Underwater visits to the archaeological site of ‘Bou Ferrer’ in Villajoyosa
The Bou Ferrer underwater archeological site is the only one of its type in Spain open to the public.
In the site is a Roman wreck Bou Ferrer, a large Roman merchant ship shipwrecked between the year 64 and 68 (first century AD) in front of the the town of Villajoiosa’s beach (Alicante).
The ship is in an amazing state of conservation, the shipload, its hull and its large dimensions and the depth it is at (around 25 metres under water and just 1,000 metres from the coast), make it an exceptional underwater archaeological site, unparalleled today.
Visits offer divers the opportunity to contemplate a large merchant ship that is over 30 metres long, 9 metres wide, weighs almost 230 tons and that at the time it sunk was carrying over 200 tons of merchandise; a mixture of amphoras of fish sauce and lead ingots.
The culture section of the Generalitat must authorize diving visits which can only be done certified divers. Prior reservation is required and technical staff must direct all dives.
Excavation campaigns have brought to the surface 230 amphoras of the more than 2,000 that were on the wreck. Everything brought up to the surface can be seen at Vilamuseu, the Municipal Museum of Villajoyosa, at an area called the ‘Taller del Bou Ferrer y la Navegación Antigua’. An interesting area where work is done to publicise the site and support underwater visits for this pioneering underwater archaeological project, also open to people with disabilities.
