[French, short for à la mode de, in the manner of.]
Within hours of the wedding announcement, memorabilia manufactures were already making everything from upmarket copies of the engagement ring to china plates featuring Kate and William. Nik Martin reports from London.
一株有1.1萬年歷史的巨大的樹幹樹皮依然保存完整。
考古學家們聲稱他們發現了已知的英國最古老的房子，迄今為止已經有大約1.1萬年的歷史。
這個圓形的建築位於英國北部北約克郡（North Yorkshire）斯卡伯勒市（Scarborough）附近的斯塔卡（Star Carr）考古遺址。
考古學家推測，這個直徑為3.5米的圓形建築建造於公元前8500年，比早先科學家們發現的英國最古老房屋還要早上500年。
來自曼徹斯特大學和約克大學的考古小組成員還在房屋附近發現了一個木製碼頭廢墟，他們一致認為這是在歐洲出現的最古老的木工作業。
約克大學的考古學家尼奇·米爾奈（Nicky Milner）表示，這一發現非常罕見，令人難以置信。最重要的是，這些考古證據改變了現代人對於古代獵人的一些固有認識。
他說，「這實在是個顛覆性的發現。之前我們認為古代獵人更像牧民，他們的移動性非常強。然而現在我們發現他們更樂於在某個地方長期居住下來，一代一代過著遠比我們想像的要複雜得多的生活。」
第一批定居者
考古學家認為，房屋的建造者是冰河世紀末期第一批來英國長期居住的定居者。研究人員還發現， 這座房屋被拋棄前至少使用了200年到500年。另外，該房屋曾經被翻修過，在該建築附近也極有可能出現類似的建築。
這些考古證據意味著，這個時期的人類更願意在某地長期定居下來，而非經常性的「遷徙」到別處。
打獵生活
居住在斯塔卡的古代人靠打獵為生，他們在家犬的幫助下捕殺麋鹿和野豬等動物為食。研究人員還發現了一個巨大的樹幹，儘管經過1.1萬年的風吹雨淋，樹皮依然保存完整。
曼徹斯特大學的尚塔爾·柯奈勒（Chantal Conneller）說，「我們曾經以為古代人不樂意定居，幾乎沒留下什麼證據。現在我們知道他們曾經建造過大型建築，也非常樂意在某些特定的風景環境下長期居住下來。」
考古隊員們還收到了來自高等教育部長大衛·維萊茨（David Willetts）的祝賀。他說，「這個偉大的發現讓我們更清楚的認識到了現代和古代生活的相似與差異，也徹底地改變了我們的固有認識。」
Wikipedia: Star Carr |
Star Carr is a Mesolithic archaeological site in North Yorkshire, England. It is around five miles south of Scarborough (grid reference TA02798100).[1]
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The site belongs to the early Mesolithic and was occupied from around 8770 BC until about 8460 BC, possibly with a period of abandonment between 8680 BC and 8580 BC.[2] It was discovered in 1947 during the clearing of a field drain by John Moore, an archaeologist from Scarborough. It was then excavated from 1949-1951 by Professor Grahame Clark of the University of Cambridge.
Clark found what he called a brushwood platform which appeared on the edge of the former Lake Flixton.[3] The platform would have been laid down to consolidate the boggy water's edge. Recent excavations have revealed that people would have lived on the dry land upslope of the lake and at the lake edge various activities would have been carried out.
There is much debate about when in the year it was occupied. Mesolithic people hunted a number of animals including red and roe deer, elk, aurochs and wild boar.[2] but there are various seasonal assessments and as the site was occupied over several hundred years it is likely that seasonal practices varied over time.
The mud of the lake has preserved items dropped into it and flint, bone and antler tools and manufacturing debris have been found. The flint came from nearby beaches, which at time of occupation would have been about 10-20 km distant, and also from the Yorkshire Wolds immediately to the south of the site.
A fragment of a wooden oar implies that the people who occupied the site also built boats, probably coracles or simple canoes used to travel or fish. There was also occupation on some of the islands on the lake which confirms the use of boats. Beads made from stone and amber suggest personal adornment. Remains of a dog are indication of the animal's domestication during this period.
The most famous finds are the headdresses made from red deer skulls with the antlers still attached. The skull had two holes perforated in it and it has been suggested that it was used as a hunting disguise, or in some form of ritual practice. Recent work suggests that these, along with other objects made from red deer antler, appear to have been respectfully deposited at the lake edge due to the spiritual significance of red deer to the people who occupied the site.
