Underwater archaeology has recently attracted growing public interest in Aruba. However, the island has already spent more than 20 years developing and documenting its underwater cultural heritage.
The National Archaeological Museum Aruba (MANA) has played a key role in this work. Research conducted by MANA archaeologist and Head of the Collections and Research Department, drs. Raymundo Dijkhoff, has helped create an inventory of Aruba’s underwater archaeological sites and establish a foundation for future research.
This work has led to several national and international collaborations, most recently between MANA and international philanthropic company Inkfish LLC. The company is currently conducting multibeam surveys of the seabed in Aruba’s territorial waters.
The groundwork for this collaboration was laid years earlier. In 2021, drs. Dijkhoff conducted desk-based research using existing sources to compile an inventory of Aruba’s maritime sites. The research created new opportunities for MANA to work with the Dutch Ministry of Education, Culture and Science (OCW) and the Cultural Heritage Agency of the Netherlands (RCE).
This resulted in a close partnership between MANA and RCE that has now continued for more than five years.
In 2021, the Dutch Caribbean Maritime Heritage Workgroup was established to promote awareness, training, networking and collaboration. The workgroup followed a formal request made by the CAS islands, Curaçao, Aruba and Sint Maarten, in 2019 to the Dutch Ministry of Culture to ratify the 2001 UNESCO Convention on the Protection of the Underwater Cultural Heritage.
Drs. Dijkhoff represents Aruba in the group of experts working on this area of cultural heritage.
That same year, he participated in an intensive UNESCO online course on underwater archaeology and was invited to give a presentation during the international seminar “Overview of Underwater Cultural Heritage Management in Latin America and the Caribbean.”
Another result of the collaboration with OCW and RCE was a trilingual video in Papiamento, Dutch and English, funded by RCE. The video explains the importance of the 2001 UNESCO Convention and the protection of underwater cultural heritage. It is available through the MANA website, the National Archaeological Museum Aruba Facebook page, Museo Arkeologico on Instagram and YouTube.
The collaboration with RCE culminated in 2025 with a three-week theoretical and practical training course on underwater cultural heritage management in Aruba. RCE asked MANA to serve as its organizational and logistical partner.
A total of 16 professionals from the Caribbean islands within the Kingdom of the Netherlands participated in the intensive course. The training was led by Professor Dr. Martijn Manders of Leiden University.
Aruba was represented by MANA archaeologists drs. Raymundo Dijkhoff and drs. Harold Kelly, maritime ranger Shane Thielman of the Aruba Conservation Foundation, and ecologist Oriana Wouters, MSc.
The training aimed to build the capacity of a core group of professionals working in maritime heritage across the islands of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, establish a network for cooperation and provide skills that could be applied directly in the islands.
The training also formed part of the preparations for ratification of the 2001 UNESCO Convention on the Protection of the Underwater Cultural Heritage. Ratification of the convention would allow for stronger management and protection of Aruba’s underwater cultural heritage.
RCE is also providing financial support for key maritime heritage management projects in Aruba. Some of these projects began in 2026 through collaborations involving MANA, the Aruba Conservation Foundation (ACF) and IDNOVA.
A group of local divers and community heritage workers, guided by Anthony Hagedoorn and Lui Samanez, has also joined the effort to assist at several research sites.
Meanwhile, in December 2025, Dr. Matt Carter of Inkfish contacted MANA on the recommendation of Professor Dr. Manders of RCE. Carter is now leading the seabed survey around Aruba, using the 2021 desk-based research as a foundation to locate the exact positions and obtain primary documentation of the maritime sites, including shipwrecks, identified in that research.
The research continues to be expanded as new information becomes available.
The data collected by Inkfish is considered important to the development of maritime archaeology in Aruba, as it represents the first baseline research into the island’s underwater maritime sites. While shipwrecks are among the sites being studied, there are also other types of underwater archaeological sites.
The research will provide an important foundation for establishing a more structured approach to managing and protecting this significant part of Aruba’s cultural heritage.
