ireland.

新石器时代移民带到爱尔兰的另一项新技术是制陶。在塞伊德和爱尔兰其他地方都发现了新石器时代的陶器碎片。

The pots were used for many things; as well as for storing food, pots were filled with a small amount of fat and when this was set alight, they served as lamps.

罐子的用途很多。除了用来储存食物，罐子里还装有少量脂肪，点燃后就成了灯。

It's thought that the Céide Fields were mainly used as paddocks for animals to graze in.

人们认为，塞伊德田野主要被用作牲畜吃草的围场。

Evidence from the Céide Fields suggests that each plot of land was of a suitable size to sustain an extended family.

塞伊德田野的证据表明，每块土地的面积都适合维持一个大家庭的生活。

They may have used a system of rotational grazing in order to prevent over-grazing and to allow for plant recovery and regrowth.

为防止过度放牧，他们采用了轮牧制度以防止过度放牧，使得植物得以恢复和重新生长。

This must have been a year-round activity as no structures have been found which would have been used to shelter animals in the winter.

这必定是一项全年都在进行的活动，因为目前还没有发现在冬季用于动物栖息的建筑。

However, archaeologists believe that this way of life at Céide ceased abruptly. Why was this?

然而，考古学家认为，塞伊德的这种生活方式突然停止了。这是为什么呢？

Well, several factors may have contributed to the changing circumstances.

有几个因素可能导致了环境的变化。

The soil would have become less productive and led to the abandonment of farming.

土壤的生产力会降低，导致人们放弃耕作。

The crop rotation system was partly responsible for this as it would have been very intensive and was not sustainable.

轮种制度是造成这种情况的部分原因，因为轮种会非常密集，无法持续。

But there were also climatic pressures too.

不过，气候也是原因之一。

The farmers at Céide would have enjoyed a relatively dry period, but this began to change and the conditions became wetter as there was a lot more rain.

塞伊德的农民本来可以享受一段相对干燥的时期，但情况开始发生变化，随着雨水增多，环境变得更加潮湿。

It was these conditions that encouraged the bog to form over the area which survives today.

正是这些条件促使沼泽在这一地区形成，并延续至今。

So now I'd like to show you some…

现在我想给你们看一些……