How much of human history is on the bottom of the ocean? - Peter Campbell

翻译人员: Chen Zou 校对人员: Cissy Yun

Sunken relics,

沉没的文物

ghostly shipwrecks,

幽灵沉船

and lost cities.

和消失的城市

These aren't just wonders found in fictional adventures.

这些不仅仅是在 虚构冒险小说中的奇迹

Beneath the ocean's surface,

在海洋表面下

there are ruins where people once roamed

是人们曾经游荡过的废墟

and shipwrecks loaded with artifacts from another time.

和装满另一个时代工艺品的沉船

This is the domain of underwater archaeology,

这是水下考古现场

where researchers discover and study human artifacts that slipped into the sea.

在那里研究者发现和研究 沉入海底的人类工艺品

They're not on a treasure hunt.

他们不是在寻找宝藏

Underwater archaeology reveals important information

水下考古揭示了 一些重要信息

about ancient climates and coastlines,

关于古代气候和海岸线

it tells us how humans sailed the seas,

它告诉我们人类如何航海

and what life was like millennia ago.

以及1000年前 人类的生活是什么样的

So what exactly can we find?

我们到底可以发现什么？

At shallow depths mingled in with modern-day items,

在混合着一些现代物品的浅海中

we've discovered all sorts of ancient artifacts.

我们发现了各种古代的工艺品

This zone contains evidence of how our ancestors fished,

这个区域含有我们的祖先 如何钓鱼的证据

how they repaired their ships,

他们如何修复船只

disposed of their trash,

丢弃他们的废物

and even their convicted pirates, who were buried below the tide line.

甚至是被埋在潮汐线下 被处死的海盗

And it's not just our recent history.

不仅是我们近代的历史

800,000-year old footprints were found along the shore in Norfolk, Britain.

80万年前的足迹 被发现在英国诺福克郡海岸

In these shallow depths,

在这些浅海

the remains of sunken cities also loom up from the sea floor,

沉没城市的遗骸露出海床

deposited there by earthquakes,

它们沉积在海底，由于地震

tsunamis,

海啸

and Earth's sinking plates.

和地球板块沉降

Almost every sunken city can be found at these shallow depths

几乎每一个沉没城市 都能在这些浅海被发现

because the sea level has changed little in the several thousand years

因为几千年来海平面的高度

that city-building civilizations have existed.

与当时城市文明刚被建造时 只上升了一点点

For instance, in shallow waters off the coast of Italy lies Baia,

例如，在意大利 浅水海岸，有巴亚

a Roman seaside town over 2,000 years old.

一个2000多年的 罗马海边小镇

There, it's possible to swim among the ruins of structures

人们都可以在那城市遗址中游泳

built by Rome's great families, senators, and emperors.

这些废墟的构造是由罗马最大的家族 议员，和国王建造

And then there are shipwrecks.

那里还有沉船

As ships grow too old for use, they're usually abandoned near shore

当船只太破旧无法使用 它们常常被废弃在岸边

in out-of-the-way places like estuaries, rivers, and shallow bays.

在河口、小河以及浅湾 等偏僻的地方

Archaeologists use these like a timeline to map a harbor's peaks and declines,

考古学家用这些作为时间轴 来推算港口的繁荣和没落的时期

and to get clues about the historic art of shipbuiding.

得到关于造船工艺史的线索

At Roskilde in Denmark, for example, five purposefully sunken vessels

例如，在丹麦的罗斯基勒 有五艘被刻意沉没的船只

reveal how Vikings crafted their fearsome long ships 1,000 years ago.

揭示出在1000年前 维京人如何建造超大的船只

当我们再深入往下

When we descend a bit further,

we reach the zone where the deepest human structures lie,

我们到达人类结构存在最深的海域

就像古代港口的墙壁和码头

like ancient harbor walls and quays.

We also see more shipwrecks sunk by storms, war, and collisions.

我们也能看到更多由于暴风雨、战争和碰撞的沉船

We're still excavating many of these wrecks today,

在今天，我们仍能发掘许多残骸

like Blackbeard's ship,

比如黑胡子船

which is revealing secrets about life as an 18th century pirate.

它揭示了18世纪海盗的神秘生活

But past 50 feet, there are even deeper, better preserved shipwrecks,

可是一旦超过50英尺，那里甚至有更深的 更好保存的沉船遗骸

like the wreck at Antikythera,

比如安迪基西拉沉船残骸

which sank during the 1st century BC.

它在公元1世纪的沉入海底

When it was discovered, it contained statues,

当被发现时 它里面有雕像

trade cargo,

贸易货物

and also the earliest known computer,

以及最早知道的计算机

a mysterious device called the Antikythera mechanism

一种被称为“安迪基西拉”的神秘设备

that kept track of astronomical changes and eclipses.

它可记录天体运行的变化和日食

Today, it gives archaeologists vital information

今天，它为考古学家提供了重要的

about the knowledge possessed by the Ancient Greeks.

关于被古希腊人持有的知识的信息

It is in this zone that we also begin to find aircraft and submarines,

正是在这个区域，我们也开始 发现飞机和潜艇

such as those from the World Wars.

诸如来自世界大战的东西

Plunging as deep as 200 feet,

到200英尺深度

we can find some of the earliest and rarest signs of human history.

我们能发现一些最早的 最稀少的人类历史的信息

Prior to 5,000 years ago, there was a lot more dry land

在5000多年前的时代 有更多的干旱土地

because glaciers trapped much of the water that now forms the sea.

因为冰川蓄积了大量的水 那些水现在形成了海洋

Our ancestors spread across these lands,

我们的祖先穿越这些土地

and so on the sea floor, we find their camps,

所以在海床上 我们发现了他们的营地

stone tools,

石器工具

and the bones of animals they hunted.

以及他们捕掠的动物的骨骼

These sites give us invaluable knowledge about our ancestor's migration patterns,

这些给了我们关于我们祖先迁移模式 的保贵知识

hunting methods,

狩猎方法

and technologies.

以及科技

In the deepest zone, no human has ever walked.

在最深的区域 没有人类的痕迹

This area has been submerged since well before mankind evolved.

这个区域在人类进化 很久之前就沉没

The only artifacts we find are those that have drifted down from above,

我们发现的唯一工艺品 是那些从上部沉没下去的

like NASA's Saturn V rocket engines at 14,000 feet,

像在14000英尺的 NASA土星5火箭发射器

and the deepest shipwrecks.

以及最深的沉船

The ocean is like a huge underwater museum

海洋就像是一个巨大的 水下博物馆

that constantly adds to our knowledge about humanity.

它不断地丰富我们关于人类的知识

With only a fraction of it explored,

仅仅是被探索的一小部分

discoveries are sure to continue long into the future.

可确定人类将会持续探索下去