It was the heritage, the written and material relics of this cultural encounter that attracted the Hungarian-British archeologist and explorer Marc Aurel Stein (Pest, 1862 - Kabul, 1943). Between 1900 and 1916 he led three major expeditions to carry out the excavation of the sand-buried ruins in the Tarim Basin, discovering hitherto unknown languages and scripts, and shedding new light on the history and cultural history of the people who once lived there. His abiding fame, however, is due to the discovery of the treasure kept in the Cave Temples of the Thousand Buddhas in Dunhuang.
mandag 29. juli 2024
From China's Past: Aurel Stein and the Caves of the Thousand Buddhas
The Silk Road, the Eurasian trade route linking China with the Mediterranean seashore was used not only for the purpose of commerce, but it also was the meeting point of the large civilizations of the East and West. From the 2nd century B. C. for more than a thousand years, silk, luxury items and other assorted merchandise was carried along this road to be exchanged in the towns and oases. It was also a conduit of ideas, beliefs, styles of art and technologies. Chinese, Indian, Iranian and classical Western culture intersected there and developed a new synchretistic culture.
It was the heritage, the written and material relics of this cultural encounter that attracted the Hungarian-British archeologist and explorer Marc Aurel Stein (Pest, 1862 - Kabul, 1943). Between 1900 and 1916 he led three major expeditions to carry out the excavation of the sand-buried ruins in the Tarim Basin, discovering hitherto unknown languages and scripts, and shedding new light on the history and cultural history of the people who once lived there. His abiding fame, however, is due to the discovery of the treasure kept in the Cave Temples of the Thousand Buddhas in Dunhuang.
It was the heritage, the written and material relics of this cultural encounter that attracted the Hungarian-British archeologist and explorer Marc Aurel Stein (Pest, 1862 - Kabul, 1943). Between 1900 and 1916 he led three major expeditions to carry out the excavation of the sand-buried ruins in the Tarim Basin, discovering hitherto unknown languages and scripts, and shedding new light on the history and cultural history of the people who once lived there. His abiding fame, however, is due to the discovery of the treasure kept in the Cave Temples of the Thousand Buddhas in Dunhuang.
