The Silk Road was an extensive network of routes linking the great cities of Eurasia, stretching from the shores of the Mediterranean to the Chinese capital, Chang’an. For over a thousand years, it was not merely a trade route but a conduit along which varied civilizations converged and flourished. A century ago, this unique mixture of long-forgotten cultures and exotic geography captured the interest of the Hungarian-born explorer Marc Aurel Stein (1862-1943).
Stein made eight major Silk Road expeditions, travelling tens of thousands of miles over some of the world’s most inhospitable mountains and deserts. He investigated numerous ancient sites which by then were no more than ruins, half-buried by shifting sands. His intrepid explorations, first published in the early 1900s and here retold for a new audience, made him a celebrity.
Today Stein is most famous for his work at a Buddhist site near Dunhuang, an important oasis city on the Silk Road. In 1900 a secret cave was discovered among the many caves dotting the cliff face. Its entrance had been sealed and disguised but, once opened, it yielded an extraordinary hoard of ancient Buddhist finds, preserved in the desert climate since the early eleventh century. In 1907 Stein became the first foreigner to gain access to this secret cave archive, and through his efforts its priceless contents are now preserved as international treasures. Many of the Buddhist paintings and manuscripts found in the cave are reproduced here, along with evocative photographs taken by Stein and his companions - bringing to life the timeless romance of the Silk Road.