Neil MacGregor uses five objects from the British Museum's collection that show how, even 1,000 years ago, trade, war and religion moved objects freely around the globe
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- A History of the World in 100 Objects
- Pilgrims, Raiders and Traders (900 - 1300 AD)
Pilgrims, Raiders and Traders (900 - 1300 AD)
Available now on BBC iPlayer
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Listen to the latest programme
Kilwa pot sherds
Listen now (15 minutes)
Available since Fri, 25 Jun 2010.
5/5. Neil MacGregor sifts through broken pot fragments from an African beach.
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Also available
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Borobudur Buddha head
Listen now (15 minutes)
Available since Thu, 24 Jun 2010.
4/5. Neil MacGregor examines a stone head of the Buddha from Borobudur on the island of Java.
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Japanese bronze mirror
Listen now (15 minutes)
Available since Wed, 23 Jun 2010.
3/5. Neil MacGregor tells the story of a bronze mirror found in a sacred pond in Japan.
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Hedwig glass beaker
Listen now (18 minutes)
Available since Tue, 22 Jun 2010.
2/5. Neil MacGregor with a glass vessel linked with a saintly miracle worker.
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Vale of York Hoard
Listen now (15 minutes)
Available since Mon, 21 Jun 2010.
1/5. Neil MacGregor explores a great Viking silver hoard discovered in North Yorkshire.
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Featured
Pilgrims, raiders and traders
56. Vale of York Hoard
57. Hedwig glass beaker
58. Japanese bronze mirror
59. Borobudur Buddha head
60. Kilwa pot sherds
Medieval Europe was not isolated from Africa and Asia, pilgrims and merchants regularly criss-crossed between the continents carrying with them goods and ideas. The Scandinavian Vikings travelled and traded from Greenland to Central Asia. In the Indian Ocean a vast maritime trade network connected Africa, the Middle East, India and China. Buddhism and Hinduism had spread along these trade routes from India to Indonesia. Even the Crusades did not prevent trade flourishing between Christian Europe and the Islamic World. In contrast, Japan, under the Heian dynasty, chose to isolate itself, closing off relationships with its neighbour China for the next 300 years.
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