Archaeology And Conservation Along The Silk Road

Supported by Eurasia Pacific Uninet, the second international conference on "Archaeology and Conservation along the Silk Road" was jointly organized by Nanjing University China and Institute of Conservation, University of Applied Arts Vienna and held in May 2016 in China. Silk Road showcases the trans-continental cultural movements between Europe and Asia and this event encouraged researchers to reflect on popular as well as otherwise under-represented topics. This volume includes selected papers from the conference and merges aspects of archaeology with conservation. Subjects vary from field drawings, unique local techniques, spread of diseases and epidemics to DNA studies assessing population migration and mixture. Next Silk Road conference is planned for 2018 to carry forward the initiative of learning and exchange of knowledge.

The third international conference on "Archaeology and Conservation along the Silk Road" was met with as much enthusiasm as the earlier ones, with participants joining from near and far. The historic city of Tabriz, which once was the melting pot for cultures across the Silk Road(s), now as venue of this conference from 14–16 November 2018, facilitated dialogues to re-live, re-exchange and re-search the impact that Silk Road has had from then to now. Albeit a century-old topic of academic discourse, the Silk Road(s) continues to open up variety of new disciplinary and regional fronts; included in this volume. The Research Institute for Cultural Heritage and Tourism, Iran, collaborated with the Nanjing University, China, and the Institute of Conservation, University of Applied Arts Vienna, Austria, for this congress, which saw plenty of scientific studies on material heritage and their resultant significance in shaping the lifestyle and trade in different regions along the Silk Road(s).

This book presents recent research on ancient Silk Road wall paintings, providing an up-to-date analysis of their coloring materials and techniques, and of developments in efforts to preserve them. The destruction of the Bamiyan Buddhas in 2001 encouraged international collaboration between conservation research institutes to study and protect the Silk Road’s painted heritage. The collaborations led to exciting new discoveries of the rich materials used in wall painting, including diverse pigments and colorants, and various types of organic binding media. In addition, comparative research across the region revealed shared painting practices that indicate the sophisticated exchange of technologies and ideas. In parallel with these advances in technical understanding, greater awareness and sensitivity has been fostered in endeavors to preserve this fragile heritage. The book offers insights obtained from conservation projects and ongoing research, that encompass the geographical regions and periods related to the Silk Road, including from Japan, China, Korea, India and Afghanistan, and countries of the Eastern Mediterranean region. It also discusses the current issues and future challenges in the field. Featuring concise chapters, the book is a valuable resource for students and professionals in the field of cultural heritage preservation, as well as those who are not familiar with the fascinating topic of Silk Road wall painting research.

At the Mogao grottoes, a World Heritage Site near Dunhuang in the Gobi Desert, generations of Buddhist monks created hundreds of rock temples. Nearly five hundred of these grottoes remain, lined with painted clay sculptures and wall paintings that depict legends, portraits, customs, and the arts of China over a one-thousand-year period. This volume of symposium proceedings marks the culmination of the first phase of the Getty Conservation Institute’s collaborative project with the State Bureau of Culture Relics of the People’s Republic of China and the Dunhuang Academy.

In ancient and medieval times, the Silk Road was of great importance to the transport of peoples, goods, and ideas between the East and the West. A vast network of trade routes, it connected the diverse geographies and populations of China, the Eurasian Steppe, Central Asia, India, Western Asia, and Europe. Although its main use was for importing silk from China, traders moving in the opposite direction carried to China jewelry, glassware, and other exotic goods from the Mediterranean, jade from Khotan, and horses and furs from the nomads of the Steppe. In both directions, technology and ideologies were transmitted. The Silk Road brought together the achievements of the different peoples of Eurasia to advance the Old World as a whole. The majority of the Silk Road routes passed through the Eurasian Steppe, whose nomadic people were participants and mediators in its economic and cultural exchanges. Until now, the origins of these routes and relationships have not been examined in great detail. In The Prehistory of the Silk Road, E. E. Kuzmina, renowned Russian archaeologist, looks at the history of this crucial area before the formal establishment of Silk Road trade and diplomacy. From the late Neolithic period to the early Bronze Age, Kuzmina traces the evolution of the material culture of the Steppe and the contact between civilizations that proved critical to the development of the widespread trade that would follow, including nomadic migrations, the domestication and use of the horse and the camel, and the spread of wheeled transport. The Prehistory of the Silk Road combines detailed research in archaeology with evidence from physical anthropology, linguistics, and other fields, incorporating both primary and secondary sources from a range of languages, including a vast accumulation of Russian-language scholarship largely untapped in the West. The book is complemented by an extensive bibliography that will be of great use to scholars.

This book is a collection of Nai Xia’s quintessential works on Silk Road studies. A key resource in the field of Silk Road Archaeology, it features in-depth content, a broad range of material, careful textual research, and meticulous analysis. With thorough investigations of foreign coinage, silk textiles, and artifacts with foreign styles excavated in different parts of China, it explores the exchange between ancient China and Central Asia, Western Asia, and Europe. In particular, this book provides detailed descriptions of the economic and cultural ties between ancient China, Pre-Islamic Arabia, the Sasanian Empire, and the Byzantine Empire. The research propounds innovative theories on the history and evolution of East-West transportation routes, i.e., the overland Silk Road and the Maritime Silk Road. Based on the study of ancient relics and excavated artifacts, it points out that cultural exchange along the Silk Road was never unilateral, but instead, mutual influence and cooperation were obvious. Since ancient times, countries along the Silk Road have had a tradition of amicable foreign relations and the promotion of common interests. The book is intended for academics, scholars and researchers.