Excavations at Star Carr are currently being undertaken by a team from the University of York and University of Manchester, led by leading experts Nicky Milner, Chantal Conneller and Barry Taylor.
In August 2010, the team announced that they had discovered the oldest known house in Britain, dated to 10,500 years before the present. The Star Carr house was comparable to an Iron Age roundhouse, about 3.5 metres (11 ft) wide and made of wood. It is believed to have been used for between 200-500 years after its construction.[4]
在西倫敦的賽恩公園的羅馬人部分遺骸。
考古學家近日在西倫敦發現了古羅馬時期的重要文物，以及當時羅馬人的部分遺骸。
考古學家們在西倫敦的賽恩公園（Syon Park）發現了超過11,000件羅馬時期的文物，這些重要的文物只被埋在距地下半米的地方。
除此之外，科學家們還發現了一部分羅馬不列顛（Roman Britain）最重要的公路。
幸運之極
據初步統計，倫敦考古學博物館的專家們總共發現了11,500件文物、100多枚硬幣，以及一些珠寶首 飾。對此，高級考古學家喬·里昂（Jo Lyon）表示，「能在離地面如此之近的位置發現這麼豐富的羅馬文物，對於我們來說可謂幸運之極。」里昂女士還說，「這些發現告訴我們當時的人們是如何在 村莊中生活、工作，並死亡的。同時，這些文物還得以幫助我們了解當時的朗蒂尼亞姆（Londinium），即今天的倫敦是如何將羅馬不列顛的其他地方聯繫 起來的。」
據了解，科學家們早在2008年就挖掘了此地，然而直到最近才取得了這些重大發現。
10名考古學家花了兩個月時間挖掘這個古羅馬遺址。
科學家們還發現了一部分羅馬不列顛最重要的公路——正是這條路，得以將當時的朗蒂尼亞姆，和位於如今英格蘭南部的羅馬城市西爾切斯特（Silchester），以及泰晤士河的一條古代支流緊密相連。
然而在所有發現中，最讓里昂女士激動的是那100多枚羅馬錢幣。她說，「能一下子發現這麼多的錢幣真是太好了。他們就被散落在羅馬路兩邊，最重要的是這些錢幣來自各個不同的時期。」
諾森伯蘭公爵（The Duke of Northumberland）家族的寓所就在賽恩公園，已有長達400多年的歷史。他說，「賽恩公園有著豐富輝煌的歷史。這無疑將成為古代英國歷史的重要地標。」
Syon House, with its 200-acre (80 hectare/800,000 m²) park, is situated in west London, England. It belongs to the Duke of Northumberland and is now his family's London residence. The family's traditional central London residence was Northumberland House.
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Syon House derives its name from Syon Abbey, a medieval monastery of the Bridgettine Order, founded in 1415 on a nearby site by King Henry V. The Abbey moved to the site now occupied by Syon House in 1431. In 1539, the abbey was closed by royal agents during the Dissolution of the Monasteries, and the monastic community was expelled.[1]
In 1541 and part of the following year, Henry VIII's fifth wife, Catherine Howard, was brought to Syon for her long imprisonment. In February 1542, she was taken to the Tower of London and executed on charges of adultery.
In the late 17th century, Syon was in the possession of Charles Seymour, 6th Duke of Somerset, through his wife, Elizabeth Seymour (née Percy). After the future Queen Anne had a disagreement with her sister, Mary II (wife of William III, also known as William of Orange), over her friendship with Sarah Churchill, Countess of Marlborough, she was evicted from her court residence at the Palace of Whitehall and stayed at Syon with her close friends, the Somersets, in 1692. Anne gave birth to a stillborn child there. Shortly after the birth, Mary came to visit her, again demanding that Anne dismiss the Countess of Marlborough, and stormed out again when Anne flatly refused.
In the 18th century, Hugh Percy, 1st Duke of Northumberland, commissioned architect and interior designer Robert Adam and landscape designer Lancelot "Capability" Brown to redesign the house and estate. Work began on the interior reconstruction project in 1762. Five large rooms on the west, south and east sides of the House, were completed before work ceased in 1769. A central rotunda, which Adams had intended for the interior courtyard space, was not implemented, due to cost.[2]
Syon Park borders the Thames, looking across the river to Kew Gardens, and near its banks is a tidal meadow flooded twice a day by the river. It contains more than 200 species of rare trees. Although the park and lake were designed by Capability Brown in 1760, their character today is nineteenth century. The circular pool has a copy of Giambologna's Mercury.
