nauticalarch.org

The Institute of Nautical Archaeology (INA) at nauticalarch.org carries out shipwreck excavation and nautical archaeological research — locating, excavating, preserving, and publishing shipwrecks and other sites of nautical significance. Its project work is organized by year on the site (for example, 2025 Projects and 2026 Projects), so the Projects section is the place to see both current and historical fieldwork. INA describes itself as a non-profit, international research organization founded in 1972 by Dr. George F. Bass, who pioneered the science of archaeological excavation under water.

What INA actually does

INA's stated scope is the location, excavation, preservation, and publication of shipwrecks and other sites of nautical significance. That four-part sequence is the practical shape of its research:

• Location — finding wreck sites and other submerged archaeological material
• Excavation — controlled archaeological work under water
• Preservation — conserving what is recovered
• Publication — turning fieldwork into published research

The organization frames its purpose as shedding light on human interaction with the sea, and its fieldwork is conducted by INA archaeologists.

How the projects are organized

The site presents projects by year rather than as one flat list. The visible categories are:

If you want to know what INA is doing now, start with the most recent year; if you want the full record, use the general Projects section.

Research outputs beyond fieldwork

INA's research reaches readers through several publication and media channels listed on the site:

• INA Quarterly — the organization's periodical, including a special commemorative 50th volume
• INA Quarterly Archive — back issues
• INA Books — book-length publications
• INA Archives — archival material
• Videos and INA Webinars — recorded talks, including the INA Wednesday Webinar series

Funding for this work is split into two stated categories: Project Funding and Publication Funding.

Scale and track record

INA states that for half a century its archaeologists have conducted fieldwork and research leading to the location, excavation, preservation, and publication of dozens of shipwrecks and other sites of nautical significance. The organization marked its 50th year in 2023, and its first field school was organized in 1973 by founder George F. Bass.

How to follow or take part

• Browse the Projects pages for current and past fieldwork
• Attend an INA Wednesday Webinar for research presented directly by the organization
• Read the INA Quarterly or its archive for published results
• Support a specific effort through Project Funding or Publication Funding, or through donation and membership options listed on the site

INA does not publish prices, membership rates, or login requirements in the material available here, so check the relevant page directly before assuming cost or access terms.

You can support the Institute of Nautical Archaeology (INA) through four main channels listed on nauticalarch.org: donating online, joining INA as a member, shopping at the INA online store, and taking part in INA events such as its Wednesday Webinars. These options suit different levels of involvement — a one-time or recurring gift if you simply want to fund the work, a membership if you want an ongoing relationship with the organization, and shopping or event attendance if you prefer a specific purchase or a low-commitment way to engage.

The four support options at a glance

INA describes itself as a non-profit, international research organization founded in 1972 by Dr. George F. Bass, who pioneered the science of archaeological excavation under water. Its stated purpose is to excavate shipwrecks and conduct archaeological research "to shed light on the human interaction with the sea." That mission statement is the context for all four support routes — your money, membership, or participation goes toward fieldwork, research, and publication of shipwrecks and other nautical sites.

Donate Online

The site's main navigation includes a Donate link, and the homepage carries a Donate Online heading. INA also lists Project Funding and Publication Funding under its Funding section, which tells you the organization distinguishes between supporting fieldwork and supporting publications.

Use this route if you want the most direct way to put money toward INA's work. The site does not publish specific donation amounts, tiers, or payment methods in the material available here, so check the Donate page itself for current options before giving.

Join INA

Join INA appears both in the main menu and as a homepage call to action, alongside the line: "When you become a member of INA, you help bring history to light through the science of shipwreck archaeology!"

Membership is the right choice if you want an ongoing connection rather than a single gift. The site also mentions giving "the gift of INA membership," so membership can be purchased for someone else. As with donations, the source material does not state membership prices or benefit tiers — confirm those on the Join page.

Shop INA

Shop INA links to INA's online store. This is the option to pick if you want something in return for your support, such as INA merchandise or publications. INA's publishing side includes INA Books, the INA Quarterly journal, and an INA Quarterly Archive, so the store is a plausible place to find INA's own publications, though the available material does not itemize what the store stocks.

