It comes as some surprise to discover that, in previous centuries, this pretty simple backwater was one of the main     1     (stop) in a Caucasian branch of the classic Silk Route. And the work being done here today is part of a far     2     (wide) recovery of East-West trade across the area.

The Great Silk Route, or Silk Road, was the fabled overland supply chain famously     3     allowed the supply of Chinese goods     4     (reach) ancient Rome from the second century BCE.

In an ancient world without trains or planes,     5     (transport) valuable goods across vast inhospitable lands of Eurasia required well equipped teams of pack animals—    6     (typical) camels travelling in groups known as caravans (商队).

These would usually seek overnight     7     (safe) in solid walled fences where the traders could find accommodation and food. This developed     8     caravanserais (商队旅馆) all along the trade routes: precursors (前身) of traveller’s inns, but for a pre-motorized age.

Despite     9     name, the Silk Route was always a separate network rather than a single “route” and that trade was in much more than just silk. Pepper and spices     10     (be) also in demand in pre-medieval Europe, while so much silver and gold flowed east to pay for these luxuries (奢侈品) that Rome faced a balance-of-payments reduction in the third century CE.