Ancient Amphitheatre Discovered 發現一古代圓形劇場

By Duncan Kennedy, Rome

媒體英語會帶大家一起學習BBC撰稿人在報道世界大事時常用到的單詞和短語。

Background : 英國的考古學家在一個繁忙的機場跑道附近發掘了一個精美且十分重要的古羅馬圓形劇場。由一所英國大學領導的挖掘小組在坡特斯展開了一場前所未有的最大規模的考古挖掘。坡特斯曾是向羅馬輸送補給的一個古代港口。

It's under the flight path of Rome's modern airport that lies the remains of its ancient seaport, Portus.

A great staging point for goods in and out of Rome and believed to have been twice the size of the port of Southampton.

A team from Southampton and Cambridge Universities working with the British school in Rome are digging out the vast area, but within it what they've found is an even more impressive discovery, an amphitheatre.

They think the vast round structure could have once held up to 2,000 people and was built to entertain VIPs and even emperors as they passed through.

Professor Simon Kay, the project leader said it would have been used for every kind of entertainment.

It makes this one of the most significant archaeological sites in the world today.