纪录片《大英博物馆世界简史》 057海德薇玻璃杯（8）

"Acre, which is now in Israel, became the most important commercial port in the eastern Mediterranean¹, which meant that shipping² from the West was bringing out European cloth and bringing back to the West spices. And we have a fascinating list of commodities traded in the port of Acre in the middle of the thirteenth century, with the customs duties that were due on each commodity. And that mentions Muslim pottery³. It doesn't actually mention these glass beakers, but it mentions Muslim pottery as one of the main items that would have been taxed. So the appearance or survival of beakers of this sort in Europe has to be seen in the context of the enormous trade between the West and the Levant, and further east to furthest Asia, that was passing through a Crusader port."

位于今以色列境内的阿卡是地中海东岸地区最重要的贸易中心。来自西边的船运来欧洲的布匹，换作香料带回欧洲。我们有一张有趣的清单，罗列了十三世纪时在阿卡港交易过的商品，并附有每种商品的关税额。这份清单并没有列出这些玻璃杯，但提到穆斯林的陶器是会被课税的主要商品。因此，欧洲出现以及留存这种玻璃杯的现象，应当由欧洲与黎凡特之间大规模的贸易背景来解释。以这个十字军港口为中转的贸易甚至延伸到了更为遥远的东方乃至亚洲腹地。

1 Mediterranean   

adj.地中海的；地中海沿岸的

参考例句：

• The houses are Mediterranean in character.这些房子都属地中海风格。
• Gibraltar is the key to the Mediterranean.直布罗陀是地中海的要冲。

2 shipping   

n.船运（发货，运输，乘船）

参考例句：

• We struck a bargain with an American shipping firm.我们和一家美国船运公司谈成了一笔生意。
• There's a shipping charge of ￡5 added to the price.价格之外另加五英镑运输费。

3 pottery   

n.陶器，陶器场

参考例句：

• My sister likes to learn art pottery in her spare time.我妹妹喜欢在空余时间学习陶艺。
• The pottery was left to bake in the hot sun.陶器放在外面让炎热的太阳烘晒焙干。