Since 1976, the International Symposium on Boat and Ship Archaeology (ISBSA) has traditionally served as a platform to publicise recent ship finds and new nautical material, and to outline the results of ship-related archaeological, historical and technical research.

In 2021, the University of Zadar, the International Centre for Underwater Archaeology in Zadar, the Archaeological Museum Zadar, the Museum of Ancient Glass in Zadar and the City of Zadar will host the ISBSA 16 in Zadar, Croatia, under the following theme:

Sailing through History

Reading the Past – Imagining the Future

Besides this main theme, the ISBSA 16 remains a forum focused on progress and developments in nautical archaeology and will be opened to the following themes:

• Ship construction
• Recent discoveries
• Nautical ethnography
• Experimental nautical archaeology
• Research methods.

Finally, ISBSA 16 is opened to the presentation of significant finds from all parts of the world, and we strongly encourage participation from colleagues outside Europe.