<b>Maps of the Silk Roads in the Caspian-Volga region</b>

<h2>Background</h2><p dir="ltr">The <i>ICOMOS Silk Roads Thematic Study</i> (Williams 2014) identified a number of corridors along the Silk Roads, which saw very different scales of traffic and had very different chronologies of use. The study also recognised that areas outside the original focus, which ranged from west central China to the east coast of the Mediterranean, were unrepresented in the study and merited further attention in the future.</p><p dir="ltr">A UNESCO/Japan Funds in Trust (JFIT) project, supporting potential Silk Roads World Heritage Nomination in the Caspian-Volga region, took place between 2022 and 2024, with workshops in Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, and Turkmenistan.</p><p dir="ltr">The map images deposited here were produced as part of this project and begin to explore the complexities of the Caspian-Volga region. The work highlighted some key sites and routes, and the maps visually represent some of the possible major routes/corridors in the area. The aim was to create a platform for further discussion between the partner states.</p><h2>The data</h2><p dir="ltr">The data used to produce these maps was gathered from a few existing publications, along with key sites identified by participants at the project meetings. Site locations were obtained from satellite images, and sometimes from published sources. The routes are suggestions made by the author, based on these site locations, general published accounts and the discussions during the project workshops. The trans-Caspian waterborne routes are very speculative at this stage.</p><p dir="ltr">This is a very preliminary first step. There is considerably more information available and a fuller survey of this information would undoubtedly produce a more complex series of maps, reflecting chronological change. In addition, sea level change/fluctuations and environmental data would also be important factors in any future mapping exercise.</p><h2>The maps</h2><p dir="ltr">A pdf explains the maps and the legends. </p><p dir="ltr">The maps are provided in jpeg format.</p><h2>Disclaimer</h2><p dir="ltr">The maps reflect the authors ideas and, while based on the discussions at the various project workshops, they do not represent a consensus of opinions of the participants, and neither do they reflect UNESCO’s position.</p>