Rather than a single trade route between ‘East’ and ‘West’ the Silk Roads were an overlapping network that connected Asia, Africa and Europe. Today, with the help of curators Sue Brunning, Luk Yu-ping, Elisabeth O'Connell and Zumrad Ilyasova, you will journey along the networks of the Silk Roads, following in the footsteps of the people and objects that used them between 500-1000 CE. 00:00 Cooper alloy Buddha found in Helgö, Sweden. 01:06 Introduction to Silk Roads exhibition 03:44 East Asia and the Silk Roads 03:58 Chang'an, Tang China 04:36 Ceramic Bactrian camel from the tomb of Liu Tingxun 05:30 Silk Roads Ship Wreck, Indonesia 06:20 The Library Cave, Mogao Caves, Dunhuang 08:00 Genzia in Cairo, Egypt 08:35 Samarkand and Sogdian merchants 11:45 Silk Roads in the Islamic period 12:34 Earliest known chess pieces in the world 13:12 Islamic and Viking trade 14:35 Red Sea trade and the Silk Roads 14:55 The Kingdom of Aksum 17:00 Fatimid empire in Egypt 18:00 Islamic Spain and Portugal al-Andalus 20:37 Charlemagne and his elephant 21:44 Where the Sutton Hoo treasures come from? 24:09 The Franks Casket Silk Roads EXHIBITION TICKETS: https://shorturl.at/i4tga Supported by The Huo Family Foundation Additional supporters James Bartos The Ruddock Foundation for the Arts Uzbekistan Art and Culture Development Foundation Additional Credits: Secrets of the Belitung shipwreck Images courtesy of Dr Michael Flecker Produced by Screen Size Films Reconstructing the murals in the ‘Hall of the Ambassadors’ Uzbekistan Art and Culture Development Foundation, Samarkand State Museum-Reserve, Northeast Asian History Foundation
Every one of the 8 million objects in the British Museum's Collection has a fascinating story waiting to be discovered. This is just a small sample of those stories, brought to life by the curators, conservators, scientists and artists who work to uncover our collective pasts.

Shorts