Chinese, Egyptian archaeologists uncover ancient secrets at Sekhmet Temple

(ECNS) -- A joint team of Chinese and Egyptian archaeologists has unearthed significant ruins and artifacts at the ancient Temple of Sekhmet in Mit Rahina, Giza Province, west of the Egyptian capital Cairo, Egypt's Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities has said.

The discoveries provide new evidence of how the area surrounding the temple was used and inhabited across successive periods of ancient Egyptian history, the ministry said on Sunday.

The mission is jointly conducted by Egypt's Supreme Council of Antiquities and the Shanghai Museum in east China, and is co-led by Reham Zaki of Supreme Council of Antiquities and Chen Jie, deputy director of the Shanghai Museum.

The team cleared the temple’s main ground structure, revealing limestone walls inscribed with ancient hieroglyphs. Nearby, researchers uncovered a mud-brick residential complex alongside a limestone press containing grape seeds, pointing to have been used for wine production.

Other finds include stone blocks, statue fragments and pottery. Some of the stone artifacts date to the New Kingdom period (1550 BC-1069 BC).

The Shanghai Museum will work with Egypt's Supreme Council of Antiquities to establish a long-term cooperation system covering archaeological excavation, research, conservation, exhibition and utilization, and further promote academic exchanges and mutual learning between the two countries in the field of archaeology, said Chen Jie, deputy director of the Shanghai Museum.

The Sekhmet Temple, discovered by chance in 1959, formed part of the Great Temple of Ptah, the main religious complex of ancient Memphis. The ancient city of Memphis, founded around 3100 BC, served as the capital of Egypt during the Old Kingdom period and remained an important religious and cultural center for centuries.

(By Intern Lin Qiaochu, Zhang Dongfang)