silk route

In the desolate land of northwest China's Xinjiang province, archaeologists have unearthed something that reveals early settlement and cultural habits at the intersection of Central Asia. In the vast of Toksun County close to Turpan oasis city, more than 200 ancient tombs have been discovered dating back more than 2,000 years to the critical periods of the Warring States, Qin, and Han dynasties. Not only do these tombs tell us how the deceased were buried but about an area that was once abuzz with migration, ritual, and the first reverberations of the Silk Road, now the subject of a fascinating new study published in npj Heritage Science. A Great Burial Ground of the Turpan Basin Covering almost 10,000 square meters