The organisation was founded in February 1999 at Sassnitz on the island of Rügen, Germany. It was a meeting organised by seven German and five additional European partner organisations from Switzerland, United Kingdom, Greece, Netherlands and Poland, and on the initiative of the Deutsche Gesellschaft zur Förderung der Unterwasserarchäologie (DEGUWA). The event received significant support from the Raphael Programme of the European Union in the context of reinforcing east-west cultural and educational ties. This meeting received wide international participation and was a resounding success.

The initiative emerged in response to an identified need to further increase awareness of the importance of human history’s shared maritime heritage, and to effectively contribute towards an international regulatory framework for the protection and preservation of this collective heritage, which became a reality with the adoption of the 2001 UNESCO Convention on the Protection of the Underwater Cultural Heritage.

IKUWA conferences have been consistently organised under the patronage of UNESCO and the 2001 Convention on the Protection of the Underwater Cultural Heritage. As such, anyone who has ever been involved in the exploitation of humanity’s cultural heritage in any way need not apply to be involved in any IKUWA event or its related activities.

Members of the IKUWA Steering Committee

IKUWA9 - 2029

 IKUWA 9 is set to be held in Abu Dhabi, UAE, in March 2029 - watch this space for news. 

In 2029 we will be celebrating the 30th year of IKUWA.

IKUWA8 - 2025

IKUWA8, the 8th International Congress for Underwater Archaeology, took place in Oostende (Belgium) from October 13th to October 17th, 2025, with the theme “Telling the Exciting Tales of Our Past”. 

The congress was organised by the IKUWA Steering Committee, Flanders Marine Institute (VLIZ), Flanders Heritage Agency, Agence Wallonne du Patrimoine, Ghent University, Vrije Universiteit Brussel, VisitFlanders and the City of Ostend. Proceedings: currently underway, https://archaeopresspublishing.com/ojs/index.php/ikuwa8/instructions-for-authors 

IKUWA7 - 2022

Due to Coronavirus epidemic IKUWA7 was held in Helsinki, Finland between the 6th-10th June 2022 with the theme “Delivering the Deep—Maritime Archaeology for the 21st Century”. 

The Congress was organised by the Faculty of Arts at the University of Helsinki, the Finnish Maritime Archaeological Society and the Finnish National Board of Antiquities. 

Proceedings here: https://www.fulcrum.org/concern/monographs/qj72pb05q  

IKUWA6 - 2016

IKUWA6 was held from 25 November to 2 December 2016 at the Western Australian Maritime Museum in Fremantle, Western Australia. The theme of IKUWA6 was  “Celebrating our Shared Heritage” Proceedings here: https://www.archaeopress.com/Archaeopress/Products/9781784916428 

IKUWA5 - 2014

IKUWA5 was held in October 2014 in Cartagena, Spain, at the Universidad Politecnica de Cartagena. The event was organised and hosted by the National Museum of Underwater Archaeology. The theme of IKUWA 5 was "Heritage for Humanity". The proceedings of IKUWA 5 can be downloaded here https://www.academia.edu/74988514/Proceedings_of_the_5_th_International_Congress_on_Underwater_Archaeology_A_heritage_for_mankind 

IKUWA4 - 2011

IKUWA4 was held in between 29th September to 2nd October 2011 in Zadar, Croatia, where the International Centre for Underwater Archaeology has been established under UNESCO's auspices. The theme of IKUWA4 was "Managing the underwater cultural heritage".

IKUWA3 - 2008

IKUWA3 was held in London between 9th-12th July 2008. The theme for IKUWA3 was “Beyond Boundaries”. 

The Congress saw the Nautical Archaeology Society in conjunction with project partners, the Institute of Field Archaeologists, and the Institute of Archaeology, University College London, playing host to the largest conference on underwater archaeology ever held in Britain.  

The congress was preceded by a three day professional development field school organised by the NAS, and followed by optional excursions. 

Project partners included UNESCO, the British Academy, Historic Scotland, and English Heritage. 

Proceedings here: https://www.academia.edu/6905984/IKUWA_3_Beyond_boundaries_proceedings_of_the_3rd_International_Congress_on_Underwater_Archaeology_9th_to_the_12th_July_2008_London 

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IKUWA2 - 2004

IKUWA2 was held in Zurich between the 21st-24th October 2004, with the theme “The New View: Underwater Archaeology”.  

About 200 participants from 25 countries attended. The proceedings were published in 2006 as Volume 40 of the monographic series "Antiqua" titled: "Die Neue Sicht. Une nouvelle lnterprétation de I'histoire."  

It was IKUWA 2's goal to demonstrate where and how the historical image has been changed through underwater archaeology investigations during the past decades, and which future investigations can be regarded as promising.  

In the days preceding the congress a postgraduate training workshop was held, with 21 participants from 11 European countries. All of which contributed to the strategic goal which is the creation of a long-term network of all European bodies which deal with underwater archaeology. 

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IKUWA1 - 1999

IKUWA1 - the first International Congress for Underwater Archaeology - was held in 18th-21st February 1999 in Sassnitz, Germany, with the theme "Protection of Cultural Heritage Underwater".  

It received considerable support from the Raphael Programme of the European Union, in the context of reinforcing east-west cultural and educational ties, and was organised by the Deutsche Gesellschaft zur Förderung der Unterwasserarchäoloqie (DEGUWA) and seven German and five non-German (Switzerland, UK, Greece, Netherlands and Poland) partner organisations. Proceedings here : https://www.academia.edu/10259289/IKUWA_1999_Protection_of_Cultural_Heritage_under_Water_Schutz_des_Kulturerbes_unter_Wasser_International_Conference_on_Underwater_Archaeology_Sassnitz_auf_R%C3%BCgen_Program_Abstracts_Excursion_Guide