The Great Conservatory in the gardens, designed by Charles Fowler in 1828[3] and completed in 1830, was the first conservatory to be built from metal and glass on a large scale. The conservatory was shown in a dream sequence in Meera Syal's 1993 film Bhaji on the Beach. It was also the setting for the music video to The Cure's 1984 single "The Caterpillar", directed by Tim Pope.
Henry Percy, 11th Duke of Northumberland, who was head of the family from 1988 to 1995, was noted for planting many trees in the grounds of Syon.
In 2002, the English poet Geoffrey Hill released a booklength poem, "The Orchards of Syon", to much acclaim. "The Orchards of Syon", focuses on the history of the region and in particular on the orchard of rare trees first planted in Syon Abbey.
Robert Altman's 2001 film Gosford Park was partly filmed at Syon House.
The London Butterfly House was based in the grounds of Syon Park until its closure on 28 October 2007 due to the Duke of Northumberland's plans to build a hotel complex on the land.[4]
In 2004, planning permission was granted for the deluxe £35-million Radisson Edwardian Hotel[5] but was never actually built. Work on a Hilton Hotel started in December 2008 and is expected to open mid-2010.[6]
In November 2010, the results from an archaeological dig made two years before on the site of the new hotel were reported, with the excavations uncovering the remains of a Roman village that existed in what was then the rural outskirts of Londinium. Artifacts uncovered included 11,500 pottery fragments, 100 coins, and pieces of jewellery. Some of finds remain unexplained, such as the discovery of skeletons "buried in ditches placed on their side". Although the skeletons date from the Roman period, this burial practice was said by the senior archaeologist to be "more suggestive of unknown prehistoric rites than Roman practice".[7]
Syon House was one of the wealthiest nunneries in the country and a local legend recalls that the monks of Shean had a Ley tunnel running to the nunnery at Syon.[8]
 | Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Syon House |
The Fourth Plinth, in the north-west of Trafalgar Square, was originally intended for an equestrian statue but was empty for many years. It is now the location for specially commissioned artworks.
Nelson's Ship in a Bottle, by leading Anglo-Nigerian artist Yinka Shonibare MBE, was unveiled in Trafalgar Square on Monday 24 May 2010.
It is the first commission on the Fourth Plinth to reflect specifically on the historical symbolism of Trafalgar Square, which commemorates the Battle of Trafalgar.
It is also the first commission by a black British artist.
Visit the Fourth Plinth website for information about the next art works that are proposed for the Fourth Plinth - and let us know what you think of them.
From 6 July to 14 October 2009 the Fourth Plinth in the north west of the square was home to Antony Gormley's One & Other, an astonishing living monument. He asked the people of the UK to occupy the empty Fourth Plinth in Trafalgar Square, a space normally reserved for statues of kings and generals, in an image of themselves, and a representation of the whole of humanity.
The plinth was occupied by different people - chosen by ballot - every hour, 24 hours a day, for 100 days.
'What artwork has ever given 2,400 ordinary people the chance to become art itself?' (Alex Needham, The Guardian)
Thomas Schütte’s Model for a Hotel, an architectural model constructed in specially engineered red, yellow and blue glass, was unveiled in November 2007 and occupied the plinth until the end of May 2009.
Marc Quinn's sculpture Alison Lapper Pregnant was the first new commission for the Fourth Plinth under the auspices of the Mayor of London’s Fourth Plinth Commissioning Group. It was in place in the square from September 2005 until October 2007.
The Fourth Plinth programme is part of the vision for Trafalgar Square to be a vibrant public space and to encourage debate about the place and value of public art in the built environment.
