The world is filled with ancient monuments built by master craftsmen in order to honor everything from kings and presidents to religious figures. And although most of these landmarks have been carefully studied and researched by scientists and historians, some are simply so old, incomplete, or obscure that we still don't know very much about why they were built or what purpose they served. The following are 10 world landmarks that, whether by intention or simply due to the passage of time, continue to baffle the people who study them.
世界上存留了很多古老建筑，它们由杰出的工匠修建，用来纪念国王、酋长和宗教人士。科学家和历史学家虽然已经研究过大多数的标志性建筑，但是其中一些非常古老、不完整、或者模糊不清，所以我们现在仍然还不是很清楚修建它们的目的以及用途。无论是出于某种目的或仅仅是无意之作，以下10种地标性建筑仍然困惑着研究人员。

10.The Cahokia Mounds
10.卡霍基亚土丘群

Cahokia is the name given to an Indian settlement that exists outside of Collinsville, Illinois. Archeologists estimate that the city was founded sometime around 650 AD, and its complex network of burial grounds and sophisticated landscaping prove that it was once a thriving community. It has been estimated that at its peak the city was home to as many as 40,000 people, which would have made it the most populous settlement in America prior to the arrival of the Europeans. The most notable aspect of Cahokia today are the 80 mounds of earth, some as high as 100 feet, which dot the 2,200-acre site. These helped create a network of plazas throughout the city, and it is believed that important buildings, like the home of the settlement's chief, were built on top of them. The site also features a series of wooden posts that archeologists have dubbed "woodhenge." The posts are said to mark the solstices and equinoxes, and supposedly figured prominently in the community's astronomical mythology.
卡霍基亚是生活于伊利诺伊州科林斯维尔城外的殖民者的总称。考古学家推测，这座城市建立于公元650年，其复杂的墓地布局和景观遗址足以证明它曾经是一座繁华的城市。有人估计，在这座城市最繁华的时候，其人口多达四万，在欧洲人到来之前，这一度是美国人口最稠密的城市。今天的卡霍基亚最引人注目的就是它的80个土堆，其中一些高达100英尺，占地2200英亩。这一点有助于建立一个贯穿城市的广场。一些重要的建筑物，比如酋长的家就是建造在上面的。这个地方还有一系列考古学家称为"史前栏杆"的特色木桩。据说这些木桩是用来标记二至点和二分点的，它们或许已经准确刻画出了部落的天文神话。

The Mystery
谜团
Although scientists are constantly discovering new information about the Cohokia community, the biggest mystery that remains is which modern Indian tribe is descended from the residents of the ancient city, as well as just what it was that caused them to abandon their settlement.
虽然科学家们不断发现卡霍基亚的新消息，但是如今的印第安部落是哪个古老城市居民的后裔，以及到底是什么原因让他们放弃自己的居住地，这仍是最大的谜团。

9.Newgrange
9.纽格莱奇墓

Considered to be the oldest and most famous prehistoric site in all of Ireland, Newgrange is a tomb that was built from earth, wood, clay, and stone around 3100 BC, some 1000 years before the construction of the pyramids in Egypt. It consists of a long passage that leads to a cross-shaped chamber that was apparently used as a tomb, as it contains stone basins filled with cremated remains. The most unique feature of Newgrange is its careful and sturdy design, which has helped the structure remain completely waterproof to this day. Most amazing of all, the entrance to the tomb was positioned relative to the sun in such a way that on the winter solstice, the shortest day of the year, the rays from the sun are channeled through the opening and down the nearly 60 foot passageway, where they illuminate the floor of the monument's central room.
纽格莱奇墓被视为爱尔兰最古老最有名的史前遗址，它是由泥土、木头、黏土和石头于公元前3100年修建成的墓穴，比埃及金字塔还早1000年建成。纽格莱奇墓内有一条直接通往十字形房间的长长的通道，因为里面有一个盛满骨灰的石盆，所以显然这是用来作为墓穴的地方。纽格莱奇墓最奇特的特征是它细致坚固的设计，这就使得它如今还能完全防水。最让人吃惊的是墓口的朝向与太阳有关，这样在冬至日（一年中白天最短的一天），太阳光线可以从墓室入口的上方天窗照射进来，布满将近60英尺的通道，照亮墓穴里的堂室。

