Archaeologists have unearthed the remnants of a 7,000-year-old road hidden beneath layers of sea mud off the southern Croatian coast.

考古学家在克罗地亚南部海岸的海泥层下挖掘出了一条有7000年历史的道路遗迹。

Made at the sunken Neolithic site of Soline, this exciting find may once have linked the ancient Hvar culture settlement to the now isolated island of Korčula.

这一令人兴奋的发现是在沉没的新石器时代遗址索林(Soline)发现的，它可能曾经将古老的赫瓦尔文化定居点与现在孤立的科尔丘拉岛联系起来。

Once an artificial island, the ancient site of Soline was discovered in 2021 by archaeologist Mate Parica of the University of Zadar in Croatia while he was analyzing satellite images of the water area around Korčula.

索林古遗址曾经是一座人工岛，于2021年由克罗地亚扎达尔大学的考古学家马特·帕里卡发现，当时他正在分析科尔丘拉周围水域的卫星图像。

After spotting something he thought might be human-made on the ocean floor, Parica and a colleague dove to investigate.

在海底发现了一些他认为可能是人类制造的东西后，帕里卡和一位同事潜入水中进行调查。

At a depth of 4 to 5 meters (13 to 16 feet) in the Mediterranean's Adriatic Sea, they found stone walls that may have once been part of an ancient settlement. The landmass it was built upon was separated from the main island by a narrow strip of land.

在地中海亚得里亚海4至5米(13至16英尺)的深度，他们发现了可能曾经是古代定居点的一部分的石墙。它所在的陆地与主岛之间有一条狭长的区域。

"The fortunate thing is that this area, unlike most parts of the Mediterranean, is safe from big waves as many islands protect the coast," Parica told Reuters in 2021. "That certainly helped preserve the site from natural destruction."

“幸运的是，与地中海大部分地区不同，这一地区是安全的，因为有许多岛屿保护着海岸，”帕里卡在2021年告诉路透社。“这当然有助于保护该遗址免受自然破坏。”

The newly discovered prehistoric road has been protected from powerful waves for millennia thanks to these islands too.

这条新发现的史前公路几千年来一直免受巨浪的侵袭，也要归功于这些岛屿。

At around 4 meters (13 feet) wide, the thoroughfare was constructed of carefully stacked stone slabs. Today it's covered in a thick layer of mud, as you might expect for an underwater structure.

这条大道宽约4米(13英尺)，由精心堆叠的石板建造。如今，它被一层厚厚的泥覆盖着，跟你所想象的水下结构一样。

Researchers think that the Neolithic Hvar culture, which once inhabited the eastern Adriatic, constructed the now-submerged Soline settlement and the ancient passageway that connected the islands.

研究人员认为，曾经居住在亚得里亚海东部的新石器时代赫瓦尔文化，建造了这条现在被淹没的索林定居点和连接岛屿的古代通道。

Through radiocarbon analysis of preserved wood, the entire settlement was estimated to date back to approximately 4,900 BCE.

通过对保存下来的木材进行放射性碳分析，估计整个定居点可以追溯到公元前4900年左右。

"People walked on this [road] almost 7,000 years ago," the University of Zadar said in a Facebook statement on its most recent discovery.

扎达尔大学在Facebook上就其最近的发现发表声明说：“大约7000年前，人们就走过这条路。”