From a strategic passage to a remote town ----the status change of Dunhuang in the history of China and West communication reflected from the beacon ruins in Dunhuang

Summary

Silk Road played an important role in the ancient China and West communication. Dunhuang is located in the most western part of the Hexi Corridor, which is a valley between Qilian Mountain and Beishan Mountain. It connects the countries of the Middle Asia, Europe and Africa in west and the East Asia in East. Beacon ruin is the most important type among the archaeological ruins, and played a key role in protecting the Northwest frontier and the Silk Road accessibility. Among the 182 ruins of Dunhuang found in the third cultural relics general investigation in China, there are 76 beacon ruins (some were used in multi-dynasties), including 44 beacon ruins dated to Han Dynasty, 15 dated to Jin, and 18 dated to Qing. The different beacon ruins number reflects the status change of Dunhuang in the History of China and West communication.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Society for American Archaeology 82nd Annual Meeting, Vancouver, BC (2017)   •
• The Archaeology of Global History

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Record Identifiers

Abstract Id(s): 14345