The Ancients The Romans and China
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Apr 9, 2026 
Barry Cunliffe, renowned British archaeologist of ancient maritime networks, guides a voyage across the Indian Ocean. He traces Roman silver, glass and silk via Sri Lanka, Indian ports, the Kra Isthmus and Funan. Short vivid scenes of monsoon navigation, bustling entrepôts, middlemen and coastal archaeology bring this vast trade web to life.
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Mutual Awareness Shaped By Intermediaries
- Romans and Han China were mutually aware through Silk Road contacts and sought information about each other, but intermediaries like the Parthians controlled overland routes.
- Pliny famously estimated enormous Roman expenditure on eastern luxuries, showing high western demand for silk.
Periplus And The Monsoon Revolution
- The Periplus of the Erythraean Sea codified practical sea-routes and introduced monsoon navigation to Mediterranean sailors.
- Cunliffe credits Hippolytus (Hippolys) with pioneering monsoon crossings that enabled direct open-ocean voyages to southern India.
Complex Multimodal Route From Alexandria To The Red Sea
- Roman trade relied on a mixed logistics chain: Nile river barges, desert camel caravans, then Red Sea ports like Myos Hormos or Berenice.
- Cunliffe describes fortified caravan routes and port choices (shorter vs safer longer desert routes) shaping voyages.