The Mystery
谜团
Archeologists know Newgrange was used as a tomb, but why and for who still remains a mystery. The painstaking design needed to guarantee that the yearly solstice event occurs suggests that the site was held in high regard, but other than the obvious hypothesis that the sun featured prominently in the mythology of the builders, scientists are at a loss to describe the true reason for Newgrange's construction.
考古学家虽然知道纽格莱奇墓曾用来作为墓穴，但是为何而建，为谁而建仍然是个谜。这个设计需要确保每年冬至日出现奇观，其设计难度之高，表明建造过程中墓室受到了高度重视。除了太阳在神话中主要象征着造物主这一假说外，科学家们没能解释纽格莱奇墓的构造的真正原因。

8.The Yonaguni Monument
8.与那国岛海底地形

Of all the famous monuments in Japan, perhaps none is more perplexing than Yonaguni, an underwater rock formation that lies off the coast of the Ryuku Islands. It was discovered in 1987 by a group of divers who were there to observe Hammerhead sharks, and it immediately sparked a huge amount of debate in the Japanese scientific community. The monument is made up of a series of striking rock formations including massive platforms, carved steps, and huge stone pillars that lie at depths of 5-40 meters. There is a triangular formation that has become known as "the turtle" for its unique shape, as well as a long, straight wall that borders one of the larger platforms. The currents in the area are known for being particularly treacherous, but this has not stopped the Yonaguni monument from becoming one of the most popular diving locations in all of Japan.
与那国岛海底地形（Yonaguni Monument）位于离琉球群岛（Ryuku Islands）海岸线不远处，是一处沉入水底的巨石建筑遗址，也许日本所有著名的石碑建筑中没有哪个可以与与那国岛海底地形相提并论。1987年一群观测双髻鲨（Hammerhead）的潜水者发现了与那国岛海底地形，此后立即引起了日本学界激烈的讨论。这处遗址由一系列奇特的岩石构成，包括巨大的石台、雕琢出来的石阶以及高达5~40米的巨大石柱。还有一处因为其独特的形状被形象地称作"海龟"的三角地带，以及环绕在巨大石台边缘又长又直的城墙。这处海底地形附近的水域以其水流格外变幻莫测著称，但这丝毫不妨碍这里成为全日本最受欢迎的潜水胜地。

The Mystery
谜团
The ongoing debate surrounding Yonaguni centers on one key subject: is the monument a natural phenomenon, or is it man-made? Scientists have long argued that millennia of strong currents and erosion have carved the formations out of the ocean floor, and they point to the fact that the monument is all one piece of solid rock as proof that it was not assembled by a builder. Others, though, point to the many straight edges, square corners and 90-degree angles of the formation as proof that it's artificial. They often cite one formation in particular, a section of rock that resembles a crude carving of a human face, as evidence. If they are right, then an even more interesting mystery presents itself: who constructed the Yonaguni Monument, and for what purpose?
围绕着与那国岛海底地形有着持续的争论，其争论的焦点可以总结为：这个石阵到底是自然形成的还是人类文明的遗迹。有些科学家一直以来坚持认为，是长达数千年的水流强力冲刷和腐蚀对海底的岩层进行了雕琢。他们指出这处海底地形就是一块坚硬的岩石，而不是由建造者完成的组装品。但是，另外一些人则认为诸多笔直的边缘，棱角，以及90度角的存在，无一不证明这里是由人工建造的。他们经常用一块很像简单的人脸雕刻的特殊岩石，作为证据支持他们的观点。如果这些人的观点是对的，那么另一个更加有趣的问题来了：到底是建造了与那国岛海底地形？又是出于什么目的呢？

