We now know that there were many Silk Roads. Back in the 19th century, an attempt to chart how ancient exotic goods travelled east and west produced two lines on a map, running westwards from China. Today, the picture looks rather different. An increasingly intricate web of connections can be glimpsed, linking Asia, parts of Africa, and Europe. A new British Museum exhibition is examining this network, revealing both the wonders this flow of materials and ideas made possible, and the horrors ...