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此等風景在台灣就算沒引發政治風暴、也必然慘遭叩應節目道德圍勦，在倫敦卻是平常風景。倫敦地標特拉法加廣場裡矗立一根高齡160歲的巨柱「第四基座」，是藝術kuso歷史與偉人的歡樂舞台。 特拉法加廣場是為紀念1805年的特拉法加戰役而建。它在倫敦的地位，一如北京的天安門、台北的自由廣場。 廣場四角上有四個雕塑基座，其中三個放的都是將軍或國王雕像，唯西北角的第四基座懸缺。該基座原本計畫放上威廉四世國王的騎馬雕像，卻一拖150年都沒 「到位」。直到1999年，皇家人文學會提議將此基座做為當代藝術舞台。由名流要人組成委員會，對外公開徵選藝術家針對第四基座設計作品，一兩年更換一 次。 第一個登上寶座的是Mark Wallinger的「瞧！這個人。」他將一個市井小民的雕像戴上象徵耶穌的荊棘冠冕，象徵小人物在歷史上的地位，不遜於其他三座基座上的政治、軍事領袖。 2004年Marc Quinn在第四基座放上殘障藝術家Alison Lapper懷著八月身孕的裸體塑像，以殘缺、女性的形象對抗四周的男性歷史領袖，轟動一時。 去年中選的藝術家Antony Gorm，則讓人人都有機會登上歷史舞台。他邀請志願者登上第四基座，每人以一小時為限，可攜帶任何東西做任何想做的事。這次的展覽吸引了2400位「人體雕像」，第一位站上寶座的是一位家庭主婦，在基座上呼籲英國重視兒童保護組織。 第四基座曾因經費不足，空置了兩年。其間被粉絲偷偷放上足球金童貝克漢和英式橄欖球星Jonny Wilkinson的蠟像。歷經十年風風雨雨，「第四基座」從最早被認為「不倫不類」，逐步成為全城關注的重量級當代藝術展場，倫敦人也從中學會對歷史的 批判反省與對不同意見的包容。 台灣藝術家也曾試著在蔣公雕像身旁放上五彩繽紛的風箏、或在景美人權園區放上純白的羽毛，這些藝術對歷史的探索，卻總在激情的政治風暴中轉瞬消失無蹤。什麼時候，我們也能擁有包容藝術與歷史、人人可表達意見的「第四基柱」呢？ |
牛津基督聖殿學院:
摘訪問或遊覽，都可以體會到這裏真可謂每塊石頭都是一部編年史。
Spotlight:
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| Finding Guy Fawkes |
Quote:
Thursday, 4 November 2010
Google committed a "significant breach" of data protection laws when its Street View cars "mistakenly" collected people's email addresses and passwords over unsecured WiFi networks, the Information Commissioner has ruled. However, the company escaped a fine and was asked only to promise not to do it again.
Information Commissioner Christopher Graham said Google had broken the law when devices installed on its specialised cars collected the personal data. He told the company to delete the information "as soon as it is legally cleared to do so" and ordered an audit of its data protection practices.
Google admitted in May that it had collected "payload data" – information transmitted over a network when users log on – and said it was "acutely aware" it had failed to earn the public's trust over the incident. In a post published on its official blog on 22 September, the company admitted that "in some instances entire emails and URLs were captured, as well as passwords".
Mr Graham said: "It is my view that the collection of this information was not fair or lawful and constitutes a significant breach of the first principle of the Data Protection Act.
"The most appropriate and proportionate regulatory action in these circumstances is to get written legal assurance from Google that this will not happen again." He added that it would be followed with an Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) audit.
Peter Fleischer, Google's lawyer, said the company was "profoundly sorry for mistakenly collecting" the data. He added: "Since we announced our mistake in May we have co-operated closely with the ICO and worked to improve our internal controls. As we have said before, we did not want this data, have never used any of it, and have sought to delete it as quickly as possible. We are in the process of confirming that there are no outstanding legal obligations upon us to retain the data, and will then ensure that it is quickly and safely deleted."
The Metropolitan Police recently announced that they would not launch a criminal inquiry into the incident. The decision came after the US Federal Trade Commission ruled out direct action, while registering concerns that the information was collected.
The ICO now has plans to set up a panel of technology experts to advise the watchdog on the changing landscape of protecting privacy.
Alex Deane, director of the civil liberties blog Big Brother Watch, said: "The Information Commissioner's failure to take action is disgraceful. Ruling that Google has broken the law but taking no action against it shows the Commissioner to be a paper tiger. The Commissioner is an apologist for the worst offender in his sphere of responsibility, not a policeman of it."
The problem was uncovered in Germany and Google has since been found to have broken privacy laws in Canada and Australia as well as the UK.
The company's CEO, Eric Schmidt, stirred up controversy when he issued a warning to users about the trail of information they leave online, suggesting that many will be forced one day to change their names to escape their recorded digital past. He also told those who were unhappy at having their homes on Google Street View – for which the cars in question were taking photographs – that they "can just move".
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