The Silk Road: The First Global Highway (Special Interest Day)

Lecturer Diana Driscoll

Location Widcombe Social Club

Stretching from China to the Mediterranean, from Russia to Iran from Central Asia to India, the Silk Road was a melting pot of religions, science and the creative arts for over 3,000 years. To discover more, this Special Interest Day will consist of three talks:

1. The Traders: From the Parthians of Persia in 2nd century BC, hated by the Romans, to the Sogdians of the 7th and 8th centuries, the most important caravan merchants.
2. The Silk Road Cities: Bukhara, a centre of religious scholarship; Samarkand, built by Tamerlaine’s artisans; and 19th century Khiva, today a UNESCO world Heritage site.
3. The End of a Golden Era: What role did the Mongolian ruler Kublai Khan Marco Polo and the Ming Dynasty play in the trade. Why did it end?

Book Your Place

Cost: £40 for members, £45 for guests

Includes coffee, tea and a buffet lunch.

To reserve a place and for payment details please email bath@theartssociety.org by Monday 10th March 2025.

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About Diana Driscoll

Diana Driscoll read her degrees at the School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS), University of London: BA Akkadian and Hebrew (Ancient Middle East with special subjects in history, religion & languages) and later MA in Islamic history, art and architecture.

She was Deputy Registrar at SOAS from 1980 - 92 and then moved to a post as Director of Education at the British Council, Hong Kong.  It was here that she "discovered" the SILK ROAD and made many journeys into China which complimented her travels & studies in the Middle East, India and Iran.

She is now an Independent researcher in the Asia Dept of the British Museum (BM). She gave gallery talks in the BM on the Silk Road.

She is the lecturer for Cox & Kings: ART TOURS Uzbekistan, The Golden Road to Samarkan, Iran ( on hold) and Pakistan: Persian, Mughals and Mystics. She has led tours for Steppes Travels on The Silk Road: Kyrgyzstan to China.

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Location Widcombe Social Club

Widcombe Social Club is situated at the bottom of Widcombe Hill within walking distance of the Bus and Railway Stations. From the City, the quickest route on foot (a 10-minute stroll) is to walk over the footbridge at the rear of Bath Spa Rail Station. Cross over the A36 at the pedestrian lights and turn left along Widcombe Parade (where there are lots of nice local shops and places to eat).

Cross over the junction with Prior Park Road. The Social Club is on the left at the bottom of Widcombe Hill.

The number 2 bus, from bus stop BK across the road from the train station will take you one stop to Widcombe.

There is very little parking locally. The closest car park is in Southgate which is not far from the Bus Station.

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