China-Egypt Team Unearths Ancient Winery, Relics at Sekhmet Temple

China-Egypt archeological team found an ancient residential site, a wine-making facility, and many relics in Memphis' Sekhmet Temple in Egypt, the Shanghai Museum said in a press conference yesterday.

The excavation is the first major study of the temple and its surroundings since 1962.

After clearing and excavating 900 square meters, archeologists found 52 relics and features.

On higher terrain 25 meters east of the temple, the team located a limestone wine-making facility and mud-brick walls, suggesting residential and production operations.

The excavation found stone architectural fragments, statue fragments, pottery, faience amulets, limestone sculptures, and stelae – dating to the New Kingdom, especially Ramesses II's reign.

Other evidence reveals human presence in the area during the Third Intermediate Period, Late Period, Ptolemaic period, and Greco-Roman period.

Archeologists said that the region around the Sekhmet Temple remained occupied after the temple fell as a religious center and subsequently became a residential zone.

The site is near ancient Memphis in Mit Rahina, 20km south of Cairo. Along with Egypt's Supreme Council of Antiquities, the Shanghai Museum began preparations for the project in 2024 and excavation in October 2025.

Work will continue around the temple and adjoining locations to clarify its architectural layout, history, and landscape changes.