ATHENS, April 25 (Xinhua) — The Angelokastro archaeological project under the Chinese School of Classical Studies at Athens was officially launched here on Friday, marking the first archaeological collaboration project launched by the institute since its founding.
Located in western Greece, the Angelokastro project also marks the first time that Chinese archaeologists, together with scholars from non-Western countries, have participated in leading roles of an excavation project in a core region of Western civilization.
The project is jointly carried out by the Greek Ministry of Culture’s General Directorate of Antiquities and Cultural Heritage, the Ephorate of Antiquities of Aetolia-Acarnania and Lefkada, and the Chinese School of Classical Studies at Athens.
Constantina Benissi, head of the Department for the Supervision of Greek and Foreign Scientific Institutions and the Coordination of International Cooperation and Organizations at the Greek Ministry of Culture, said at the launch ceremony that the project is an important part of systematic cooperation between the ministry and the Chinese School of Classical Studies at Athens, adding that it has been approved as part of a five-year joint archaeological program.
Founded in November 2024, the Chinese School of Classical Studies at Athens is the first research institute of classical civilizations established in Greece by an Asian country. It aims to promote in-depth studies by Chinese scholars of Greek civilization and other world civilizations, and to strengthen academic exchanges, collaboration and talent development between Chinese, Greek, European and global research institutions in the fields of archaeology and civilization studies. ■