Attend webinars and events

INA marks its 50th year (celebrated in 2023) with webinars, a special commemorative 50th volume of the INA Quarterly, and a new film about INA's first shipwreck survey in 1973. The homepage explicitly invites people to "attend an INA Wednesday Webinar."

This is the lowest-commitment way to support INA: you engage with its research output and audience without donating or buying anything. If you are unsure whether you want to give, start here.

Which option should you choose?

• You want your money to go straight to fieldwork or publication: use Donate Online, and note the separate Project Funding and Publication Funding categories when deciding what to support.
• You want an ongoing relationship and to support INA repeatedly: Join INA.
• You want a tangible item or INA's publications: Shop INA.
• You want to learn about shipwreck archaeology first: attend an INA Wednesday Webinar.

A note on what the site does not specify

The available material confirms that these support routes exist and what each is for, but it does not list donation amounts, membership prices, store inventory, or payment platforms. Treat any figure you see only after visiting the relevant page on nauticalarch.org, and do not assume any option is free — the site presents donation, membership, and shopping as distinct, separate actions.

The Institute of Nautical Archaeology (INA) is a non-profit, international research organization founded in 1972 by Dr. George F. Bass, who pioneered the science of archaeological excavation under water. Based on the site, INA "excavates shipwrecks and conducts archaeological research to shed light on the human interaction with the sea." If you want to understand who runs it, what it actually does, and how to engage with it, this covers the essentials.

What INA is and what it does

INA describes itself as a non-profit, international research organization. Its stated purpose is to excavate shipwrecks and conduct archaeological research that illuminates how humans have interacted with the sea.

The scope is broader than a single wreck. According to the site, over half a century INA archaeologists have conducted fieldwork and research leading to the location, excavation, preservation, and publication of dozens of shipwrecks and other sites of nautical significance. That four-part sequence—find, dig, conserve, publish—is the clearest summary of what the organization treats as its core work.

Who founded it and who runs it

• Founder: Dr. George F. Bass (1932–2021), described by INA as the pioneer of the science of archaeological excavation under water.
• Co-Founder: Ann Bass, who with George Bass hosted the first meeting of the INA Board of Directors.
• Executive Director: Cynthia Eiseman, who published the first issue of the INA Quarterly.
• President: Debbie Carlson.

INA received status as a non-profit 501(c)3 organization from the United States government. Its governance and people are documented on the site under sections for the Board of Directors, Officers & Administration, the Bodrum Research Center Team, Affiliated Scholars, Research Associates, Partners, and Key Figures.

Key milestones

What the website offers

The site is organized around several functions:

• Projects — current and upcoming fieldwork, listed by year (including 2025 and 2026 project pages).
• Publications — INA Books, the INA Quarterly, the INA Quarterly Archive, and INA Archives.
• Media — videos, INA webinars, and downloadable backgrounds.
• News & Events — including the INA Wednesday Webinar series.
• Funding — separate pages for Project Funding and Publication Funding.
• About — mission, history, the Bodrum Research Center, and the research vessel.

How to get involved or support INA

The site lists four main ways to participate:

1. Donate — contribute to support an INA project.
2. Join INA — become a member; the site frames membership as helping "bring history to light through the science of shipwreck archaeology."
3. Shop INA — purchase from the online store.
4. Attend — join an INA Wednesday Webinar.

Note that the site does not publish prices, membership fees, or donation amounts on the pages reviewed here, so check the individual Donate, Join, and Shop pages for current figures and any login requirements.

Where to start

If you are new to INA, the About section (Mission, History, People) gives the institutional background, while the Projects and INA Quarterly pages show the actual output of the work. For direct engagement, the Donate, Join INA, and Shop INA links are the primary entry points, and the webinar series is the lowest-commitment way to follow current research.

The Institute of Nautical Archaeology (INA) lists two distinct funding tracks on its website: Project Funding and Publication Funding. These are the two categories named in the site's navigation under "Funding," and they correspond to INA's dual mission of conducting archaeological research and publishing its results. The site does not publish eligibility rules, award amounts, or deadlines on the pages captured here, so anyone preparing an application should treat the dedicated funding pages as the authoritative source and confirm current requirements there before submitting anything.

