Joint archaeological mission brings history to life

At the Fustat site near Cairo, Chinese porcelain shards dating from the Tang (618-907) to the Qing (1644-1911) dynasties appear as lasting witnesses to two ancient civilizations. In the book Zhufan Zhi (Gazetteer of Foreign Lands), Zhao Rukuo, a maritime trade official of the Southern Song Dynasty (1127-1279), described Egypt and its port city Alexandria, including a remarkable account of the great tower on the Mediterranean shore — the Lighthouse of Alexandria. His knowledge came from merchants, maps and accounts that journeyed to the ports of southern China.

Centuries later, Egypt is no longer a distant idea in a Chinese book. Chinese archaeologists are also working on Egyptian soil alongside their Egyptian counterparts to uncover, document, and protect the remains of one of the world's oldest civilizations.

In 2018, the Institute of Archaeology at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences and Egypt's Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities launched the first official Chinese-Egyptian joint archaeological mission.

Over seven archaeological seasons and more than 300 days of fieldwork, the Chinese-Egyptian team excavated the Temple of Montu at the Karnak Temple Complex in Luxor, Egypt, surveyed its architecture, restored artifacts, and built digital records. Among the discoveries were temple structures, a sacred lake and a bronze statue of Osiris.

For Liu Jinhu, an associate professor at the School of Country and Region Studies at Northwest University, based in Xi'an, Shaanxi province, the project's significance extends beyond the objects recovered.

"If China wants to develop a path in Egyptology, field archaeology is essential. Without firsthand documents and archaeological materials, we will always be following others," Liu told China Daily.

That approach is now spreading. Experts from several Shanghai-based universities, museums and research institutions are working with Egyptian partners at Saqqara, Memphis and other sites.

They decoded hieroglyphs that provided key references for identifying the temple's nature. They discovered an earthen residential area and several everyday objects that portray a continuous lineage of Egyptian civilization.

In 2025, China's National Centre for Archaeology and Egypt's Supreme Council of Antiquities signed a memorandum of understanding on marine archaeology and underwater cultural heritage.

But Liu sees an even bigger question behind this cooperation: Who tells the story of ancient Egypt? Modern Egyptology emerged in Europe in the 19th century and produced an enormous body of scholarship.

Yet Liu argued that its traditional focus sometimes placed ancient Egypt in a separate category, disconnected from the country's later history and modern society.

"Western Egyptology has often focused on pharaonic Egypt (which refers to the ancient civilization that thrived along the Nile River from around 3050 BC until conquest by Alexander the Great in 332 BC) and, consciously or unconsciously, separated it from modern Egypt. But Egypt's history from antiquity to present has a certain continuity, despite changes and transitions," he added.

For Chinese scholars, he said, the answer is not to reject Western scholarship but to widen the lens. History, archaeology, geology, environmental studies, economics, management, and law can be merged to study Egypt as a continuous civilization rather than as an isolated ancient world.

"We are trying to develop this approach at the School of Country and Region Studies at Northwest University, using a multidimensional academic system to study the development of Egyptian civilization from ancient times to the present," Liu said.

That broader approach matters, especially when excavation turns into preservation. Liu believes China can draw on its own experience, including protecting and presenting archaeological sites such as the Terracotta Warriors. Excavation, in his words, is only the first step. The harder task is ensuring that heritage becomes part of local life.

"Heritage protection cannot merely rely on administrative order or funding from foreign organizations. Local communities must understand the value of their cultural heritage and participate in its preservation and development," he added.

This means bringing in local governments, communities, museums, researchers and businesses — not just archaeologists. It also means thinking about how archaeological sites can generate sustainable cultural and economic value for the people who live around them.

While Chinese scholars are studying Egypt in the field, Egyptian artifacts and archaeological discoveries are reaching Chinese audiences.

On top of the Pyramid: The Civilization of Ancient Egypt, held at the Shanghai Museum from July 2024 to August 2025, attracted 2.77 million visits, according to Chen Jie, deputy director of the museum. More than 95 percent of its exhibits debuted in Asia, including more than 400 objects linked to recent discoveries from the China-Egypt archaeological project.

As a multidisciplinary collaborative archaeological team with overseas archaeological experience, Chen said participating firsthand helps Chinese archaeologists study and interpret ancient Egyptian civilization.

"This helps us gain a more comprehensive understanding of the diversity of human civilizations. It also allows us to examine and understand the uniqueness of Chinese civilization from another angle. At the same time, this is an important step for the Shanghai Museum — and for Chinese archaeology — to go global," Chen said.

He added that Chinese archaeologists not only cooperated well with Egyptian scholars and learned from each other, but also built friendships with locals.

"The people-to-people connectivity is thus deeply rooted," Chen said.