09 The Iron Age

The Iron Age

铁器时代

A new discovery Nearly 3,000 years ago, people discovered a metal called iron. This was the start of a time known as the Iron Age. This is an iron ornament called a firedog. A wealthy Iron Age family used it to decorate the fireplace in their home.

近3000年前，人们发现了一种叫做铁的金属。 这就是铁器时代的开始。 这是一种叫做“火狗”的铁装饰品。 铁器时代一个富裕的家庭用它来装饰家里的壁炉。

Made of iron Iron was strong. People used it to make tools, cooking pots and weapons. Iron tools were used to dig up the ground and plant crops. People cooked food over their fires in iron pots. Horses had iron and leather harnesses to pull carts.

铁是坚固的。 人们用它来制造工具、炊具和武器。 铁制工具被用来挖地和种植庄稼。 人们用铁锅在火上做饭。 马有铁制和皮制的挽具来拉车。

Weapons were made with iron blades. This is an Iron Age dagger from Spain. Its blade has an iron cover called a scabbard. Part of the scabbard is missing. This is because very old iron rusts away.

武器是用铁刀片制成的。 这是一把铁器时代的西班牙匕首。 它的刀刃有一个叫做鞘的铁盖。 鞘的一部分不见了。 这是因为非常古老的铁会生锈。

How was it made? Most iron was made in a very hot oven called a furnace. A craftsman then shaped the iron. This is how a sword was made. To make the furnace very hot, air was blown into it using tools called bellows. A rock called iron ore was put into the furnace. Heating the rock made iron. The craftsman used a hammer to shape the hot iron into a sword. Finally, he plunged the sword into cold water. This made the iron stronger.

它是如何制作的？大多数铁是在一个叫做炉子的非常热的烤箱里制造的。 然后，一个工匠塑造了铁。 剑就是这样制成的。 为了使炉子变得非常热，人们用一种叫做风箱的工具把空气吹进去。 一种叫做铁矿石的岩石被放进熔炉里。 把岩石加热制成铁。 工匠用锤子把热铁打成一把剑。 最后，他把剑投入冷水中。 这使铁更坚固。

Craftsmen decorated iron things with glass and other metals. These are parts of a horse's harness. The patterns are made from stained glass and copper.

工匠们用玻璃和其他金属装饰铁器。 这些是马具的一部分。 图案由彩色玻璃和铜制成。