欢迎来到VOA在线收网 www.voa365.com
当前位置:VOA NEWS > VOA慢速英语 > AS IT IS >

AS IT IS 2017-03-27 8,000 Years of London History Discovered Underground

2017-03-27 07:03来源:未知

音频下载

A bronze medallion discovered during the construction of London's Crossrail route.
The Crossrail project, an underground railway tunnel, is designed to reduce traffic in London. But the project has also provided Britain’s capital city with a view into its 8,000-year-old history.

 

Jackie Keily is the curator of “The Archaeology of Crossrail” exhibition at the Museum of London Docklands. She says, “The great thing about the Crossrail project is that it’s allowed us to basically sort of take a slice through London.”

 

The underground project to connect Heathrow airport to the financial district has unearthed over 10,000 artifacts. One of the highlights, Keily says, is a bronze medallion dating from the year 245 AD. During this time, southern Britain was ruled by the Romans.

 

"It's a medallion that would have been given by the emperor to a high-ranking official, probably in Rome. And it's quite fascinating that it's travelled right across the Empire to be here in London."

 

Another interesting find are Roman “hipposandals.” These are metal shoes for pack animals. They were used for animals, such as oxen or horses, as they moved goods around the rain-covered streets of early-day London.

 

Hundreds of human skulls were also found beneath what is now the financial district of London. Did they belonged to the losers of gladiator battles at the nearby Roman amphitheater?

 

One very unusual artifact was a skeleton of a woman with her head removed and placed between her leg bones. It is displayed as it was found, buried beneath what is now Liverpool Street station.

 

The Crossrail also travels through several graveyards, many dating to major disease outbreaks, like the Black Death' plague of 1348. An estimated 1.5 million people died across Britain because of the plague.

 

There are also lighter aspects of London life on display. A bowling ball was found in the moat of a sixteenth century house. Hundreds of leather shoes have also been unearthed. These are around 500 years old.

 

According to Keily, the shoes connect people, in a way, to people in the past.

 

"The earlier shoe at the very bottom has got this really long, elongated, pointed toe. Whereas the ones above are much more like the ones we imagine Henry the Eighth wearing, they've got these broad toes. So very fashionable shoes that Londoners were wearing.”

 

Despite the detailed archaeological work, construction of Crossrail remains on schedule. The first trains will take passengers through these tunnels in late 2018.


Words in This Story

 

amphitheater - n. a large building with seats rising in curved rows around an open space on which games and plays take place​

 

archaeology - n. a science that deals with past human life and activities by studying the bones, tools, etc., of ancient people​

 

artifact - n. a simple object, such as a tool or weapon, that was made by people in the past​

 

cemetery - n. a place where dead people are buried​

 

elongated - adj. to be made longer

 

gladiator - n. a man in ancient Rome who fought against another man or animal for public entertainment​

 

graveyard - n. a place where people are buried ​

 

macabre - adj. involving death or violence in a way that is strange, frightening, or unpleasant​

 

(责任编辑:v365)
最新新闻
  1. 当前关注:拼多多“出海”:对标
  2. 微动态丨iPhone 14全线破发 苹果将
  3. 资讯:“二舅”UP主回应质疑:目前
  4. 特斯拉上海超级工厂一期第二阶段
  5. 苹果高管Huang回应iOS 16复制粘贴许
  6. 特斯拉8月份在北京上海等城市新
  7. 苹果宣布10月欧洲 App Store 应用和
  8. Lilium携手软件巨头Palantir展开合作
  9. 暴雪《暗黑破坏神 4》即将封测
  10. 因丰巢快递柜侵犯肖像权等,龚俊
  11. 美富豪亿万艾萨克曼与SpaceX合作
  12. 今日聚焦!碾压iPhone 14系列!曝华
  13. 当前头条:华为Mate50首发5G套装 明
  14. 即时看!iPhone 15明年或将搭载Type
  15. 全球即时:售价799元!华为Mate 50系
  16. 资讯:针对iPhone机型《王者荣耀》
  17. 每日看点!1.5K直屏+骁龙8+旗舰芯!
  18. 【独家】iPhone 14顶配速度拉胯了!
  19. 世界热点评!仅限30条!Mate50卫星通
  20. 天天微资讯!华为Mate 50系列通信壳
  21. 环球速讯:土豪金被冷落!iPhone1
  22. 世界看点:经济学家任泽平:iPho
  23. 每日速讯:工信部:鸿蒙操作系统
  24. 天天信息:鹿晗为关晓彤庆生 鹿
  25. 当前短讯!啃完华为又嚼苹果,手
  26. 天天时讯:赌王三房千金何超云获
  27. 世界看点:成立12年,中国首家上市
  28. 环球今亮点:井柏然晒秋日身穿毛
  29. 天天观热点:《奇怪的律师禹英雨
  30. 天天亮点:汪小菲张颖颖外出聚餐
  31. 世界微动态丨李政宰确诊新冠中断
  32. 世界快看点:林允儿回应《黑话律
  33. 天天视点:魔力红Maroon 5主唱被曝
  34. 全球热点评!9月20日酒泉疫情最新
  35. 环球观速讯:9月20日张掖甘州区疫
  36. 天天视点:9月20日甘肃疫情最新消
  37. 今日精选:9月20日岳阳疫情最新消
  38. 快资讯:9月20日湘潭疫情最新消息
  39. 每日资讯:2022-09-20 14:17哈尔滨疫
  40. 世界热资讯:青海昨日新增本土无
  41. 【环球时快讯】92号、95号汽油价
  42. 世界快播:9月20日杭州疫情最新消
  43. 世界视讯!官宣,iPhone即将支持《
  44. 当前关注:华为Mate 50系列5G通信壳
  45. 环球热门:比iPhone 14PM还贵!华为
  46. 当前视讯!大部分供应商将收到加
  47. 天天百事通!卢伟冰深夜疑惑:年
  48. 环球观焦点:华为Mate 50系列5G通信
  49. 环球焦点:青蛙会被水淹死吗
  50. 当前看点!OPPO K10系列荒野乱斗联名