Espinosa's talk will focus on The Bou Ferrer Shipwreck Project: research, conservation and socialisation of an extraordinary Roman vessel. The Sharja Archaeology Authority is interested in learning first-hand about the management of the Bou Ferrer project, which has become a global model following its inclusion among the first 7 cases in UNESCO's new Register of Best Practices in Underwater Archaeological Heritage since 2017.
This successful model was developed within a project, led by the Generalitat Valenciana since the discovery of the wreck in 1999, with the participation of the Villajoyosa Town Council through the Municipal Service of Archaeology, Historical Heritage and Museums, the University of Alicante and the Nautical Club of the City. The underwater guided tours (2013-2019), guided by members of the scientific team, have inspired other similar projects in different countries. By including the previous visit to the bottom of the wreck in Vilamuseu, the objective has been achieved of helping nearly a thousand divers to understand the importance and difficulty of underwater archaeology and the fragility of the submerged heritage, and how they can help, going from being mere spectators to accomplices in its protection. The group of sport divers thus becomes an opportunity to reinforce the surveillance of archaeological remains under the sea, and not a potential threat.
The story of the wreck is already an international example, since its discoverers, Antoine Ferrer and José Bou, after whom the site is named, reported its existence to the authorities, thus enabling the authorities to act quickly to protect it and the largest Roman Imperial ship under study to be saved from the massive plundering that 90% of Mediterranean sites suffer.
Sharja, on the Gulf of Oman, is the cultural capital of the United Arab Emirates, and the third most populous city in the country after Dubai and Abu Dhabi. The University of Khorfakkan has the first faculty in the state specialising in marine sciences, of which the seminar is part.