In September 2008, a combined annual
conference for the Australasian Institute for
Maritime Archaeology, the Australasian
Society for Historical Archaeology and the
Australian Association for Maritime History
was held at the magnificent Institute
Building of the State Library of South Australia in Adelaide. The conference was entitled "Archaeology from Below - Engaging the Public" and hoped to address the relationship between archaeology and the public.

Papers presented in this session broaden discussions on the interactions of professionals and the public with respect to in situ stabilisation, preservation and management of terrestrial and underwater cultural heritage sites and their associated archaeological finds.