BEIJING: The Chinese archaeologists joined an excavation of ancient seasideruins known as al-Serrian in Saudi Arabia.
Located at the southwest tip of the Arabian Peninsula, al-Serrian was oneof the major gateways for Hajj pilgrims to Makkah and played an importantrole as a trade hub leading to the north, according to a local newspaperhere on Wednesday.
Five Chinese archaeologists, from the National Center of UnderwaterCultural Heritage under the State Administration of Cultural Heritage, willtake part in the excavation of the ruins until April 13.
According to the State Administration of Cultural Heritage, six Saudiarchaeologists will work alongside the Chinese experts to explore the Saudiport ruins on the Red Sea.
With the support of the governments of both countries, the team will makeuse of high-tech equipment such as mapping, aerial drones, and digitalsurveys, as well as 3D modeling during the project.
Cooperation on studying and researching the finds from the excavation willcontinue for a period of five years.
Jiang Bo, the team leader for the Chinese archaeologists, explained thataccording to ancient travelogues al-Serrian used to be a busy port withmosques, markets and residential areas during the 13th century.
It is believed the port was a major trade point along the ancient MaritimeSilk Road.
Local Arabic historical documents showed that al-Serrian had its peak fromthe ninth to the 13th centuries, but Jiang speculated that a Chineseporcelain piece he found was produced in Fujian province during the QingDynasty (1644-1911).
“It shows that the boom period of al-Serrian might have been much longer,”he said.
Nevertheless, he said conclusions can only be reached after excavation. Thefinal report will be published in Chinese, Arabic and English, he added.
Some tombstones also were found, but the writing on them needs furtherstudy, Jiang said.
The Maritime Silk Road was an ancient route that connected China toSoutheast Asia, the Indonesian archipelago, the Indian subcontinent, theArabian Peninsula and Africa.
The archaeological project is part of a Sino-Saudi cultural heritagecooperation agreement signed during President Xi Jinping’s state visit toSaudi Arabia in January 2016.
Following the agreement, a large exhibition, Roads of Arabia:Archaeological Treasures of Saudi Arabia, which displayed hundreds ofartifacts from 15 Saudi museums, was held from December 2016 to March 2017at the National Museum of China in Beijing. The two countries’ stateleaders attended the event’s closing ceremony.