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Publication Funding

The George and Ann Bass Endowment for Nautical Archaeology Publications

established in 2018, honors two of INA’s Founders and supports a cause that is very close to their hearts: the final publication of archaeological material excavated by INA. This Endowment provides up to $25,000/year in funding to one or two worthy applicant(s).

  • Applicants may seek funding for expenses such as:
    • faculty leave to support dedicated writing time
    • travel to conduct relevant research leading directly to publication
    • manuscript preparation (artifact photography, illustration, the hiring of necessary support staff)
    • subvention (indexing, color plates, expanded site plans, etc.)
  • To view the grant guidelines or apply for funding, download the application form here.
  • Applications must be submitted by October 1.
  • Questions? Contact us at info@nauticalarch.org.

Award Recipients

2024 Shelley Wachsmann

(Texas A&M University)


Tantura Lagoon, Israel, Final Publication

The 2024 Bass Publication Grant was awarded to Dr. Shelley Wachsmann, Meadows Professor of Biblical Archaeology in the Nautical Archaeology Program at Texas A&M University. Wachsmann is advancing the publication of multiple shipwrecks identified at Tantura Lagoon, Israel during a 1994-1996 collaboration by INA and the University of Haifa’s Recanati Institute of Maritime Studies.

2023 Nicolle Hirschfeld

(Trinity University)


The Cape Gelidonya Shipwreck Project, 1960–2010

The 2023 Bass Publication Grant was awarded to Dr. Nicolle Hirschfeld. Hirschfeld and her team are overseeing the final stages of research and documentation as they prepare an updated, comprehensive report of the Late Bronze Age shipwreck at Cape Gelidonya. The Cape Gelidonya shipwreck was George F. Bass’ pioneering, ongoing project for half a century (1960–2010), and at his request, Nicolle undertook leadership of the current publication.

2022 Cheryl Ward

(INA)


The Sadana Island Shipwreck Final Report

The 2022 Bass Publication Grant was awarded to Dr. Cheryl Ward. Ward plans to publish the results of archaeological fieldwork conducted by INA-Egypt between 1994 and 1998 on the Sadana Island shipwreck, an 18th-century markab located near Safaga, Egypt on the Red Sea coast. The Sadana Island ship opens doors to understanding a previously undocumented method of ship construction.

2021 John McManamon

(Loyola University)


Bozburun Byzantine Shipwreck Final Report

The 2021 Bass Publication Grant was co-awarded to Dr. John M. McManamon, S.J., Ph.D., Emeritus Professor of History at Loyola University Chicago. The Bozburun Byzantine shipwreck sank around 890 off the Turkish coast carrying a rich cargo of amphora. Turkish sponge divers had known of the wreck for some time. One of those generous divers, Mehmet Aşkın, volunteered to show the wreck to Dr. George Bass during AINA’s first survey in 1973. Under the field direction of Dr. Frederick M. Hocker, presently Director of Research for the Vasa Museum in Stockholm, INA staff excavated the Bozburun wreck between 1995 and 1998. The funding from this grant will result in a detailed final report including an amphora database that will permit initial analysis of the cargo.

2021 Jeremy Green

(Western Australia Museum)


The Santo António de Tanná Final Report

The 2021 Bass Publication Grant was co-awarded to Dr. Jeremy Green, Ph.D., Head of the Department of Maritime Archaeology in the Western Australia Museum, in support of the final report of the Santo António de Tanná shipwreck sunk in Mombasa, Kenya. Santo António de Tanná was a Portuguese frigate that was dispatched in 1697, that eventually capsized after completing its mission, next to Fort Jesus in Mombasa. The wreck was discovered in 1972 and excavated between 1977-1981 under the auspices of the National Museums of Kenya and the Institute of Nautical Archaeology (INA) under the direction of Robin Piercy. The funding will support the publication of the final report in addition to a 3D visualization of the hull timbers.

2020 Wendy van Duivenvoorde

(Flinders University)


Kyrenia Ship Publication: Hull, Rigging, and Equipment

The 2020 Bass Publication Grant was awarded to Dr. Wendy van Duivenvoorde, Associate Professor of Maritime Archaeology at Flinders University, in support of her publication on the hull remains of the early third -century BC shipwreck at Kyrenia, Cyprus. This publication comes 50 years after the 1968-69 excavation of this well-preserved ancient Greek ship and its cargo by INA, and relies in part on the earlier work of the late J. Richard “Dick” Steffy, who reconstructed the hull in the 1970s.

2019 John Broadwater

(Spritsail Enterprises)


Betsy: The Archaeology of a Merchant Ship at War, 1781

The 2019 Bass Publication Grant was awarded to Dr. John Broadwater who is preparing the final publication of the British collier brig Betsy, which sank in 1781 during the pivotal Battle of Yorktown. Appropriately, following one of INA’s earliest surveys (of the York River) in 1976, which was directed by Bass, John became the first State Underwater Archaeologist of Virginia (1978) and directed the Yorktown Shipwreck Project for nearly a decade. Broadwater went on to serve as Chief Archaeologist at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA)’s Office of National Marine Sanctuaries until his retirement in 2010.