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<< Our Photo Pages >> Silk Road, North China - Ancient Trackway in China |
Submitted by C_Michael_Hogan on Monday, 19 November 2007 Page Views: 38711
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Other Archaeology Site Name: Silk Road, North China Alternative Name: Northern Silk Road, North Silk Road
Country: China Type: Ancient Trackway
Nearest Town: Xian
Latitude: 34.270000N Longitude: 108.870000E
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Can be driven to, probably with disabled access |
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Short walk on a footpath |
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In the middle of nowhere, a nightmare to find |
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Silk Road, North China submitted by C_Michael_Hogan
 Ancient Trackway in China.
The Silk Road, North China is a prehistoric trackway with an eastern terminus of Xian, an ancient capital of China. This route of was utilised at least as early as the first millennium BC for trade between China and the west; moreover, the Silk Road was used for military campaigns of the Chinese as well as Mongol invaders from the north.
While many associate Marco Polo with the Silk Road, the ancient track was in use two millennia earlier; in fact, the use of the Silk Road declined markedly in the Late Middle Ages after Polo's traversal, due to the ascension of sea routes to serve East-West trading needs. A portion of the North Silk Road is protected by the legendary Great Wall of China to its north. The work herein is based upon my site visit to a small portion of the Silk Road in April, 2007 and upon analysis of historical research. This type of archaeological site is a dream to anyone with a geographic information technology degree and seeing it is a must for anyone that is pursuing any type of archaeological degree. Anyone getting an online MBA degree in archaeology must get out and see places like this, it is a must.
SCOPE AND BASIC ROUTE. The North China Silk Road is one of four "Silk Roads" of antiquity. The scope of the present work is the northern passage of the Silk Road within China. This is the northernmost route of some 2600 kilometres, which connects the ancient Chinese capital of Xian to the west (Ronan, 1994) via the Chinese cities of Baoji, Tianshui (at the headwater gorges of the Wei River), Lanzhou, Dunhuang, over the Wushao Ling Pass to Wuwei and emerging in Kashgar, China before linking to ancient Parthia. This route traverses the provinces of Shaanxi and Gansu as well as the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region. This most northern of the Silk Roads is characterised by its looping north of the Taklamakan Desert.
EARLY CONTACT WITH ROME, PARTHIA, BACTRIA In the first millennium BC silk goods began turning up in Siberia having traveled over the North China Silk Road including the Hexi trail segment. The major turning point in the history of the Silk Road was The Han Emperor Wu dispatching the explorer Zhang Qian to explore the mysterious kingdoms to the west and to form an alliance with the Yuezhi people in order to combat the powerful Mongol tribe of the Xiongnu. (Qian, 109 BC)
Exploring the Dayuan kingdom and its capital Ferghana, under Greek influence from about 400 to 200 BC, Zhang Qian observed a population of several hundred thousand farming wheat, rice and grapes (for wine) inhabiting over 70 fortified cities; The Dayuans were . He found the nomadic Yuezhi people centered 1250 kilometres west of Dayuan north of the Gui River. South of the Gui in present day Afganistan, he also visited Bactria, a kingdom of about one million people with similar urban characteristics to Danyuan. From these encounters he learned of more distant civilisations such as Parthia, whose people farmed grain and grapes and produced silver coins with images of their king; the Parthians were said to write their records on leather.
After Zhang Qian's return, the Han Dynasty allied with the Yuezhi pushed the Xiongnu back and trade and cultural exchange flourished along the northern Silk Road. Goods moving by caravan to the west included gold, rubies, jade, spices, textiles, coral, ivory and art works. In the opposite direction moved bronze weapons, furs, ceramics and cinnamon bark. Along the Silk Road skilled artisans produced fine finished goods from raw silk, fine jewels from crude stones and exquisitely carved jade figures. This "value added" nature of the Silk Road differentiated it from routes merely transporting goods..
Numerous Han envoys were sent west, some parties exceeding 100 members. The Han Dynasty sent one mission to Parthia, which was reciprocated at around 100 BC: Roman emissaries were captured by the Chinese in 30 BC along the Silk Road at Yongchang. Later a Chinese envoy reached the Roman Emperor Augustus Caesar, who reigned between 27 BC and 14 AD; (Florus, 25 BC) Several Roman ambassadors reached China after 166 AD.