The two funding categories

The distinction matters because the two tracks serve different stages of the same research cycle. A project grant supports the location, excavation, and preservation work; publication funding supports getting those results into print. If your work is still in the field or analysis stage, Project Funding is the relevant track. If the fieldwork is complete and you need support to publish, Publication Funding is the one to check.

Why INA funds this work

INA describes itself as a non-profit, international research organization founded in 1972 by Dr. George F. Bass, who pioneered the science of archaeological excavation under water. The site states that for half a century INA archaeologists have conducted fieldwork and research leading to the location, excavation, preservation, and publication of dozens of shipwrecks and other sites of nautical significance.

That sentence is effectively the rationale for both funding tracks: excavation and publication are treated as linked outcomes, not separate activities. Funding is therefore aimed at work that advances shipwreck archaeology and related nautical research, and at making the results publicly available through publication.

What the site does not tell you

The pages captured here do not include:

• Eligibility criteria (who may apply, institutional affiliation requirements, geographic limits)
• Award amounts or typical grant sizes
• Application procedures or required materials
• Deadlines or review cycles

Because none of this is stated, do not assume any of it. In particular, the absence of pricing or payment information on the site says nothing about whether applications involve fees — it simply isn't covered in the material available.

How to proceed

1. Go to the Funding section of nauticalarch.org and open Project Funding and Publication Funding separately — they are distinct pages with potentially different requirements.
2. Read the current eligibility and submission details on those pages, since the site's overview material does not reproduce them.
3. If the funding pages do not answer a specific question, use the site's contact options. INA also maintains a FAQ page, which is a reasonable first stop before emailing.
4. If your interest is in following INA's research rather than funding it, the same site sections cover Projects, the INA Quarterly, INA Books, webinars, and videos — useful context for understanding what kinds of work INA supports before you approach it with a proposal.

A practical note on timing

INA marked its 50th year in 2023 with webinars, a commemorative 50th volume of the INA Quarterly, and a film about its first shipwreck survey in 1973. Anniversary years often bring changes to program pages, so if you find a cached or third-party description of INA funding that conflicts with the live site, trust the live site.

The Institute of Nautical Archaeology (INA) publishes and maintains several types of material you can read, watch, or listen to: the INA Quarterly (with a back-issue archive), INA Books, the INA Archives, recorded INA Webinars, and videos. These are the main channels for following INA's shipwreck excavation and research work, and most are reachable from the navigation menu on nauticalarch.org under "Media."

INA Quarterly

The INA Quarterly is INA's periodical publication. It carries project reporting and institutional news, and it has been in circulation long enough that INA marks milestones through it — for example, a special commemorative 50th volume was produced for INA's 50th year in 2023.

Two distinct resources exist for it:

• INA Quarterly — the current publication.
• INA Quarterly Archive — back issues, useful if you want to trace how a specific excavation was reported over time or read older project accounts.

If your goal is to understand a particular wreck or season of fieldwork, the archive is usually the better starting point, since current issues tend to cover recent and ongoing work.

INA Books

INA Books is the book-publishing side of the organization. Where the Quarterly gives short-form reporting, books allow for full excavation reports and longer treatments of a site. Use this section if you need depth on a single project rather than an overview of many.

INA Archives

The INA Archives holds institutional and research records. This is the section to check when you are looking for historical documentation rather than narrative publications — for instance, material connected to INA's early fieldwork. INA's first shipwreck survey took place in 1973, and the organization has pointed to archival and film material from that period when telling its own history.

Videos and INA Webinars

INA distributes recorded talks and film content:

• INA Webinars — the "INA Wednesday Webinar" series is INA's recurring online talk format. Recordings are a way to hear researchers discuss projects directly.
• Videos — INA maintains a video section, including documentary-style material. A film about INA's first shipwreck survey in 1973 was produced as part of the 50th-anniversary commemoration.

Webinars suit someone who wants current research presented in the researchers' own words; the video and film material is more useful for orientation and history.

Choosing Among Them

Practical Notes

These resources sit alongside INA's other public-facing sections — Projects, News & Events, and the funding pages — so a project page and its corresponding Quarterly article or webinar often cover the same excavation from different angles. INA also runs an online store and a membership program; the site presents membership as a way to support the organization's work, but the publication and media sections themselves are listed as separate menu items, so check each section directly for what is openly available versus what is tied to membership or purchase.