Human remains of ancient settlements will be reburied and lost to science under a law that threatens research into the history of humans in Britain, a group of leading archeologists says. In a letter addressed to the justice secretary, Ken Clarke, 40 archaeologists write of their “deep and widespread concern” about the issue. It centers on the law introduced by the Ministry of Justice in 2008 which requires all human remains unearthed in England and Wales to be reburied within two years, regardless of their age. The decision means scientists have too little time to study bones and other human remains of national and cultural significance.
一群杰出的考古学家表示，根据一项威胁到英国人类历史研究的法律，古定居点的人类遗骸将被重新埋葬，被科学所遗忘。在一封写给司法大臣肯·克拉克的信中，40名考古学家写道，他们对这一问题“深表关注”。这一问题的重点是司法部2008年出台的法律，要求英格兰和威尔士出土的所有人类遗骸在两年内重新埋葬，这一决定意味着科学家们研究骨骼和其他具有国家和文化意义的人类遗骸的时间太少了。
“Your current requirement that all archaeologically unearthed human remains should be reburied, whether after a standard period of two years or a further special extension, is contrary to basic principles of archaeological and scientific research and of museum practice,” they write.
他们写道：“目前要求所有考古出土的人类遗骸都应该重新埋葬，无论是在两年的标准期限之后，还是在进一步的特殊延期之后，这都违背了考古、科学研究和博物馆实践的基本原则”。
The law applies to any pieces of bone uncovered at around 400 dig sites, including the remains of 60 or so bodies found at Stonehenge in 2008 that date back to 3,000 BC. Archaeologists have been granted a temporary extension to give them more time, but eventuallly the bones will have to be returned to the ground.
这项法律适用于在大约400个挖掘地点发现的任何骨头碎片，包括2008年在巨石阵发现的，可以追溯到公元前3000年的大约60具尸体遗骸。考古学家已经获得了临时延期，以给他们更多的时间，但最终这些骨头将不得不被送回地面。
The arrangements may result in the waste of future discoveries at sites such as Happisburgh in Norfolk, where digging is continuing after the discovery of stone tools made by early humans 950,000 years ago. If human remains were found at Happisburgh, they would be the oldest in northern Europe and the first indication of what this species was. Under the current practice of the law those remains would have to be reburied and effectively destroyed.
这些安排可能会导致未来在诺福克的哈比斯堡等遗址的发现付诸东流，在发现95万年前早期人类制造的石器之后，挖掘工作仍在继续，它们将是北欧最古老的，也是该物种的首个遗迹。根据目前的法律实践，这些遗骸必须重新埋葬并有效销毁。
Before 2008, guidelines allowed for the proper preservation and study of bones of sufficient age and historical interest, while the Burial Act 1857 applied to more recent remains. The Ministry of Justice assured archaeologists two years ago that the law was temporary, but has so far failed to revise it.
在2008年之前，指导方针允许对具有足够年龄和历史意义的骨骼进行适当的保存和研究，而1857年的《安葬法》适用于较新的遗骸。司法部两年前向考古学家保证，这项法律是暂时的，但至今未能修改。
Mike Parker Pearson, an archaeologist at Sheffield University, said: “Archaeologists have been extremely patient because we were led to believe the ministry was sorting out this problem, but we feel that we cannot wait any longer.”
谢菲尔德大学的考古学家迈克·帕克·皮尔森表示：“考古学家们一直非常耐心，因为我们被说服相信司法部正在解决这个问题，但我们觉得不能再等待了。”
The ministry has no guidelines on where or how remains should be reburied, or on what records should be kept.
司法部没有关于遗体应在何处或如何重新埋葬，或应保存哪些记录的指南。
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