Stonehenge / 巨石阵
Stonehenge is a prehistoric monument on Salisbury Plain in the county of Wiltshire, England. Stonehenge has been a legally protected monument since 1882. The site and its surrounding area was added to UNESCO's list of World Heritage Sites in 1886. Stonehenge is owned by the Crown (the British royal family) and is managed by English Heritage and the surrounding land is owned by the National Trust. (Both these organisations are charities which are responsible for preserving and managing historic buildings, monuments and environments across the U.K.)
巨石阵是英格兰威尔特郡索尔兹伯里平原上的一座史前纪念碑。巨石阵自 1882 年以来一直是受法律保护的古迹。该遗址及其周边地区于 1886 年被列入联合国教科文组织的世界遗产名录。巨石阵归王室（英国王室）所有，由英国遗产及周边土地管理归国民信托所有。 （这两个组织都是慈善机构，负责保护和管理英国各地的历史建筑、纪念碑和环境。）
Stonehenge is a stone circle or henge. Henges were made of wood or stone, or both. Despite its fame, Stonehenge is not the largest or oldest henge. A stone circle at Avebury, approximately 27km away from Stonehenge is much simpler but is larger and older. In fact, the Avebury stone circle is the largest prehistoric circle in the world.
巨石阵是一个石圈或巨石阵。 Henges 由木头或石头制成，或两者兼而有之。尽管名声在外，巨石阵并不是最大或最古老的巨石阵。距巨石阵约 27 公里的 Avebury 石圈简单得多，但更大、更古老。事实上，埃夫伯里石圈是世界上最大的史前石圈。
There are no contemporaneous written records on how Stonehenge was built or how it was used. We do know, however, that people came from great distances to visit the site. Now, more than 800,000 tourists visit the site every year.
没有关于巨石阵如何建造或如何使用的同期书面记录。然而，我们确实知道，人们从很远的地方来到这里参观。现在，每年有超过 800,000 名游客参观该网站。
Stonehenge consists of a ring of vertical standing stones, each around 4m high. and 2.1m wide. Some of the stones extend up to 2m into the ground and each of the stones weighs about 25,400 kg. These standing stones are are topped with horizontal lintel stones. Inside this ring is a smaller ring of stones called bluestones. Inside the smaller ring is a pair of stones topped with another lintel stone. The stones are aligned towards the sunrise on the summer solstice.
巨石阵由一圈竖立的石块组成，每块石块高约 4 米。和 2.1m 宽。部分石块深入地下达2m，每块石块重约25,400公斤。这些立石顶部是水平的门楣石。这枚戒指内有一枚较小的宝石戒指，称为青石。在较小的环内是一对石头，顶部是另一块门楣石。这些石头与夏至日的日出对齐。
The stones are set within the middle of a large area of earthworks which also contains a dense collection of Neolithic and Bronze Age monuments, including several hundred burial mounds.
这些石头位于大面积土方工程的中间，土方工程还包含大量新石器时代和青铜时代的纪念碑，包括数百个墓葬。
Archaeologists believe that Stonehenge was constructed from around 3000BC to 2000BC, however there is evidence of human activity at the site from 8000 BC.
考古学家认为，巨石阵建于公元前 3000 年至公元前 2000 年左右，但有证据表明，该遗址的人类活动始于公元前 8000 年。
Stonehenge was constructed in a number of phases. The initial monument consisted of a circular bank of earth and a surrounding ditch. The ditch silted up natuarlly but archeologists have found deer and oxen bones at the ditch location. HUman bones have also be found.
巨石阵分几个阶段建造。最初的纪念碑由一个圆形的土堤和一个环绕的沟渠组成。沟渠自然淤塞，但考古学家在沟渠位置发现了鹿和牛的骨头。还发现了人骨。
The second phase of contrstruction took place between 2900 and 2600 BC. It is believed that some form of a timber structure was constructed within the enclosure. Evidence of cremations have been found and consequently Stonehenge is thus the earliest know cremation cemtery in the British Isles.
第二阶段的建设发生在公元前 2900 年至 2600 年之间。据信，围墙内建造了某种形式的木结构。火葬的证据已经被发现，因此巨石阵因此成为不列颠群岛最早的火葬公墓。
The third phase of construction took place from around 2600 to 2400 BC when the wooden structures were replaced by stone structures. Holes have been found for up to 80 standing stones but only 43 can be found today. The some of bluestones are made of an igneous rock called dolerites and were quarried and transported 240km from quarries in Pembrokeshire, Wales. How the stones were transported has been a subject of much debate. The next stage was when 30 enourmous stones were brought to the site. 30 lintel stones were placed on top. Within the circle five stones arranged in a horseshoe shape.
第三阶段的建造发生在公元前 2600 年至 2400 年左右，当时木结构被石结构所取代。已发现多达 80 块立石的孔洞，但如今仅能找到 43 块。一些青石由称为辉绿岩的火成岩制成，从威尔士彭布罗克郡的采石场开采并运输 240 公里。这些石头是如何运输的一直是一个争论不休的话题。下一阶段是将 30 颗巨大的石头运到现场。 30块过梁石放在上面。圈内五石呈马蹄形排列。
Further modifications and repairs were made between 2400 BC and 1600BC.
在公元前 2400 年至公元前 1600 年之间进行了进一步的修改和修复。
Stonehenge has been a site of interest and pilgrimage since its construction. Many myths have been associated with the site, including links with KIng Arthur, the ancient Greeks and the Egyptians. Some people have even dug holes on the site expecting to find burried treasure.
巨石阵自建成以来一直是名胜古迹和朝圣之地。许多神话与该遗址有关，包括与亚瑟王、古希腊人和埃及人的联系。有些人甚至在遗址上挖洞，希望能找到埋藏的宝藏。
During the 20th century, Stonehenge has been primarily associated with neo-paganism. Every year, there is a dawn ceremony at the summer and winter soltices although nowadays events at Stonehenge are highly restricted to avoid damage to the site. Vistors are not allowed to touch the stones. Neo-druids who organise these ceremonies are often mocked for their long white robes and fake beards.
在 20 世纪，巨石阵主要与新异教联系在一起。每年夏至日和冬至日都会举行黎明仪式，但现在巨石阵的活动受到严格限制，以免损坏遗址。游客不得触摸这些石头。组织这些仪式的新德鲁伊经常因其长长的白袍和假胡子而受到嘲笑。
Concerns have been raised in recent years about the impact of a nearby road. Various proposals have been made to re-route the road, including a proposal to build a tunnel under the landscape to hide the road from vistors. All these scheme have been proven to be expensive and so far none have been approved.
近年来，人们对附近道路的影响提出了担忧。已经提出了各种改变道路路线的建议，包括在景观下建造一条隧道以隐藏道路的建议。所有这些方案都被证明是昂贵的，而且到目前为止还没有一个被批准。