Durham University: Durham-China research partnership hosts seminar for global audience

As part of this collaboration, each year our experts team up with their counterparts at the Palace Museum’s Archaeology Institute to host a seminar series.

This year’s workshop was held online due to Covid-19 and had over 300 attendees. The event explored China’s role in Indian Ocean trade, and in particular the production, transport and overseas trade of Longquan celadon ceramics.

Reaching a global audience
The seminar, which took place on 26th and 27th June, saw leading experts from China, the UK and France present their research virtually – opening up this fascinating research to a global audience.

The presentations covered topics focussed on Chinese trade ceramics and China’s role in the medieval trading economy of the Indian Ocean. Subjects ranged from studies of archaeological sites in China, East Africa, Arabia and Southeast Asia to presentations on research methods and ceramic studies, and spanned the continent of Asia from the 7th to the 20th centuries.

Exciting partnership
Our partnership with the Palace Museum saw us become the first English university archaeological team to excavate within the walls of the Palace Museum in Beijing, and has ignited exciting new research projects and collaborations into the production, transport and trade of Longquan celadon ceramics.