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INA's founder and president, Dr. George F. Bass, set the standard for scientific underwater excavation in 1960 with the 12th century B.C. Cape Gelidonya shipwreck, being the world's oldest known shipwreck at the time. When a sponge diver in 1982 discovered the 14th century B.C. Uluburun shipwreck about 50 miles down the coast from Cape Gelidonya, Bass was once again able to direct the excavation of the world's oldest known shipwreck, 3,300 years old. These two shipwrecks are just a glimpse of what underwater archaeology consist of in Turkey.

Underwater archaeology, as any other branch of archaeology, does not end with the excavation of the site. The excavation can be considered only as the first stage of the whole project; during that process, detailed cataloging, mapping and recording is done. The conservation and study of objects and the hull comes next, consuming a considerable amount of time. The preparation for the publication is the final step, including drawings, library research and a lot of thinking...!

Below you can click on our different projects to have more information about what's happening. The Institute's current excavation is that at Selimiye, near Bozburun. Excavation of the Uluburun shipwreck ended in 1994, and the project is in the conservation and research stages. The first volume of the publication of the Serce Limani shipwreck is almost ready to go to press. The Mombasa shipwreck is located in Kenya, but its publication is currently being prepared in Bodrum. The Yassi Ada shipwreck has already been published, but studies of its artifacts and historical significance continue. The 5th century BC shipwreck is a project to be excavated in the near future, Insallah! The annual Survey of the Turkish coast continues to find and document new shipwrecks every year.