ZDF - Lost Treasures of the Silk Road (2013)

China, the “Middle Kingdom”, is considered to have developed completely independently of the West. The country's historical records date back to the fourth millennium BC and reinforce the image of an isolated China that apparently developed without any significant contact with the West. The myth of China's isolation and independence is still widespread today. Only recently has it been called into question by some surprising discoveries. A hundred years ago, European archaeologists began researching the Taklamakan Desert in western China. The famous Silk Road once ran through the desert and - as scientists quickly discovered - had ensured economic and cultural exchange between East and West since the Middle Ages. But only recently have Chinese archaeologists discovered that the traces of the medieval Silk Road contain evidence from an even more distant past in the middle of the desert they discovered a huge cemetery with uniquely preserved mummies. They belong to a forgotten people who settled in the region 4,000 years ago. In addition to the unique state of preservation of the mummies, their appearance is particularly surprising. With their strong facial features, beards and light brown or even blonde hair, the mummies look anything but Chinese. Could they belong to a European people who brought the people of China into contact with the West as early as the Bronze Age? Did they even bring important cultural techniques such as bronze casting with them to China? The renowned mummy expert Professor Victor Mair now wants to get to the bottom of these questions using the most modern methods. A DNA test should show whether the mummies actually have European roots. But it is not just the mummies that raise questions - other finds previously unknown in the West are also shaking up the known historical picture. For example, a mysterious royal tomb in eastern China surprises with finds that are clearly influenced by the West - at a time when there was supposedly no contact with the West at all. For the German art historian Dr. Lukas Nickel, the excavation is a first indication that could lead to many more discoveries. The world-famous Terracotta Army also comes into his field of vision. It was part of the grave furnishings of the first Chinese emperor and thus part of the founding myth of China. It is here, of all places, that Lukas Nickel wants to check his suspicions - and gains access to figures that have never been shown before. Their style is so unusual for Chinese art of the time that the sculptures only allow Lukas Nickel to draw one conclusion they must have been made by Chinese artists based on Greek statues. Exciting discoveries that shed new light on the history of the relationship between East and West.

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