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

譯者: Helen Chang 審譯者: Cissy Yun

Sunken relics,

沉沒的文物

ghostly shipwrecks,

幽靈沉船

and lost cities.

和消失的城市

These aren't just wonders found in fictional adventures.

這些不僅僅是虛構冒險小說裡的奇觀

Beneath the ocean's surface,

在海洋表面下

there are ruins where people once roamed

有著人們曾經遨遊過的廢墟

and shipwrecks loaded with artifacts from another time.

和滿載另一個時代工藝品的沉船

This is the domain of underwater archaeology,

這是水下考古的領域

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

研究員在這裡發現和研討 與船同沉入海裡的人類工藝品

They're not on a treasure hunt.

他們不是在尋寶

Underwater archaeology reveals important information

水下考古學揭示一些

about ancient climates and coastlines,

關於古代氣候和海岸線的重要信息

it tells us how humans sailed the seas,

告訴我們人類如何航海

and what life was like millennia ago.

以及千年前人類的生活樣貌

So what exactly can we find?

我們到底能發現什麼？

At shallow depths mingled in with modern-day items,

在混著一些現代物品的淺海裡

we've discovered all sorts of ancient artifacts.

我們發現了各式各樣的古代工藝品

This zone contains evidence of how our ancestors fished,

這個區域有先祖如何釣魚的佐證

how they repaired their ships,

如何修船

disposed of their trash,

丟棄垃圾

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

甚至有被處死而埋在潮汐線下的海盜

And it's not just our recent history.

不僅是我們近代的歷史而已

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

在英國諾福克郡的海岸 還發現了八十萬年前的足跡

In these shallow depths,

在這些淺海區

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

沉沒城市的遺跡露出海床

deposited there by earthquakes,

它們沉積在那兒，是由於地震

tsunamis,

海嘯

and Earth's sinking plates.

和地球板塊下沉的作用

Almost every sunken city can be found at these shallow depths

幾乎所有的沉沒城市 都能在這些淺海區被找著

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

因為幾千年來海平面的高度

that city-building civilizations have existed.

與當時那些城市文明被建造時相比 只上升了一點點

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

例如，位於義大利海岸外的 淺水區有個巴亞

a Roman seaside town over 2,000 years old.

兩千年前是個羅馬的海邊小鎮

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

人們能在那建築廢墟間游泳

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

這些廢墟是由羅馬的尊貴家族、 元老院，和皇帝們所遺留的

And then there are shipwrecks.

還有沉船

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

當船隻太破舊無法再被使用 往往被就近丟棄在岸邊

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

偏僻不礙事的地方 例如河口、小河和淺灣

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

考古學家把這些當作時間軸 來推算港口的繁榮和沒落時期

and to get clues about the historic art of shipbuiding.

和取得造船工藝歷史的線索

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

例如在丹麥的羅斯基勒 有五艘被刻意沈沒的船隻

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

揭示出維京人如何在千年前 建造這些可畏的船隻

When we descend a bit further,

若我們再往水下深入一點

we reach the zone where the deepest human structures lie,

就到了人類結構存在的最深區域

like ancient harbor walls and quays.

像是古代港口的牆壁和碼頭

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

也能看到更多由暴風雨 戰爭或碰撞致沉的船

We're still excavating many of these wrecks today,

我們仍在挖掘許多這樣的殘骸

like Blackbeard's ship,

像是黑鬍子的船

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

揭示了十八世紀海盜的生活秘辛

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

一旦深過五十英尺 還有保存更好的沉船遺骸

like the wreck at Antikythera,

像是希臘的安迪基西拉沉船遺骸

which sank during the 1st century BC.

約在公元前一世紀沉入海底

When it was discovered, it contained statues,

它被發現時裝載著雕像

trade cargo,

貿易貨物

and also the earliest known computer,

和已知最古老的計算機

a mysterious device called the Antikythera mechanism

被稱作「安迪基西拉儀」的神秘儀器

that kept track of astronomical changes and eclipses.

計算和紀錄著天體運行的變化和日蝕

Today, it gives archaeologists vital information

今天，它提供考古學家們

about the knowledge possessed by the Ancient Greeks.

古希臘人知識的重要訊息

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

正是在這個區域 我們開始看到飛機和潛艇

such as those from the World Wars.

是世界大戰時期留下來的

Plunging as deep as 200 feet,

到了二百英尺深

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

能發現一些最早 最稀少的人類歷史的遺跡

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

在五千多年前有更多的陸地

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

因為冰川蓄積了大量的水 而那些水現在已形成了海洋

Our ancestors spread across these lands,

我們的祖先散佈在這些陸地上

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

因此在海床上 我們發現了他們的營地

stone tools,

石器工具

and the bones of animals they hunted.

以及他們獵捕的動物骨骸

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

這些遺址提供我們寶貴的知識 了解先祖的遷移模式

hunting methods,

狩獵方法

and technologies.

和技術

In the deepest zone, no human has ever walked.

最深的海域尚未有人類涉足

This area has been submerged since well before mankind evolved.

這區域遠在人類進化前就早已沉沒

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

發現的工藝品全是從上面飄移下去的

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

像是在一萬四千英尺深處的 NASA 土星五號火箭發射器

and the deepest shipwrecks.

以及最深的沉船

The ocean is like a huge underwater museum

海洋就像是個巨大的水下博物館

that constantly adds to our knowledge about humanity.

不斷地豐富我們對人類的認知

With only a fraction of it explored,

目前被探索到的僅僅是一小部分

discoveries are sure to continue long into the future.

可確定人類將會長久持續地探索著