China and Saudi Arabia recently unveiled the achievements of their joint archeological exploration at the ruins of the al Serrian port, an important pilgrim-trade port in ancient times connecting the East and West.
The ruins of the port are located by the Red Sea, the southwestern part of the Arabian Peninsula. It was deserted for unknown reasons and then covered up by sands.
This is the second exploration, which kicked off on December 29, 2018. It involves 12 archeologists from the two countries, including seven Chinese underwater archeologists. Research of underwater conditions is also being conducted in hopes of learning more about the ancient channel here and finding more relics.
A team of Chinese and Saudi Arabian archeologists works at the site. /Photo via Xinhua
Results show that in the south of the site, there is a place that would have been a natural harbor for ship berthing and a channel for ships to move in and out. The findings also include bronze weights, agates, coins, as well as Arabian pottery and glazed pottery from ancient Persia and China, signifying that the al Serrian area by the Red Sea was an essential maritime channel for East-West exchanges.
"Our cooperation on this archaeological exploration involves the sea, land and sky. We also conducted underwater archaeology to acquire knowledge about the nature of the seaport. Many people from China do not know much about the civilization of the Arab region and the Maritime Silk Road,” said Yan Yalin, the department leader of the protection of cultural relics under China's State Cultural Relics Bureau. “So we want to get more people to pay attention to the exchanges and building of the two countries' civilizations through the project.”
The five-year joint archeological exploration is one of the important cultural cooperations reached by the two countries when Chinese President Xi Jinping visited Saudi Arabia in January 2016.
Archeologists study rubbings of tablets presented by the Chinese side. /Photo via Xinhua
From March to April in 2018, the team conducted the first unearthing and discovered debris of porcelain dating back to China's Song Dynasty (960-1279), Yuan Dynasty (1271-1368), Ming Dynasty (1368-1644) and Qing Dynasty (1636-1911).
"As a Saudi Arabian, we highly value this cooperation project with China. The ancient trade channel from China to the Red Sea, namely the Maritime Silk Road, to a large extent, strengthens the cultural exchanges and economic and trade cooperation between China and Arab countries," said Mahdi Al Qarni, who is in charge of the joint archeological exploration on the Saudi Arabian side.