For centuries, historians and archaeologists have puzzled over the many mysteries of Stonehenge, a prehistoric monument that took an estimated 1,500 years to erect. Located on Salisbury Plain in southern England, it is comprised of roughly 100 massive upright stones placed in a circular layout.

几个世纪以来，历史学家和考古学家一直在探索巨石阵的诸多奥秘。巨石阵是一座史前纪念碑，耗时约 1500 年才建成。巨石阵位于英格兰南部的索尔兹伯里平原，由大约 100 块巨大的直立石头组成，呈环形布局。

Archaeologists believe England's most iconic prehistoric ruin was built in several stages, with the earliest constructed 5,000 or more years ago. First, Neolithic* Britons used primitive tools, which may have been fashioned out of deer antlers, to dig a massive circular ditch and bank, or henge. Deep pits dating back to that era and located within the circle may have once held a ring of timber posts, according to some scholars.

考古学家认为，英格兰最具标志性的史前遗址分几个阶段建造，最早的阶段建于 5000 多年前。首先，新石器时代*的英国人使用可能是鹿角制成的原始工具，挖掘出巨大的环形壕沟和堤岸，或称为 “Henge”。根据一些学者的研究，位于圆环内的深坑可以追溯到那个时代，可能曾经放置过一圈木柱。

Several hundred years later, it is thought, Stonehenge's builders hoisted an estimated 80 bluestones, 43 of which remain today, into standing positions and placed them in either a horseshoe or circular formation. These stones have been traced all the way to the Preseli Hills in Wales, some 300 kilometres from Stonehenge. How, then, did prehistoric builders without sophisticated tools or engineering haul these boulders, which weigh up to four tons, over such a great distance?

据认为，数百年后，巨石柱的建造者们将大约 80 块蓝石（其中 43 块至今仍存）吊起，并将它们摆放成马蹄形或圆形。这些石头一直被追溯到威尔士的普雷塞利山，距离巨石柱约 300 公里。那么，没有先进工具或工程技术的史前建造者是如何将这些重达四吨的巨石运到如此遥远的地方的呢？

According to one long-standing theory among archaeologists, Stonehenge's builders fashioned sledges and rollers out of tree trunks to lug the bluestones from the Preseli Hills. They then transferred the boulders onto rafts and floated them first along the Welsh coast and then up the River Avon toward Salisbury Plain; alternatively, they may have towed each stone with a fleet of vessels. More recent archaeological hypotheses have them transporting the bluestones with supersized wicker baskets on a combination of ball bearings and long grooved planks, hauled by oxen.

考古学家中流传已久的一种理论认为，巨石阵的建造者们用树干制作了雪橇和滚筒，将蓝石从普雷塞利山中拖出。然后，他们把巨石搬到木筏上，先沿着威尔士海岸漂流，然后沿雅芳河向索尔兹伯里平原漂流；或者，他们也可能用船队拖运每块巨石。最近的考古假设认为，他们是用超大的柳条筐和滚珠轴承以及牛牵引的长槽木板来运输这些巨石的。

As early as the 1970s, geologists have been adding their voices to the debate over how Stonehenge came into being. Challenging the classic image of industrious builders pushing, carting, rolling or hauling giant stones from faraway Wales, some scientists have suggested that it was glaciers, not humans, that carried the bluestones to Salisbury Plain. Most archaeologists have remained sceptical about this theory, however, wondering how the forces of nature could possibly have delivered the exact number of stones needed to complete the circle.

早在 20 世纪 70 年代，地质学家们就开始对巨石柱是如何形成的进行讨论。一些科学家认为，是冰川而非人类将巨石运到了索尔兹伯里平原，这对勤劳的建筑工人从遥远的威尔士推、车、滚、拖巨石的经典形象提出了挑战。然而，大多数考古学家仍然对这一理论持怀疑态度，他们不明白大自然的力量怎么可能运送出完成圆环所需的确切数量的石头。

The third phase of construction took place around 2000 BCE. At this point, sandstone slabs – known as 'sarsens' – were arranged into an outer crescent or ring; some were assembled into the iconic three-pieced structures called trilithons that stand tall in the centre of Stonehenge. Some 50 of these stones are now visible on the site, which may once have contained many more. Radiocarbon dating has revealed that work continued at Stonehenge until roughly 1600 BCE, with the bluestones in particular being repositioned multiple times.

