古罗马贵族骨骸在隐蔽铅棺中被发现

By Lianne Kolirin, CNN

Published 12:50 PM EDT, Mon March 13, 2023

CNN — The remains of a Roman aristocrat have been unearthed by archaeologists in northern England.

考古学家最近在英格兰北部挖掘出一具古罗马贵族遗骸。

The skeleton of the unidentified woman, believed to be more than 1,000 years old, was found in a lead coffin in a hidden cemetery in the city of Leeds last year.

这具具信具有1000年历史的身份未知女性骨骸，是去年在利兹一个隐蔽起来的墓地铅棺中被发现的。

The remains of 62 people were dug up at the previously unknown archaeological site near Garforth. Men, women and 23 children were buried at the site uncovered by a team of archaeologists.

此前一队考古学家曾在加尔福兹附近的不知名考古现场挖掘出包含被埋葬的男性、女性及23名儿童在内的62名人员残骸。

The dead are thought to include people from both the late Roman and early Saxon era, as burial customs of both eras were found in the graves, according to a press release published by Leeds City Council Monday.

根据利兹市议会周一发布的新闻稿，由于从墓穴中发现了罗马时代晚期及撒克逊时代早期的墓葬风俗，故认为死者包含了上述两个时期的人类。

David Hunter, principle archaeologist with West Yorkshire Joint Services, told CNN Monday that the discovery emerged after a commercial developer submitted an application for planning permission to the council.

西约克郡联合部队首席考古学家David Hunter，周一告知CNN，他们是在一名商业地产开发商向市议会提交规划许可申请后进行的此次发掘。

An archaeological survey of the site – the exact location of which hasn’t been released – led to the remains being found last spring.

对这个尚未公开确切地点的考古踏勘指向了去年春季发现的人类骸骨。

“We certainly got more than we bargained for,” Hunter told CNN. He said his team had reason to believe that the site might be of archaeological interest, as they’d found Roman and Anglo-Saxon structures nearby on previous digs. “But we didn’t expect to find a cemetery of 62 at this location,” he added.

Hunter告诉CNN，我们从中取得了比想象多的多的信息。他说介于他们在上一次发掘过程中在周边发现了古罗马及安格鲁-撒克逊时期建造物，他的团队有理由相信这个遗址会引起考古界的兴趣。

Evidence of burial practices found on the site could indicate early Christian beliefs, along with Saxon burial, the team said. They also found personal possessions such as knives and pottery.

考古团队说到，在挖掘现场发现的殡葬风俗证据能够表示出早期基督教信仰及撒克逊墓葬风俗。他们还发现如刀具、陶器等个人物品。

Describing the lead coffin as “very rare,” Hunter said: “The lead sheeting is the lining of a larger wooden coffin so it’s a very high status Roman body.”

Hunter形容这座铅棺非常稀有，他说这个铅棺是一座更大的木制棺材的内衬，因此这具古罗马遗体享有非常高的地位。

The coffin also contained pieces of jewelery which reinforced the team’s suspicions about the person buried inside.

这具棺材中还有一些珠宝，这增强了团队对里面埋葬之人身份的猜测。

Archaeologists hope that the 1,600-year-old cemetery could help them understand the important and largely undocumented transition between the fall of the Roman Empire in around 400 and the establishment of the later Anglo-Saxon kingdoms.

考古学家希望这座具有1600年历史的墓穴能够帮助他们了解公园400年古罗马帝国覆灭至随后盎格鲁-撒克逊王朝建立期间尚未被记录的重大变化。

After the Romans left Britain, West Yorkshire lay in the Kingdom of Elmet, which was located between the Wharfe and Don Valleys, the Vale of York and the Pennines, according to the press release.

根据快报，古罗马人离开不列颠后，西约克郡属于坐落在沃夫、顿谷、约克谷及奔宁山脉之间的埃米特王国。

Even after the Romans departed, many areas, including Elmet, continued to display elements of Roman culture – alongside that of the Anglo Saxons. That lasted for around 200 years.

即便在古罗马帝国分裂后，包括埃米特等多个地区在体现出盎格鲁撒克逊文化元素的同时仍能显露出古罗马文化元素。这一现象持续了约200年。

Describing the dig as “extraordinary,” Hunter said in the release: “This has the potential to be a find of massive significance for what we understand about the development of ancient Britain and Yorkshire.

Hunter形容此次发掘是惊人的，他在快报中说到：“这次发掘很可能对我们认知古代不列颠及约克郡发展情况产生大量且重要的意义。

“The presence of two communities using the same burial site is highly unusual and whether their use of this graveyard overlapped or not will determine just how significant the find is.”

这次对两种群体共用同一处墓穴的发现非同寻常，无论他们是否是先后使用使用此墓穴都能确定此次发现的重要程度。

The remains will undergo testing and analysis, including carbon dating, which the team hope will help establish precise time frames, as well as details of individuals’ diets and their ancestry.

这些遗体将会继续进行包括如碳测序等检查和分析研究。团队希望这能够帮助其建立准确的时间表，并查明其饮食及祖先。

Excavation of the site was partly prompted by the fact that previous digs in the nearby area had unearthed late Roman stone buildings and a small number of Anglo-Saxon style structures. The findings have only just been made public as the site had to be kept secure so that initial tests could be carried out.

促成此次挖掘的原因一部分是前段时间在附近的考古挖掘中出土了一些古罗马后期石砌建筑及盎格鲁-撒克逊样式的结构。为确保遗迹安全以便进行初步检测，上次发现仅是进行了公布。

Kylie Buxton, on-site supervisor, said in the release: “It is every archaeologist’s dream to work on a ‘once in a lifetime’ site, and supervising these excavations is definitely a career-high for me.”

挖掘现场主管Kylie Buxton在简报中说到：“在在一生仅一次的古迹中工作是每一位考古学家的梦想，毫无疑问，主导这类挖掘使我的职业生涯达到了新的高度。”

Once analysis of the find is complete – a process which could take a year or two, according to Hunter – the lead coffin is expected to go on display at Leeds City Museum.

根据Hunter的说法，一旦对本次发掘的分析研究结束-相关过程可能会持续一至两年，这座铅棺将会运至利兹城市博物馆展出。