The first International Symposium on Boat and Ship Archaeology (ISBSA) was organized on the suggestion of E.V. "Ted" Wright by the National Maritime Museum in Greenwich, England, in 1976.
The purpose was to "bring together all those involved in the study of the form, structure, function, and operational performance of ancient boats."
Under the direction of Seán McGrail, the chairman of the organising committee, the first symposium examined the methodological problems of studying boat remains. Many of the topics addressed at that initial meeting, such as experimental archaeology and ethnography, have remained core elements in the programs of subsequent conferences.
The themes of meetings have varied, although the subject matter until 2000 was primarily focused on Northern Europe. Held every three years since 1976, the meetings were hosted by a different institution, and all the proceedings have been published. These volumes have become not only sources of much useful information for scholars of the history of shipbuilding, but also a snapshot history of the field of maritime archaeology in Europe over almost three decades.
1976 (1 st) Greenwich, England, UK: S. McGrail (ed.), Sources and Techniques in Boat Archaeology, BAR Suppl. Series 29, 1977.
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1979 (2 nd) Bremerhaven, Germany: S. McGrail (ed.), The Archaeology of Medieval Ships and Harbours in Northern Europe, BAR Internat. Series 66, 1979.
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1982 (3 rd) Stockholm, Sweden: C.O. Cederlund (ed.), Postmedieval Boat and Ship Archaeology, BAR Internat. Series 256, 1985.
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1985 (4 th) Porto, Portugal: L.O. Filgueiras (ed.), Local Boats, BAR Internat. Series 438, 1988.
Book Content Part I (pdf)
Book Content Part II (pdf)
1988 (5 th) Amsterdam, Netherlands: R. Reinders & K. Paul (eds), Carvel Construction Technique, Oxbow Monogr. 12, 1991.
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1991 (6 th) Roskilde, Denmark: Chr. Westerdahl (ed.), Crossroads in Ancient Shipbuilding, Oxbow Monogr. 40, 1994.
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1994 (7 th) Tatihou, France: P. Pomey & É. Rieth (eds), Construction navale maritime et fluviale, Archaeonautica 14, 1998.
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1997 (8 th) Gdansk, Poland: J. Litwin (ed.), Down the River to the Sea, Polish National Maritime Museum, 2000.
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2000 (9 th) Venice, Italy: C. Beltrame (ed.), Boats, Ships and Shipyards, Oxbow Books, 2003.
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2003 (10 th) Roskilde, Denmark: L. Blue, F. Hocker & A. Englert (eds), Connected by the Sea, Oxbow Books, 2006.
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2006 (11 th) Mainz, Germany: R. Bockius (ed.), "Between the Seas - Transfer and Exchange in Nautical Technology (in preparation).
