纪录片《大英博物馆世界简史》 040银色霍克森胡椒瓶(1)（在线收听）

For thousands of years western Europeans have been entranced by the spices of the east. Long before curry became the British national dish, we dreamed of transforming our dull island food with exotic flavours from India. For the poet George Herbert, the phrase "the land of spices" evoked a metaphorical perfection at once unimaginably remote and infinitely desirable. So it's perhaps not surprising that spice has, through the centuries, always been not just high poetry but big business. The spice trade between the Far East and Europe funded the Portuguese and Dutch empires and provoked many bloody wars. Already at the beginning of the fifth century, it was a trade that embraced the whole of the Roman Empire. When in 408 barbarian Visigoths attacked the city of Rome, they were induced to leave only on the payment of a huge ransom that included gold, silver, large quantities of silk and one further luxury, a ton of pepper. This precious spice had made its lucrative way all over the Roman Empire, from India to East Anglia. And that's where this programme's object was found.

数千年前，东方的香料便已传入西欧。在咖喱成为一道英国国菜之前，不列颠人老早就盼望着来自印度的异域风味能对这个岛国闻沉闷的食物有所调剂。对诗人乔治·赫伯特来说，“香料国度”是一个完美的比喻，唤起了人们对远方的无尽想象与无尽渴望。因此，千百年来，香料既是诗歌的主题，也是贸易的主角。远东与欧洲之间的香料贸易让葡萄牙荷兰大获其利，同时也引发了无数场血腥战争。公元5世纪初，香料买卖已遍布罗马全境。公元408年，西哥特人进军罗马，退兵的条件是巨额赔款，包括黄金，白银，大量的丝绸以及一吨胡椒。这种珍贵的香料在整个罗马帝国闻境内都大有市场，从印度一直到本节物品的发现地东安格利亚。