French to English translations [PRO]
Archaeology / Mesolithic | | French term or phrase: témoins de carrière | Can anyone confirm whether I’m on the right track with my suggested translation for “témoins de carrière”? If not, does anyone have an alternative suggestion? (I’m having trouble with the other terms in the list, but, although they’re related, I’m only allowed to list one term at a time, so I am posting a question for each term separately.) The term appears in a text I am translating to be used as part of a museum exhibit on a (Mesolithic) site in Luxembourg. Here is the sentence where it occurs in the text, along with my effort at translating it:
La plupart de ces blocs portent des gravures ou des aménagements qui existent dans toute la région du grès de Luxembourg et dateraient de la fin de la Préhistoire et de la Protohistoire : rainures de polissage, cupules, sillons, glissières, témoins de carrière.
The majority of these rocks are marked with engravings or alterations such as polishing grooves, small cavities, furrows, tracks and evidence of quarrying that can be found throughout the Luxembourg sandstone region and which are believed to date from late prehistory and protohistory.
Or is there such a thing as “quarry markers”, for example?
I presume that all terms in the list refer to markings made during the quarrying process …
Many thanks for any help! |
| Alan CampbellKudoZ activityQuestions: 177 ( 6 open) ( 1 without valid answers) ( 9 closed without grading) Answers: 29
| | Local time: 17:01
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| | evidence of quarrying | Explanation:
I'd go with your own suggestion.
As I read it, the "rainures de polissage, cupules, sillons, glissières" are in part evidence of manufacturing of stone tools, in addition to being "témoins de carrière" --i.e., both "quarrying" (extracting the stones from the bed) and manufacturing took place at this site. |
| Selected response from:
Christopher Crockett
Local time: 12:01
| Grading comment Thanks for your answer. Yes, I think you're right - later on in the text, it says that the site was used as a sandstone quarry. So I've kept my translation. Thanks for your input.
4 KudoZ points were awarded for this answer |
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| Discussion entries: 0 |
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Automatic update in 00:
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1 hr confidence:  
3 hrs confidence: see explanation - remains / evidence of quarries ?
Explanation:
Only guessing here...are you sure that 'carriere' shouldn't have an 's' on the end? I've been looking round the net for you and come up with 'témoins' on archeo' sites with the traditional meaning of indicators/proof/evidence etc...and I looked up carrière in tech dictionary as being a quarry or pit. The dictionary had various for 'témoins', usually with 'indicator' in it...(it could mean 'mark' too..). Could temoins mean 'remains' here?
Found examples on sites:
Indices périphériques
Au Sud de la boucle, Saint-Maur a révélé des témoins importants de l'époque néolithique,.....
Le témoin le plus remarquable de cette carrière est un puits à eau hémicylindrique et son échelle d'étiage
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Note added at 3 hrs (2006-04-02 20:50:22 GMT)
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http://www.uiowa.edu/~zooarch/bffoodshare2003.pdf
found note above translating temoins as 'evidence'....
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Note added at 3 hrs (2006-04-02 20:50:33 GMT)
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http://www.uiowa.edu/~zooarch/bffoodshare2003.pdf
found note above translating temoins as 'evidence'....
Reference: http://www.chez.com/sfes/news.html
| juliebarba
United Kingdom
Local time: 17:01
Native speaker of: English
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| | | Login to enter a peer comment (or grade) |
5 hrs confidence: peer agreement (net): +2 signs of having been quarried
Explanation:
More context might help. Where are these "blocs"? Are they just littered about the countryside, in which case bearing marks would show they had been quarried rather than formed naturally.
| xxxBourth
Local time: 18:01
Native speaker of:  English
PRO pts in category: 57
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20 hrs confidence: evidence of quarrying
Explanation:
I'd go with your own suggestion.
As I read it, the "rainures de polissage, cupules, sillons, glissières" are in part evidence of manufacturing of stone tools, in addition to being "témoins de carrière" --i.e., both "quarrying" (extracting the stones from the bed) and manufacturing took place at this site.
| | | Grading comment | Thanks for your answer. Yes, I think you're right - later on in the text, it says that the site was used as a sandstone quarry. So I've kept my translation. Thanks for your input. |
| | Login to enter a peer comment (or grade) |
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