The Saudi Heritage Commission announced it would begin surveying the area between Umluj and Ras Sheikh Humaid in the Red Sea to uncover submerged antiquities.
During a press conference hosted by King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST), the Commission explained that the project, which is scheduled till Sept 5, will search for the wreck of the sunken ship and monitor more than 25 designated sites.
The project comes in cooperation with King Abdulaziz University and the participation of an Italian team from the University of Naples.
The project includes a marine sonar survey of the sites containing submerged archaeologies to create nautical maps and high-resolution images of all areas.
The data will be collected and analyzed using sonar and sound waves.
The entire site will be photographed using high-quality 3D photogrammetry and video technology, making an accurate map of the wrecks and determining the locations of fixed reference points using the GPS.
For his part, the CEO of the Heritage Commission, Jasir al-Herbish, said that the Commission has made significant achievements and uncovered underwater cultural heritage.
It established a new marine center to preserve underwater cultural heritage in the Red Sea and the Arabian Gulf.
It will encourage scientific cooperation with local and international universities to uncover underwater heritage sites and build capacities in the field.
The Commission participates in several local and international programs to preserve the underwater heritage.
Herbish stressed that the Red Sea and the Arabian Gulf harbor many secrets about the Kingdom's cultural heritage, hoping the center will contribute to discovering new items.
For her part, Senior Associate to the President and VP of Strategic National Advancement at KAUST, Najah Ashry, stated that KAUST welcomes everything that serves scientific research in Saudi Arabia.
The discovery of the underwater heritage is an excellent example of what can be achieved through cooperation with Saudi universities and public sectors in the Kingdom.
The project is linked to the Minister of Culture, Prince Badr bin Abdullah bin Farhan's announcement during the G20 summit hosted by Saudi Arabia in November 2020 and includes establishing a center for underwater heritage.
The project aims to document the Kingdom's pivotal location and its prominent role as a civilizational center for thousands of years and consolidate the efforts of the Heritage Commission to document, preserve, and disseminate the national heritage.
