Researchers at the International Institute for Digital Heritage announced on April 7, 2026, a major breakthrough in the decipherment of fragmented manuscripts found at the ancient Silk Road site of Miran. Using a new Neural Script Decipherment model, the team successfully translated several 6th-century scrolls written in Late Brahmi script. The texts reveal a series of previously unknown Buddhist medical treatises detailing pharmacological recipes for treating neurological disorders.
This discovery provides rare insight into the trans-continental exchange of medical knowledge between India and Central Asia. The manuscripts include detailed instructions for the preparation of herbal extracts that mirror contemporary Ayurvedic protocols, yet show local adaptations to the flora of the Taklamakan Desert. This scholarly breakthrough highlights the role of monastic centers as hubs for scientific and medical research during the mid-first millennium.