For a hundred years, historians believed that the battle of Thornfield had been fought on the flat ground west of the village. Then a farmer digging a ditch found nineteen lead balls in a field two kilometers to the east.
Metal detectors soon found hundreds more. Their pattern showed two lines of soldiers, the distance between them, and the point where one line broke and ran.
The old maps were not deliberately wrong. They were drawn by writers who had never walked the ground themselves. The lesson, one historian says, is simple: read the letters, but read the soil as well.
一百年來，歷史學家都相信索恩菲爾德之役是在村子西邊的平地上打的。後來一位農夫在挖水溝時，於東邊兩公里處的田裡挖出十九顆鉛彈。
金屬探測器很快又找到數百顆。這些鉛彈的分布顯示出兩列士兵的位置、兩軍之間的距離，以及其中一列潰散奔逃的地點。
舊地圖並不是故意畫錯的。畫圖的人是一些從未親自走過那片土地的作者。一位歷史學家說，教訓很簡單：要讀書信，也要讀土地。
Ships of the Line, 1780 to 1815 — Hall 3, until November 30
Photography without flash is allowed. Bags larger than a school backpack must be left at the door. Groups of more than fifteen should book by telephone one week ahead.
戰列艦，1780 至 1815 年 —— 第三展廳，展至十一月三十日
可拍照但不得使用閃光燈。大於學生背包的包包必須寄放在門口。十五人以上團體請提前一週電話預約。
Dear Professor Hale,
I am writing about the letters my great-grandfather sent home between 1943 and 1945. My family has kept thirty-one of them in a wooden box, and none has ever been read outside the family.
He was a young sailor, and most of the letters say very little about the war itself. He writes about the weather, the food, and a cat that lived on his ship. Yet the silences seem to say a great deal.
Would your department be interested in copies of them? I do not wish to sell anything. I would simply like the letters to be useful to somebody.
Yours sincerely,
Marta Oliveira
親愛的海爾教授：
我來信是想談談我曾祖父在一九四三到一九四五年間寄回家的信。我們家把其中三十一封收在一個木箱裡，從來沒有給家族以外的人看過。
他當時是個年輕水兵，大部分的信幾乎沒提到戰爭本身。他寫的是天氣、伙食，還有一隻住在船上的貓。然而那些沒說出口的部分，似乎透露了很多。
不知道貴系是否有興趣收下這些信的副本？我不打算出售任何東西，只是希望這些信能對某些人有用。
敬上
瑪塔・奧利維拉
Visitor numbers at four history museums in the capital last year.
| Museum | Visitors | Most popular room |
|---|---|---|
| Naval Museum | 210,000 | Ships of the Line |
| Museum of the Empire | 178,000 | Coins and Seals |
| Revolution House | 96,000 | The Printing Room |
| Castle Armory | 54,000 | Armor and Swords |
The Castle Armory is the only one of the four that is free to enter.
去年首都四座歷史博物館的參觀人數。
| 博物館 | 參觀人數 | 最受歡迎展廳 |
|---|---|---|
| 海軍博物館 | 210,000 | 戰列艦 |
| 帝國博物館 | 178,000 | 錢幣與印璽 |
| 革命之家 | 96,000 | 印刷室 |
| 城堡兵器館 | 54,000 | 盔甲與刀劍 |
只有城堡兵器館不收門票。