2016-07-19

【Aiden in English】

        Time always flows forward. 

        I must say, it's quite a coincidence that we visited Stonehenge on the last day of our 27-day long journey. As I have said in many instances, time makes everything have an ending, such as my European summer vacation. Many describe it as cruel to be so uncompassionate, so unforgiving. But for the Neolithic Stonehenge, the time is the only thing it can tell nowadays. It's quite old if you know what I mean... Like, 4,500 years old. 

        No, Stonehenge isn't a clock. It isn't a calendar either. Think back four and a half thousand years. Time to them might as well be a dream idea within a dream. It could've also been considered a spirit of the supernatural, which is why Stonehenge might've been built. Our tour guide was somewhat honest with us, saying how scientists didn't know baloney about the stones. Theories range as far as a burial area to a calendar to a sacrificial ground to an altar to an execution ring. As much as we know, it could simply have been a buffet line, yet I highly doubt it. The only obvious pieces of evidence are the dead people's remains and the lighting on the solstices. 

        The quick rule out of the first piece of evidence came with a discovery of the Arrow Man. The body of a man was uncovered by archeologists, who noticed arrowheads in his body. Either he ate them for breakfast before the burial or he was killed and left there. Obviously, scientists always pick the more "reasonable" theory, so now we all think Arrow Man was a villain. Maybe we should show them the movie about the superhero Arrow and see what they think. The second piece of evidence was the center of basically all further hypotheses. At the summer and winter solstices, the sun sets exactly between two sarsen stones, right in the middle of a cross-section. This marks the middle day of the year, and also when the days begin to either grow longer or become shorter. Being mostly nomads, this proves immensely important for survival. It may signify the change in the way of life, such as migration or the notification to stock up on food. Time is this way somewhat recorded, even if it is probably the most general way. 

        And after seeing the face of prehistoric European history, I must say, to some extent, every person understands time. And everything understands its effects. Throughout my trip, restoration is trying to reverse what time has done to landmarks of tourism. Although most look probably the best they have been in centuries, you cannot have the exact same image of the past. The past has been washed away, and time intends it to stay that way. By recording this, I'm making history, and I am saving a piece of time forever as long as the Internet. Someday, I hope to 'restore' my memory of the past then, and even if it won't be the same, it will probably seem a lot more worthwhile.

【紅霞譯文】

        時間總是朝前行進。

        我承認，趕在長達廿七天之久旅遊度假末了出遊巨石陣純屬巧合，正如先前本人多次強調時有終始，此次歐洲之行即將宣告結束，心裡不免感到難過酸楚，但對出自新石器時代的巨石陣而言，世人所能見證的只有歲月，一個亙古不變的過去，假如你懂我的意思……譬如：4,500年歷史長河。

        呃，巨石陣既未當成日晷，也沒用作曆法，追溯到4,500年前，時間對古人來說恐怕做夢都難以想到，充其量被視為超乎自然的精神寄託，也許這才是修建巨石陣的原因。我們導遊直言不諱，科學家們始終沒有搞清其所以然，有的推斷是墓葬區域，有的想象是土著曆法，有的認為是祭祀場所，有的料定是祈福聖地，還有的懷疑是執法刑場，說一千道一萬，沒準它只不過用來吃自助餐，對之我倒持保留意見，唯一可靠的證據在於遺體殘骸和至點陽光移動。

        由於發現了“弓箭手”，大家很快得出第一個結論。該屍體是由考古學家挖掘出來的，出土時身上帶鏃，究竟下葬前他把箭頭當早餐吞下還是被人打死丟棄在此，所有這些無從得知。顯然，科學家們總是要尋找“合理”答案，如今這位弓箭手被認定是個“壞蛋”，我們當該搬出電影《綠箭俠》，讓古人見識一下什麼是超級英雄。第二個結論基本上根據進一步推理而來，每當夏至冬至到來之際，陽光恰好照射到兩塊羊背石之間橫切面中央，從每年正午時分這一刻起，季節開始變長或者變短，這一現象對於當時游牧民的生存至關重要，有助於調整生活方式，比如遠處遷徙或儲存食物，由此他們開始記錄時間，雖說所採用的方式方法非常普通。

        在瀏覽了史前歐洲歷史之後，我不得不說在不同程度上，不僅人人都懂得時間，而且事事都看重效果。此行讓我懂得，維修可以幫助旅遊景點免遭歲月磨蝕，儘管若干世紀以來大多數古物一直保護良好，但你還是難得看到真跡原貌，歷史畢竟成為過去，時光一去不再復返。藉助書寫方式記錄所聞所見，其實我正在創造歷史，在這方面，互聯網着實讓我少花很多功夫。但願有朝一日，我能藉之“重溫”舊夢，即使時過境遷物是人非，想必它依然不失保留價值。