公元前 2000 年左右进入第三阶段。此时，砂岩石板（称为 “sarsens”）被排列成一个外月牙形或环形；其中一些被组合成标志性的三块拼接结构，即巨石阵中心高高耸立的三块巨石。现在，在巨石阵遗址上可以看到大约 50 块这样的石头，而这里曾经可能有更多这样的石头。放射性碳测年法显示，巨石阵的工程一直持续到大约公元前 1600 年，尤其是蓝石的位置曾多次调整。

But who were the builders of Stonehenge? In the 17th century, archaeologist John Aubrey made the claim that Stonehenge was the work of druids, who had important religious, judicial and political roles in Celtic** society. This theory was widely popularized by the antiquarian William Stukeley, who had unearthed primitive graves at the site. Even today, people who identify as modern druids continue to gather at Stonehenge for the summer solstice. However, in the mid-20th century, radiocarbon dating demonstrated that Stonehenge stood more than 1,000 years before the Celts inhabited the region.

但巨石柱的建造者是谁呢？17 世纪，考古学家约翰-奥布里（John Aubrey）声称巨石阵是德鲁伊的杰作，德鲁伊在凯尔特***社会中扮演着重要的宗教、司法和政治角色。这一理论在古董商威廉-斯图克利（William Stukeley）的推动下广为流传，他曾在巨石阵遗址发掘出原始坟墓。即使在今天，被认定为现代德鲁伊的人们仍然会在夏至日聚集在巨石阵。然而，20 世纪中期，放射性碳测年法证明，巨石阵早在凯尔特人居住该地区之前 1000 多年就已存在。

Many modern historians and archaeologists now agree that several distinct tribes of people contributed to Stonehenge, each undertaking a different phase of its construction. Bones, tools and other artefacts found on the site seem to support this hypothesis. The first stage was achieved by Neolithic agrarians who were likely to have been indigenous to the British Isles. Later, it is believed, groups with advanced tools and a more communal way of life left their mark on the site. Some believe that they were immigrants from the European continent, while others maintain that they were probably native Britons, descended from the original builders.

许多现代历史学家和考古学家现在都认为，巨石阵是由几个不同的部落共同完成的，每个部落都承担了巨石阵不同阶段的建造任务。在巨石阵遗址上发现的骨头、工具和其他人工制品似乎都支持这一假设。第一阶段由新石器时代的农耕民族完成，他们很可能是不列颠群岛的原住民。后来，人们相信，拥有先进工具和更加集体化生活方式的群体在遗址上留下了他们的印记。一些人认为他们是来自欧洲大陆的移民，而另一些人则认为他们很可能是土生土长的不列颠人，是最初的建造者的后裔。

If the facts surrounding the architects and construction of Stonehenge remain shadowy at best, the purpose of the striking monument is even more of a mystery. While there is consensus among the majority of modern scholars that Stonehenge once served the function of burial ground, they have yet to determine what other purposes it had.

如果说巨石柱的建筑师和建造过程的相关事实充其量还只是一团迷雾，那么这座引人注目的纪念碑的目的就更加神秘了。虽然大多数现代学者一致认为巨石柱曾经具有墓地的功能，但他们尚未确定巨石柱还有其他用途。

In the 1960s, the astronomer Gerald Hawkins suggested that the cluster of megalithic stones operated as a form of calendar, with different points corresponding to astrological phenomena such as solstices, equinoxes and eclipses occurring at different times of the year. While his theory has received a considerable amount of attention over the decades, critics maintain that Stonehenge's builders probably lacked the knowledge necessary to predict such events or that England's dense cloud cover would have obscured their view of the skies. 

20 世纪 60 年代，天文学家杰拉尔德-霍金斯（Gerald Hawkins）提出，巨石柱群是一种日历形式，不同的点对应着一年中不同时间发生的占星现象，如至日、平分和日食。几十年来，他的理论受到了广泛关注，但批评者认为巨石阵的建造者可能缺乏预测此类事件的必要知识，或者英格兰浓密的云层遮挡了他们对天空的观察。

More recently, signs of illness and injury in the human remains unearthed at Stonehenge led a group of British archaeologists to speculate that it was considered a place of healing, perhaps because bluestones were thought to have curative powers.

最近，在巨石柱出土的人类遗骸中发现了疾病和受伤的迹象，这让一群英国考古学家推测，巨石柱被认为是一个疗伤的地方，也许是因为人们认为蓝石具有治疗的力量。