The secret society of the Great Dismal Swamp - Dan Sayers

譯者: Lilian Chiu 審譯者: Amanda Zhu

Straddling Virginia and North Carolina is an area that was once described as the

這塊區域跨越維吉尼亞州 和北卡羅萊納州，

曾被描述為「美國最可憎的地方」。

“most repulsive of American possessions.”

By 1728, it was known as the Great Dismal Swamp.

到了 1728 年，

它就是人們口中的大迪斯默爾沼澤。

But while many deemed it uninhabitable,

雖然許多人認為這裡無法居住，

recent findings suggest that a hidden society persisted in the Swamp

但近期的發現顯示，

在 1800 年代中期之前，

一直有一個聚落藏在該沼澤中。

until the mid-1800′s.

So, who lived there? And what happened to them?

所以，什麼人住在那裡？ 他們後來怎麼了？

People long suspected that communities had settled in the Swamp,

長期以來都有人懷疑 有人定居在這個沼澤裡，

but the historical record was spotty.

但歷史記錄零散不完整。

It wasn’t until 2003 that the first systematic archaeological foray

一直到 2003 年

才有首次系統性的考古行動。

finally launched.

But, despite having been extensively drained over the years,

儘管這些年來， 這塊濕地乾竭的範圍急速擴大，

the wetland still presented many practical challenges.

但考古隊仍然面對重重的困難。

Researchers had to penetrate thorny thickets,

研究者得要穿越多刺的灌木叢，

wade through waters studded with sinkholes,

涉過滿佈滲穴的水域，

and braved the threats of dangerous animals.

還要勇敢面對危險動物的威脅。

After several months, they finally found islands in the Swamp’s interior.

數月之後，

他們終於在沼澤內部找到了島嶼。

These formations quickly revealed traces of centuries-old secrets.

這些島嶼構造很快地揭露出 隱藏了數百年的秘密。

Archeologists found buried markings that appear to have been left

考古學家發現一些被埋掉的痕跡，

顯然遺址上原本有加高的木屋、火堆，

by raised log cabins, fire pits, and basins

和可能是用來儲存飲用水的水池。

that may have collected drinking water.

They identified what seems to have been a palisade wall

他們找到了可能是尖柱式柵欄的圍牆，

and excavated more than 3,000 artifacts,

並挖出了至少三千件工藝品，

including weaponry, stone tools, and fragments of ceramic pipes and vessels.

包括武器、石器，

以及陶管和容器的碎片。

These discoveries, combined with previous findings,

這些新發現再加上先前的發現，

helped tell a story that reaches far back in time.

拼湊出發生在很久以前的故事。

Indigenous American people began regularly inhabiting or visiting the area

西元前一萬一千年，

經常有美國原住民 定居或造訪這個區域，

around 11,000 BCE, before it was even a swampland.

這裡在當時還不是沼澤地。

A second era of occupation began much later.

這裡有人居住的第二段時期 是許久之後的事了。

In the early 1600′s, more Indigenous people came seeking refuge

1600 年代初期，

有更多原住民來此尋找庇護，

from colonization.

躲避殖民。

And later that century, it seems that Maroons—

似乎在同世紀較晚些的時候，

逃亡的黑奴

or people escaping from slavery— began entering the area.

開始進入這個區域。

In fact, the team’s findings support the theory

事實上，考古團隊的發現 也支持這個理論：

that the Great Dismal Swamp was home to the largest Maroon settlement

整個北美最大的有色人種聚落

就在大迪斯默爾沼澤。

in all of North America.

Because their success and survival depended on staying hidden

因為成功以及生存 都要仰賴藏身的隱密性，

不被外界發現，

from the outside world,

these Swamp communities were largely self-sufficient.

所以這些沼澤聚落 大致上都能自給自足。

Based on primary sources,

根據較可靠的資訊來源， 歷史學家相信，

historians believe that people cultivated grains and created homes, furniture,

這些人用來打造住房、 家具、樂器等的材料，

musical instruments, and more from the Swamp’s available resources.

都是沼澤中可取得的資源。

These organic materials had probably already decomposed

等到考古學家來此進行調查時，

by the time archaeologists came to investigate.

這些天然材料可能都已經分解掉了。

But researchers were able to find more durable objects,

但研究者也找到了更多耐久的物品，

like ceramic and stone items that were likely left by ancient Indigenous people

當中有一些陶器和石器，

可能是遠古時代的原住民遺留下來，

then reused and modified by others later on.

再被後來的人重新使用並改造。

Around the turn of the 19th century, It seems the relationship

在進入十九世紀時，

沼澤聚落和外界之間的關係 似乎改變了。

between the Swamp’s community and the outside world changed.

Lumber and manufacturing companies began encroaching on the Swamp’s interior.

伐木業與製造業開始侵入沼澤內部，

They brought thousands of free and enslaved workers to live in the Swamp

把數千名免費的奴隸工人帶進來 並安置在沼澤裡，

and made them harvest wood, excavate canals, and drain fields.

要他們伐木、挖渠道， 並排乾地面的水。

Certain findings suggest that the Swamp’s hidden communities

某些發現指出，

在這段時期，藏在沼澤中的聚落

might have switched to a more defensive mode during this period.

可能轉換成了比較防禦性的模式。

But researchers also observed more mass-produced objects from this time,

但研究者也觀察到，

在這個時期有比較多量產的物品，

indicating that trading was taking place.

表示有貿易行為發生。

Researchers think that the secret Swamp communities dispersed

研究者認為，這些神秘的沼澤聚落

在美國內戰期間 或結束沒多久後就解散了，

during or soon after the American Civil War,

by the end of which slavery was abolished in the United States.

因為內戰結束後， 美國便廢除了奴隸制度。

Some people may have stayed in the Swamp until they passed away

有些人可能在沼澤度完餘生，

or left to settle elsewhere.

或者離開沼澤，到別處定居。

Most of what we know about these hidden communities has come to light

我們現在對這些隱藏聚落的了解

多半是因為考古學家 挖出了一個島嶼的某些部分。

after archeologists excavated sections of a single island.

However, there may have been hundreds of habitable islands

然而，當時在沼澤內部

可能有數百個可居住的島嶼 分佈在各處。

dotting the Swamp’s interior at the time.

Between 1600 and 1860, many people lived in these hidden settlements.

在 1600 年到 1860 年間，

有許多人住在這些隱藏的居住地。

Some probably lived their entire lives within the Swamp

有些人可能一生都生活在沼澤中，

and never saw a white person or experienced racial persecution

從來沒有見過白人，

也沒有經歷過廣大的美國社會中 發生的種族迫害。

in broader American society.

Generations of Black Maroons and Indigenous Americans

有些逃亡黑奴 以及美國原住民的世世代代

resisted slavery and colonization by creating an independent society

反抗奴隸制度和殖民的方式

就是在大迪斯默爾沼澤的心臟地帶

in the heart of the Great Dismal Swamp.

建造一個獨立的社會。

They fostered a refuge in what might seem like the unlikeliest of places—

他們避難的地方， 是最意想不到的地方——

but one that was more hospitable than what lay outside.

但這個地方卻還比外界更易生存。

Today, this area offers a partial record of that secret, self-reliant world,

現今，這個區域 為那個自力更生的祕密世界、

那個為了生存和守護自由 而想像和建構的世界，

imagined and built for survival and the preservation of freedom.

留下了部分的記錄。