谷歌地球发现1000前巨型渔栅

Google Earth reveals fish trap made from rocks 1,000 years ago off British coast
谷歌地球上发现1000年前古人在英国海岸垒砌的石头巨型渔栅


英国的考古学家借助“谷歌地球”拍摄的高清卫星图片，在德韦达郡海域发现了一个千前年的巨型渔栅(Fish Trap)。这个巨型渔栅长约250米，呈现出V字形，是科学家们迄今考古发现的最大人工渔栅。

　　英国的考古学家介绍说，这一新发现的渔栅呈“V”字型，在海底延绵长约250多米。这种渔栅主要用于守株待兔式捕鱼，而不再另外需要渔船或渔叉。科学家认为，该渔栅应该是世界上已发现的最大渔栅。渔栅位于英国威尔士德韦达郡泰非海域附近，是考古学家们在研究西威尔士海岸航空图片时偶然发现的。该渔栅就好象是一个岩石鱼塘，鱼类会主动随着潮汐的涌动而进入渔栅。在渔栅的尖顶部，那里有一个缺口。渔民用鱼网套住缺口就可以实现自动捕鱼。此外，他们还可以垫高缺口，从而就可以很容易地在浅水池中捞鱼。当然，现在这一渔栅已经无法使用。研究人员认为，数百年来海水的冲积是渔栅沉没于泥沙之中的主要原因。

　　英国彭布洛克郡学院海岸环境研究学者齐吉-奥托估计，该渔栅大约建造于1000多年前。奥托认为，“这是一个非常奇异的结构。从航空照片上看，它好象是经过专门设计和定义的。但当你潜入水中近距离观察时，它就好象是一个天然的暗礁。”虽然该渔栅只是近来才在一些航空照片中出现，不过考古学家们早就可以通过“谷歌地球”来研究它。谷歌公司声称，早在2006年12月，他们就已经在卫星和航空图片发现过这一“V”字型结构。大约1000年前，渔栅捕鱼的方式在英国相当普遍，但也存在一定争议。由于它的效率非常高，因此法律曾经禁止使用这种方式在内河捕鱼，只允许在海岸附近使用。

　　美国谷歌公司于2005年正式推出“谷歌地球”卫星图片浏览软件，使用者放大这些高清卫星照片后，甚至能够分辨出照片上汽车的型号。虽然“谷哥地球”可以帮助科学家们进行考古探测，但目前大多只是用于考古工作的规划阶段，用于确定需要在地面上做进一步调查的地点。尼科-特利普萨维奇博士说，科学家们认为“谷哥地球”的考古潜能也存在消极的一面，那就是一些掠夺者也可以使用该软件发现可能的目标。乌尔博士说，“我们不能假定寻找考古遗址的所有用户都在做那种对古迹有积极意义的事情。”因此考古学家应该谨慎地公开宣布精确的坐标，乌尔博士表示：“如果是未挖掘的遗址，那么考古学家的任务可能是，在不公布可能会被掠夺者滥用的路线图的情况下，向公众公布关于古代定居点范围的一般想法。”

　　考古学家们此前曾多次在“谷歌地球”的帮助下发现历史古迹。2008年3月，阿根廷拉里奥哈国立大学的考古学家宣布，他们借助谷歌卫星导航地图发现了十多处有数百年历史的古代印第安人建筑遗迹。借助“谷歌地球”软件，考古学家们还在阿富汗发现了约450处古代遗址，这些遗址均距今约数千年时间。在“谷歌地球”提供的雷吉斯坦沙漠地区卫星影像上，考古学家们甚至还发现了数千年荒弃的阿富汗村庄、营地旧址、小型城堡、墓地、水库和地下水道等。

For a millennium it has lain undisturbed beneath the waves a stone's throw from one of Britain's best-loved beaches.

But now modern technology has revealed this ancient fish trap, used at the time of the Norman Conquest.


The giant fish trap, built during the Norman Conquest and designed to trap fish behind rock walls, was spotted on Google Earth
巨型渔栅，建于诺曼王朝，该设计是为了把鱼困在岩壁背后的渔栅里，被人在谷歌地球上发现


Stretching more than 280 yards along the sea bed, the V-shaped structure was used to catch fish without the need for a boat or rod. Scientists believe it is one of the biggest of its kind.
The trap close to Poppit Sands on the Teifi Estuary in Dyfed was discovered by archaeologists studying aerial photographs of the West Wales coast.


This image shows the coastline curving round with the trap visible out at sea. It is in water just 12ft deep, and the wall is around three feet wide
此处水深12英尺，岩壁宽约3英尺。

It was designed to act like a rock pool, trapping fish behind its stone walls as the tide flowed out.

At its point is a gap where fisherman would have placed nets to catch fish. They could also have blocked up the gap, and then scooped up fish trapped in the shallows.

Now, however, it is submerged even at low tide and fish are no longer trapped as the water recedes. Researchers believe it has sunk into the sand over the centuries.

Dr Ziggy Otto, a diver and lecturer in the coastal environment at Pembrokeshire College, believes the trap is around 1,000 years old.

'It is an amazing structure,' he said. 'It looks well defined on the photographs, but when you are in the water it looks just like a natural reef.'


The trap, made of stones, is located on the Teifi Estuary in Dyfed, Wales
该巨型渔栅位于英国威尔士Dyfed

Although it was only recently spotted on aerial photographs, an armchair archaeologist could have discovered the trap on Google Earth.
Google said the V-shaped structure has been visible on its collection of satellite and aerial photos since at least December 2006.

Fish traps, or fish weirs, were common and controversial in Britain 1,000 years ago.

They were so effective at removing fish from rivers that they were banned in the Magna Carta, and were allowed only on the coast.