From the editor's foreword: This volume represents the papers and symposia presented at the 16th annual Conference on Underwater Archaeology (CUA), which was jointly held with the annual meetings of the Society for Historical Archaeology (SHA) from 9-13 January 1985 in Boston, MA. The occasion also marked the 25th annual meeting of the Advisory Council on Underwater Archaeology (ACUA), the sponsoring body for the CUA. Approximately 80 papers were given in the various sessions by colleagues from the United States, Canada, Great Britain, Finland, and the Netherlands Antilles on sites ranging from as early as the third millenium B.C. to as recently as World War II. Reflecting the ever-increasing public interest in underwater affairs, papers were presented not only by professional archaeologists but also by attorneys, physicians, treasure salvors, sport divers, historians, and museum curators. Another commendable trend is evident in scanning these papers: a movement away from a concentration upon the methods and technologies used to acquire information towards a focus upon the results of research .