Years of traffic wore the silk down to nothing, now it’s just road.
/rimshot
btw, I’ve got some stuff on deck about the Kushan Empire.
My sisters husbands father, Dallas Moorhead, traveled that entire road by himself.
He and I surprised ourselves and other family members at a Thanksgiving dinner one year by having detailed discussion about the area and the mummies at Urumchi...he actually went to the Urumchi museum and saw them.
See here:
The Curse Of The Red-Headed Mummy

Cherchen Man/Ur David