7.The Nazca Lines
7.纳斯卡地画

The Nazca lines are a series of designs and pictographs carved into the ground in the Nazca Desert, a dry plateau located in Peru. They cover an area of some 50 miles, and were supposedly created between 200 BC and 700 AD by the Nazca Indians, who designed them by scraping away the copper colored rocks of the desert floor to expose the lighter-colored earth beneath. The lines have managed to remain intact for hundreds of years thanks to the region's arid climate, which sees it receive little rain or wind throughout the year. Some of the lines span distances of 600 feet, and they depict everything from simple designs and shapes to characterizations of plants, insects, and animals.
纳斯卡沙漠位于秘鲁的一个干旱高原，纳斯卡地画就是指一系列刻在这里的土地上的石壁画。这些绵延50英里的壁画，据推测，创作于公元前200年到公元700年之间，是纳斯卡土著的印第安人用刮掉沙漠表层的紫铜色岩石以露出底下的浅色土壤的方式设计出来的。这些地画得以完好无损地保存成百上千年，完全得益于这一地区全年几乎无风无雨的干燥气候。有一些地画绵延600英尺，描绘着从简单的图形到植物、昆虫和动物形象等一切事物。

The Mystery
谜团
Scientists know who made the Nazca Lines and how they did it, but they still don't know why. The most popular and reasonable hypothesis is that the lines must have figured in the Nazca people's religious beliefs, and that they made the designs as offerings to the gods, who would've been able to see them from the heavens. Still, other scientists argue that the lines are evidence of massive looms that the Nazcas used to make textiles, and one investigator has even made the preposterous claim that they are the remnants of ancient airfields used by a vanished, technologically advanced society.
科学家们知道是谁制作了纳斯卡地画以及如何进行创作，但是他们无从得知这些人为什么创作这些地画。这些地画可能反映了纳斯卡人的宗教信仰，这是对于这一问题最合理、最广为接受的假设。纳斯卡人创作这些地画作为对上帝的献礼，他们认为上帝正在天国凝视着他们。然而，仍有其他科学家有不同意见，他们认为这些壁画是纳斯卡人用于制作纺织品的巨大织布机存在的证据。甚至有一位研究者提出一个更加荒谬的论断，他认为这些地画是一个已经消失的但科技十分进步的社会用过的古代飞机场的遗址。

6.Goseck Circle
6.戈瑟克圈

One of the most mysterious landmarks in Germany is the Goseck Circle, a monument made out of earth, gravel, and wooden palisades that is regarded as the earliest example of a primitive "solar observatory." The circle consists of a series of circular ditches surrounded by palisade walls (which have since been reconstructed) that house a raised mound of dirt in the center. The palisades have three openings, or gates, that point southeast, southwest, and north. It is believed that the monument was built around 4900 BC by Neolithic peoples, and that the three openings correspond to the direction from which the sun rises on the winter solstice.
德国最神秘的地标之一是戈瑟克圈，这是一个由土壤、碎石和木质栅栏构成的历史遗迹，人们认为这是最早的原始"太阳观测台"。这个圈是由一系列由栅栏墙（这些墙曾一度被重建）围成的圆形的壕沟围成的，这些壕沟被中间凸起的土堆覆盖。这些栅栏有三处开口，也就是三个门，分别指向东南，西南和正北。人们认为戈瑟克圈大约是在公元前4900年由新石器时代的人建造的，这三个门与冬至日日出方向一致。

The Mystery
谜团
The monument's careful construction has led many scientists to believe that the Goseck Circle was built to serve as some kind of primitive solar or lunar calendar, but its exact use is still a source of debate. Evidence has shown that a so-called "solar cult" was widespread in ancient Europe. This has led to speculation that the Circle was used in some kind of ritual, perhaps even in conjunction with human sacrifice. This hypothesis has yet to be proven, but archeologists have uncovered several human bones, including a headless skeleton, just outside the palisade walls.
这处历史遗迹的精妙构造使得许多科学家认为戈瑟克圈是用来指示原始太阳能或者阴历的，但是它的确切功用仍有争议。有证据表明远在古欧洲时，"太阳崇拜"流行甚广。这种说法引起人们猜测戈瑟克圈是用来举行某种仪式，甚至和人祭联系起来。这种说法还有待证实，但是考古学家已经发现了数具人骨，包括在栅栏墙外发现的一具无头骨架。

翻译:风舞落月8+7 来源:前十网