This book highlights critical developments in maritime research focusing on transformations brought about by the establishment of the ‘Blue Economy’ as well as the increasing recognition of the value of heritage for contemporary communities. It brings together a collection of chapters that seek to identify, and shape, how the field of maritime archaeology will mature in the coming decades as approaches, technologies, as well as expectations and uses, change and adapt.

The book specifically sets out to tackle an interrelated suite of major new topics focused on maritime resources, UNESCO and the impacts of the 2001 Convention on the Protection of the Underwater Cultural Heritage, with an express focus on how maritime heritage can benefit local communities. Intended for an international audience, the book is written in an accessible style, with contributions that provide an in-depth discussion of the trends outlined above for students and researchers working in maritime archaeology and heritage.

Chapter 2 is available open access under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License via link.springer.com.

Krish Seetah directs the ‘Mauritian Archaeology and Cultural Heritage’ project, which studies European colonialism in the Indian Ocean World, which includes an emphasis on maritime heritage research, and the ways in which underwater culture heritage influence local ecology and policy. His publications include ‘Connecting Continents: Archaeology and History in the Indian Ocean’ (OUP), which won the 2019 Society for American Archaeology Book Prize in the Scholarly category.

Justin Leidwanger has directed fieldwork on the maritime archaeology and heritage of trade, interaction, and mobility in Cyprus, Türkiye, and most recently in Sicily, where he coordinates the collaborative Marzamemi Maritime Heritage Project. He is the author of ‘Roman Seas: A Maritime Archaeology of Eastern Mediterranean Economies’ and editor of various other volumes on topics ranging from port networks and transport amphoras to seafaring modeling.