羅馬儀式活動被發現隱藏在西班牙部分洪水洞內

研究人員說，遺骸的日期約為1900年前。

Archaeologists have discovered evidence of Roman occupation and ritual activity hidden inside a partially flooded cave in Spain. The remains date to about 1,900 years ago, researchers say.

考古學家發現了羅馬占領和儀式活動的證據，隱藏在西班牙的部分洪水洞內。研究人員說，遺骸的日期約為1900年前。

The researchers were exploring the depths of the cave, which is located in eastern Spain, by flashlight when they noticed a rusty coin wedged between a crack in the ceiling and a stalactite, according to a translated statement. Subsequent analyses revealed that the coin dates from the time of Emperor Claudius, who ruled the Roman Empire from A.D. 41 to 54. The coin was likely put there as an offering, the researchers noted.

根據翻譯的陳述，研究人員正在通過手電筒探索位於西班牙東部的洞穴深處，當時他們發現在天花板上的裂縫和穩定石之間楔入生鏽的硬幣。隨後的分析表明，硬幣可以追溯到克勞迪烏斯皇帝時代，後者將羅馬帝國從公元41年統治至54。

The team also discovered 15 inscriptions that were likely carved into the rock by people living on the Iberian Peninsula during Roman occupation of the region — although the meaning behind them remains unclear. Together, the markings and the coin indicate that these people considered the cave to be a sanctuary, according to the statement.

該團隊還發現了15個銘文，這些銘文可能是在該地區羅馬占領期間居住在伊比利亞半島上的人們雕刻到岩石中的15個銘文，儘管它們背後的含義尚不清楚。聲明說，標記和硬幣表明這些人認為洞穴是庇護所。

Discoveries going back to the 1960s suggest humans have occupied the Cova de les Dones, which in Catalan Spanish means "women's cave," for thousands of years.

可以追溯到1960年代的發現表明，人類已經佔領了Cova de les Dones，在加泰羅尼亞的西班牙語中，這是數千年的“婦女洞穴”。

Related: 7 haunting caves ancient humans used for art, burials and butchering

相關：7個困擾著用於藝術，埋葬和屠宰的古代洞穴

"The inscriptions and the coin provide irrefutable evidence that the sanctuary continued to be used or was repurposed by the Romans," Aitor Ruiz-Redondo, a professor of prehistory at the University of Zaragoza in Spain who co-led the cave exploration, told the Spanish regional newspaper Levante.

“銘文和硬幣提供了無可辯駁的證據，表明聖所繼續被羅馬人使用或重新使用，”阿托爾·魯伊茲·雷東多（Aitor Ruiz-Redondo西班牙地區報紙萊萬特。

The Cova de les Dones is known to hold Iron Age ceramics and prehistoric rock art, including a representation of an auroch's head and a stag. A 2023 study published in the journal Antiquity catalogued more than 110 paintings deep inside the cave. Cave bear (Ursus spelaeus) claw marks that overlap with some of the paintings suggest the art is more than 24,000 years old, because cave bears went extinct in Europe around this time, according to the study.

眾所周知，Cova de Les Dones擁有鐵器時代的陶瓷和史前岩石藝術，包括代表Auroch的頭和雄鹿。 2023年發表在《古代雜誌》上的一項研究，在洞穴內深處編目了110多種繪畫。這項研究稱，與某些繪畫重疊的洞穴熊（Ursus spelaeus）爪標記表明藝術已有24000多年的歷史，因為這段時間大約在歐洲滅絕。

Romans may have performed rituals in the cave during the first century A.D., the new findings indicate. "This discovery confirms the continuity of the site's ritual use throughout different historical periods," Ruiz-Redondo said.

新發現表明，羅馬人可能在公元一世紀在洞穴中進行了儀式。魯伊斯·雷東多說：“這一發現證實了該網站在不同歷史時期的儀式使用的連續性。”

—Ancient humans used cave in Spain as burial spot for 4 millennia, 7,000 bones reveal

- 古代人類在西班牙使用洞穴作為埋葬地點，佔4千年，骨頭揭示了7,000個骨頭

—Lasers reveal Roman-era circus in Spain where 5,000 spectators watched horse-drawn chariot races

- 賴斯斯在西班牙揭示羅馬時代的馬戲團，5,000名觀眾觀看了馬拉戰車比賽

—2,500-year-old slate containing drawings of battle scenes and paleo-alphabet discovered in Spain

—2,500年曆史的石板，其中包含戰斗場景的圖紙和西班牙發現的古al-Alphabet

The Roman inscriptions are located roughly 660 feet (200 meters) from the cave entrance. The Cova de les Dones consists of a single, 1,640 foot-deep (500 m) chamber and opens onto a steep canyon, according to the 2023 study.

羅馬銘文位於距離洞穴入口的660英尺（200米）的位置。根據2023年的研究，Cova de Les Dones由一個1,640英尺深（500 m）的腔室組成，並打開陡峭的峽谷。

Large sections of the cave remain unexplored, so archaeologists will likely find more evidence of ancient human activity in the coming years, according to the statement. Even the known sections of prehistoric art could yield surprises, as researchers have only studied one-fifth of the paintings in detail so far.

聲明說，洞穴的大部分仍未開發，因此考古學家可能會在未來幾年找到更多古代人類活動的證據。即使是史前藝術的已知部分也可能產生驚喜，因為研究人員迄今僅研究了五分之一的繪畫。