BUDDHISM ALONG THE SILK ROAD. The Silk Road was the mechanism for the eastward spread of Buddhism, and impressive ancient monuments testify to that early cultural contact. As a bi-product of the Han Dynasty campaigns against the Xiongnu, returning armies brought back Buddhist artifacts as early as 120 BC. Mogao Cave paintings in Dunhuang (along the Silk Road) describe Emperor Wu worshiping Buddhist statues. (UNESCO, 2007) Later Buddhist influence along the Silk Road is found at the Yungang Grottoes where, beginning in the late 5th century AD, a series of stone carvings were created in 252 caves, producing over 51,000 Buddhas. From these early Buddhist pilgrimages on the Silk Road has derived a profound religious influence on the Chinese people that endures today.
CURRENT SITUATION .Excessive damming of the Shule River and regional livestock overgrazing is causing ongoing desertification in northern China, which is presently threatening the ancient statuary and frescoes of the Yungang caves. (Sheridan, 2007) Rapid expansion of the Kumtag Desert and other dunes formations threaten to engulf Yungang and other archaeological sites, the present rate of total northern China desertification exceeding 1000 square miles per annum..This pattern of questionable resource management impacting archaeological resources is seen elsewhere in modern China such as on the Yangtze River. (Hogan, 2007)
While exploration of the much of the Northern Silk Road is almost as formidable as millennia earlier, some sections of the eastern reaches are traced by modern roads. The area at the terminus in ancient Xian is particularly notable because of the the Terracotta Warriors site established in the Qin Dynasty (Wood, 2002). This display of prehistoric wealth provides a clue of the power base from which the Chinese first embarked to create the Northern Silk Road. Interestingly, the Chinese name for Rome is Da Qin (western counterpart of the Qin capital), reflecting the central role of the Silk Road in connecting the ancient capital of the Qin Dynasty to the west.
REFERENCES.
* Colin A. Ronan and Joseph Needham (1994) ‘'The Shorter Science of Civilisation in China'‘, Cambridge University Press, England ISBN 052146773X
* Sima Qian (109 to 91 BC) ‘'Records of the Grand Historian of China. Qin Dynasty''. Translated by Burton Watson in 1993 (The Research Centre for Translation at the Chinese University of Hong Kong); New York, Columbia University Press). ISBN 0-231-08168-5
* Florus (c. 25 BC) ‘'Epitome de T. Livio Bellorum omnium annorum DCC Libri duo'', Loeb Classical Library (no. 231, published in translation 1984, ISBN 0-674-99254-7)
* (2007) UNESCO World Heritage Site: Mogao Caves, China
* (2007) UNESCO World Heritage Site: Yungang Caves, China
* Michael Sheridan (Nov 11, 2007) London Times Online, England
* C.Michael Hogan (2007) ''Shen Nong Gorge Hanging Coffins'', The Megalithic Portal, ed. A. Burnham
* Francis Wood (2002) ‘'The Silk Road: Two Thousand Years in the Heart of Asia'‘, University of California Press, Berkeley, California
(The above work is original work performed by C. Michael Hogan for the Megalithic Portal)
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Bank Team Supports Archaeological Dig of 7,000-Year-Old Silk Road Find (Score: 1)
by coldrum on Friday, 02 October 2009
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Bank Team Supports Archaeological Dig of 7,000-Year-Old Silk Road Find
Since the World Bank works in more than 100 countries, the projects it supports often come along interesting cultural treasures. But road construction in Georgia recently unearthed a “chance” find along the route of the old fabled Silk Road that have been described as one of the most “unique and important” archaeological sites of the Caucasus region.
In May, workers repairing the country’s main east-west highway artery struck a treasure trove of urns, tools, and spearheads dating back to the Paleolithic Age of 300,000 years ago and up to the Late Hellenistic Period of the 1st century BC. In one part of the complex, workers found a Mesopotamian cylinder seal used for stamping legal agreements in 300 BC and in another, tiles from the same era reveal the existence of a temple with a ritual hearth, podium, and bread-baking oven.
