IKUWA8, the 8th International Congress for Underwater Archaeology, takes place in Oostende (Belgium) from October 13th to October 17th, 2025.
The congress is 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.
The city of Ostend boasting its maritime heritage and situated at the coast, the contactzone between the fresh and the salt water universe, is very well suited to tell the exciting tales of our maritime past.
With this conference with global participation we aim to make people aware of the value of the sea and the closely linked inland waters as an inexhaustible reservoir of inspiring and exciting tales.
Material sources of our past found at sea or in rivers and lakes could be qualified as ‘written’ sources in a way. However we still have a lot of work ahead to master that material language and to understand the different meanings sometimes hidden in these objects. The conference also hopes to contribute to the deciphering of this material language.
The conference offers the opportunity, halfway the Ocean Decade, to take stock of the achievements in the field of maritime and underwater heritage.
Important dates:
- Call for session proposals: closed
- Call for abstracts: open – deadline 15 March 2025
- Final programme: available from April 2025