Gaspé, located in Québec, Canada, has been a hub of maritime culture in North America for centuries, and continues to be an important commercial fishing port today. Historically, Gaspé has been home to indigenous fishermen, Basque whalers, and robust French and British cod fishing communities, each with their own unique shipbuilding heritage. In the summer of 2019, researchers initiated a long-term study of the maritime history of the region, starting with a survey of Gaspé Bay for shipwrecks and other submerged cultural heritage. After a pandemic-caused hiatus, research resumed in the summer of 2022 including more extensive surveying of both Gaspé Bay and Malbay and documentation of a wreck located in the tidal zone of the Gulf of the St. Lawrence River at Cap-des-Rosiers. This paper discusses the results of the 2022 field season, including details of the ship construction of the Cap-des-Rosiers wreck and the remote-sensing findings.

In 1624-25, Thomas Warner established an English colony on St. Kitts. Concurrently, French brigantines anchored there. The settlers were resisted by indigenous Caribs, but joined forces to crush native uprisings. France occupied both northern and southern quarters of the island; England controlled the central half. Fig Tree (French) and Sandy Point (English) Towns shared Sandy Point Bay for inter-island trade and as a European entrepôt. Our coordinated underwater and coastal surveys identified cultural resources in port, anchorage, beach, and fortification zones. Defenses from sea level to 800 foot elevation offered wide ranges for cannon fire against naval or infantry attacks. The cliffside Charles Fort, erected in 1670, was soon reinforced by the towering Brimstone Hill Fortress. English Fort Hamilton was based on Downing Street, where African slaves were disembarked and goods cleared customs before transfer to merchant warehouses. A low-lying Fort Charles guarded Fig Tree. Minor batteries were positioned shoreward.

Each year, the SCUBA industry creates a billion-dollar economy and numerous job opportunities; many of which are in developing countries. Popular diving attractions, such as the Thistlegorm in Egypt, or the Pacific’s Chuuk Lagoon, are UCH sites and attract many visitors. Each year, the Thistlegorm generates €5,000,000 and attracts thousands to the Egypt’s Red Sea. When managed effectively historic shipwrecks, can be intellectually, culturally, and financially enriching.

Seemingly, the lack of oversight, regulation, and education of divers places these UCH sites atrisk against illegal salvage, looting, destruction of archaeological integrity, and increased decomposition of the wreck sites.

Effective project management plans can be devised and implemented via evaluating different traits, conditions, and circumstances for three at-risk UCH wreck sites of the Red Sea: the Roman wreck at Fury Shoals, the 18^th C Ottoman merchant ship of Sadana Island, and the Thistlegorm WWII shipwreck.

This paper aims to discuss the current state of maritime archaeology within Iceland, and highlights the challenges within the field which need to be overcome in order to improve the management of sites. The management and monitoring of underwater sites in particular in Iceland is severely deficient due to a number of factors, and elsewhere professionals are increasingly turning towards community engagement methods to overcome some of these issues faced. This paper therefore evaluates the possibilities of community engagement in maritime archaeology within Iceland. It also evaluates the understanding of the various methods and terminology related to community engagement techniques, and if this is understood within the Icelandic archaeology profession. A community maritime archaeology pilot study, as well as surveys and interviews with archaeologists, sports divers, and heritage managers, form the basis for recommendations made within this paper for future improvements in both engagement and the management of underwater sites.

Cheryl Ward's studies of the Sadana wreck in the Red Sea have raised new questions about the architectural nature of wrecks discovered in the Red Sea such as Umm Lajj or Sharm-el-Sheikh. The wreck on Sadana Island, along with others discovered in ports further east, mean that we cannot rely solely on the material used in construction to determine their origin.

The intensive archaeological studies carried out on these wrecks offer valuable insights into the history of maritime trade in the Red Sea region.

However, it is important to note that despite the advances made to date, many questions remain unanswered. The complex nature of maritime trade in the region means that a complete understanding of these vessels and their origins is an ongoing challenge for researchers. Future investigations could bring new discoveries and shed further light on our understanding of the history of navigation in the Red Sea.

Located in Poland the island called Ostrów Lednicki is one of the longest ongoing underwater archaeological projects in Europe, lasting for 40 years. This continuous research has provided invaluable information on the history of the region and deepened our knowledge of the early Middle Ages and the Piast dynasty that ruled at the time. Underwater archaeological research on Ostrów Lednicki has revealed a wealth of artifacts and structures. The finds include the remains of wooden bridges and also the largest collection of early medieval militaria excavated from under the water in Europe. The ongoing underwater archaeological research at Ostrów Lednicki exemplifies a commitment to uncovering underwater heritage and underscores the importance of interdisciplinary cooperation in reconstructing the past. The results of this extensive research have contributed significantly to our knowledge of the site and its historical context, making it an important case study for underwater archaeological research in central Europe.

The port of Callao was founded in the 1530s along the foundation of the capital city of Lima in Peru by the Spaniards during the conquest of the Inca Empire. Since its early days as the only harbor for the viceroyalty, Callao had an important role within the economy and political hegemony. Due to this relevance, constant maritime traffic was common in the area and, consequently, shipwrecks were reported throughout its modern occupational history. Historical research about Callao has been extensive, but little archaeological work has been conducted in the area. The purpose of this paper is to present the results of the archival research in the Peruvian Navy Archives to identify shipwrecks reported in Callao in primary sources and historical publications for future archaeological fieldwork.

The Anse-aux-Batteaux site on the Upper St Lawrence contains the submerged remains of a short-lived 19^th-century river port, notably three wharves and five abandoned ships within an area of 1 hectare. The Université de Montréal initiated its study at the height of the Covid-19 epidemic. Anse-aux-Batteaux site exemplifies the boom-and-bust nature of frontier development in North America, but the site also occupies a permanent place in the fluvio-maritime cultural landscape at the head of a portage used to avoid a 20-kilometre stretch of rapids, as theorized by Christer Westerdahl.

My master’s project develops this tension between ephemeral development and the underlying structures of the fluvial landscape, through an overview of the site using underwater mapping, aerial drone photography, archival research, and dendrochronology to place each vestige within the site’s tumultuous history.

This paper is an investigation into Japanese understanding of Western vessels from 1780 to 1853. From 1640 to 1853, Japan held an isolationist outlook on foreign diplomacy, slowly moving to a paradigm of limiting trade and external relations to a few locus points, with the Dutch existing as the sole accepted European presence. At the turn of the 19th century, this world order started to crumble, with a noted increase in American, British, and Russian vessels off the coast of Japan. This increase was in spurts, with four discrete periods, and the fourth leading to the “opening” of Japan in 1853-4 by Commodore Perry of the U.S. Navy. By fully elucidating Japanese knowledge of these vessels through contemporary prints, drawings, and imported line plans, a rounded conception of the vessel, the foreign people, Japanese construction elements, and Japanese attempts at building Western-style vessels emerge.