Oxford Centre for Maritime Archaeology

Christoph Gerigk ©Franck Goddio/Hilti Foundation

The Oxford Centre for Maritime Archaeology (OCMA) is a research centre of Oxford University's Institute of Archaeology.

It is working in collaboration with the Institut Européen d'Archéologie Sous-Marine (IEASM) and the Hilti Foundation on their projects in Alexandria and Aboukir Bay. The work focuses on the ancient port at Alexandria and two sites in Aboukir bay, Heracleion and East Canopus, both of which lie approximately 30 kilometres north east of Alexandria.

Christoph Gerigk ©Franck Goddio/Hilti Foundation

As well as archaeological personnel participating in the excavations, Oxford has doctoral and masters students involved in the study of the sites and their material culture. In addition, Oxford provides specialist expertise to IEASM’s already established team of scientists and is involved in the scholarly publication of the results of the excavations.

Staff from OCMA and IEASM also teach maritime archaeology, with an emphasis on the ancient Mediterranean and surrounding areas, as part of undergraduate and postgraduate degrees at the University of Oxford.