British Museum Lectures - Silk Roads

The next instalment in our British Museum Lectures!

We are thrilled to welcome The British Museum back to Bath for an illustrated talk exploring the fascinating history behind the world's most famous trading route, the Silk Roads. This event celebrates the major British Museum exhibition, Silk Roads, which opened on 26th September 2024.

On the Silk Roads...

A richly illustrated publication that explores the networks of contacts and exchanges spanning Afro-Eurasia from 500 - 1000ce, highlighting how the movement of people, objects and ideas shaped cultures and histories. The term 'Silk Road' conjures a range of romantic images; camel caravans crossing desert dunes, merchants trading silk and spices and far-flung commerce between 'East' and 'West'. The reality was far richer. Focusing on a defining period between 500 - 1000ce, this beautifully illustrated book reimagines the Silk Roads as a web of interlocking networks linking Asia, Africa and Europe. From the traces these journeys left behind, we can piece together the remarkable story of people, objects and ideas flowing in all directions, including: ceramics from Tang China recovered from a shipwreck in the Java Sea, sword-fittings set with Indian garnets buried in England, and a selection of letters and legal texts from a synagogue in Cairo revealing a Jewish community's links from India to Al-Andalus. From seafarers to Sogdians, Aksumites and Vikings, both the book and talk are woven with remarkable encounters from those active on the Silk Roads. Join us for the evening and discover the human stories, innovation and transfer of knowledge that emerged, shaping cultures and histories across continents centuries before the formation of today's globalised world.