On one hand, the archaeological find does not come as a surprise. The site lies on the route of the Silk Road, which carried goods, slaves, silk and spices between Asia, Europe, Africa and the Mediterranean for millennia and gave rise to some of the great cities of ancient times. On the other hand, though, the treasures lying under the hillside of the small town of Igoeti might have gone undiscovered had it not been for the repairing of the East-West Highway, says Vakhtang Licheli, Prof. of Archaeology, Director of the Institute of Archaeology and Ethnology at the Tbilisi State University, who is heading the excavation works.
“If it were not for the road upgrading works financed by the World Bank, this unique archeological site might be found years and years later, or might not be found at all,” Licheli said during a recent visit to the site. “Owing to its location, richness and cultural diversity of finds, and wide chronological limits, Grakliani Gora seems to be one of the most unique and important archeological sites of the Central Transcaucasus. On this hill, we can actually trace back economic, cultural, commercial development of society and their relations to other regions during the course of 7 000 years.”
Back in 2004, when the Georgian government first discussed the Bank’s support for repairing and modernizing the “East-West Highway” and converting it from two to four lanes, the Bank triggered its policy on “Physical Cultural Resources,” or known in Bank parlance as OP/BP 4.11. Among other things, the project stipulated the possibility of such a find in the vicinity of the Igoeti By-pass and Igoeti-Sveneti section of the highway, owing to the fact, that both run near important archaeological sites and monuments. The Environmental Impact Assessment report in August 2007 “outlines measures to avoid and/or minimize project impacts on identified cultural properties and will include procedures for managing chance finds during construction works.”
Today, the World Bank is offering support to the Georgian government to ensure the cultural resources discovered in Igoeti are being taken care of. The road construction activities were halted to give archaeologists enough time and space to properly care for the gravesites and ancient treasures, and facilitating the excavation process. They resumed few days ago after the archaeological work had been completed.
Asad Alam, the Bank’s Tbilisi-based regional director for the South Caucasus, said during a recent visit that he was “absolutely fascinated” by the richness of the culture reflected in the artifacts found. “It is extremely important to make sure that the excavations are done properly, and these cultural finds are preserved for history,” he said during a recent site visit. “Construction of the road will take place in due course, but it is important to pause, to stop, and to provide the necessary time and resources, and space that the archeologists need in order to protect this particular find properly.”
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Re: Silk Road, Xian to the Caspian Sea. (Score: 0)
by Anonymous on Wednesday, 30 September 2009 |
| I have actually travelled most of the Silk Road from Xian in China through Central Asia and across the Steppes as far as the Caspian Sea, over a period of several years, and, unwittingly, at the time, I have travelled many of the feeder routes throughout Northern Africa, Europe and the former Soviet Union. The routes from and to Central Asia and Turkey are now the the main highway from and to Central Asia, and I have also experienced a rare sight in this rapidly modernizing world, of sitting in a 'Chai Khana' or rest stop, and eating grapes and drinking green tea, watching endless colums of heavy duty trucks carrying imported goods from the outside world, to the former 'Stans' of Central Asia, and watching an equally busy out flow of agricultural and forest products, and other exports heading westwards along the old Silk Route, along with caravans of camels plodding along the highway, almost oblivious to the roar of the trucks, particularly, in Kazakstan, Kygistan, and Uzbekistan. The ancient caravaserais have over the milenia become major cities, and along these roads came Islam, and then amultitude of invaders. The passing of one despot after another, brought with them short lived ideologies. From Bukara, Samakhan and Almaty, people have endured, the only difference is that while they have absorbed much from the invaders, they still retain their individual life styles that they and their fathers father . Everywhere you go, you are reminded of the past, in the great mosques, ruins of ancient cities sticking up through the sands of time, And, the future of those cities and countries are still a matter for history to decide if they will ever be able to retain their heritage and independence. There are too many of their leaders who were created by their Soviet masters, and unfornuately, they just changed their hats, but not their way of thinking. Too many of their leaders are as corrupt and oppressive as the Soviets were ,and to a large extent still are. I plan to continue following the Old Silk Road by the summer route of India, up the gulf of Arabia, and into Cairo and along the North African coast to Morocco and ovder to Moorish Spain. |
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Re: Silk Road, North China (Score: 0)
by Anonymous on Tuesday, 04 March 2008 |
| Nice job on the article and info Michael! I really needed it! |
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Re: Silk Road, North China (Score: 0)
by Anonymous on Tuesday, 04 March 2008 |
| I am liking the reporty thing! Nice job on it people who wrote this! |
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