The 2,000-year-old Riddle of the Stone Tower on the Silk Road

This presentation is about an attempt to solve a 2,000-year old riddle of ancient cartography and geography: Where was the Stone Tower that the great geographer Claudius Ptolemy spoke of, which marked the mid-point on the old Silk Road as caravans plied their trade between Europe and Asia?

Of course, other than trade, the Silk Road of antiquity was critical for the dissemination of science and technology between East and West.

The search for this landmark is important because if its location can be determined, then not only would this be of great significance to the study of ancient geography, but it would mean that other lost settlements and physical landmarks in this region, similarly (and imprecisely) detailed by Ptolemy, may be rediscovered too. This, in turn, would lead to further pieces of historical cartography falling into place.

Identifying an actual location for this site would also allow archaeological work to be more targeted, increasing the chance of successful excavations on the Silk Road.