Founded in 1879, and chartered by Congress in 1906, the Archaeological Institute of America (AIA) is North America’s oldest and largest nonprofit dedicated to archaeology. The AIA was born from the vision of Harvard University professor Charles Eliot Norton who invited his friends and colleagues to form a society “for furthering and directing archaeological and artistic research.” At an 1879 meeting in Boston, MA, 108 people gathered to form the AIA, an organization which today has thousands of members and over 100 societies located across the United States, Canada, and beyond. The AIA’s mission calls for us to promote archaeological inquiry and public understanding of the material record of the human past to foster an appreciation of diverse cultures and our shared humanity. The Institute supports archaeologists, their research and its dissemination, and the ethical practice of archaeology. The AIA also educates people of all ages about the significance of archaeological discovery and advocates for the preservation of the world’s archaeological heritage.
The AIA has long promoted the study of the classical world. Although the AIA is not dedicated solely to the study of Classical Archaeology, since 1906 it has held a joint Annual Meeting with the Society for Classical Studies. Early in the Institute’s history it founded research centers and schools in seven countries, among these are the American School of Classical Studies at Athens and the American Academy in Rome. Beyond the overlapping organizational goals shared by the AIA and SCS, in terms of promoting public facing scholarship and striving to make our respective disciplines more accessible to the greater public, a variety of common interests are shared between AIA and SCS members. Many of the AIA’s educational and outreach programs offer elements of interest to archaeologists and classicists alike.
Unlike many learned societies which limit their membership to professionals alone, both AIA and SCS have a membership base that includes scholars, students, and members of the public. The core of the AIA’s membership consists of professional archaeologists specializing in the Mediterranean world and Near East. These same regions are the focus of the AIA’s academic journal, the American Journal of Archaeology (AJA), published since 1885. The AIA’s general interest magazine, ARCHAEOLOGY, covers a wide array of topics, cultures and time periods, which of course includes the classical world. The cover story from the most recent issue of ARCHAEOLOGY (July/August 2019) reports on new research relating to the ancient Roman city of Pompeii.
Since 1895, the AIA’s National Lecture Program has been bringing top scholars to engage with the public and share insights into some of the latest archaeological discoveries from the field and the laboratory. The AIA’s Lecture Program reaches an audience of over 20,000 people. Hosted at AIA local societies across the U.S. and Canada, the lectures are always free and open to the public. Nearly half of all AIA lectures are presented on topics relating to the world of the ancient Greeks and Romans.
Drawing on the expertise of many of our professional members, AIA public programs, like archaeology fairs, heritage educators’ workshops, International Archaeology Day events, and ArchaeoCon often include classical components. Roman reenactors have been popular additions at several of our events with participating legions immersing participants in the past by depicting the everyday lives of Roman soldiers, citizens, and subjects. Other Classics-focused educational offerings can be found on the AIA website. Our free mini-lesson plans, designed to assist educators in bringing archaeology into their classrooms, include a project that helps sixth to tenth grade students learn to identify representations of people in the Greek Archaic and Classical art styles.
The days of AIA-led expeditions are long past, but the Institute continues to fund scholarly research, fieldwork, and site preservation. The Temple of Athena at Assos in Turkey has the distinction of not only being the site of an AIA expedition in the 1880s, but a project at the site was also the recipient of the AIA’s first Site Preservation Grant. In recent years, many sites in the classical world have benefited from the AIA’s excavation, preservation, survey and research grants. In addition, a number of AIA fellowships and publication grants support work in the Mediterranean region.
The AIA’s website connects professionals and the public to excavations through the Archaeological Fieldwork Opportunities Bulletin (AFOB) and online Interactive Digs. The AFOB lists fieldwork opportunities around the globe, including many in the classical world. Interactive Digs are real excavations that provided updates to the AIA and public during the course of the fieldwork. Currently, the Venus Pompeiana Project is providing weekly updates from their dig at the Sanctuary of Venus at Pompeii. For those looking to visit Classical archaeological sites without participating in an excavation, the AIA Tours Program provides opportunities for individuals to visit many such locales, accompanied by expert guides.
In seeking to fulfill its motto to Excavate, Educate, and Advocate, and to serve both professional archaeologists and those whose interest in archaeology is avocational, much of AIA’s work features aspects relevant to the study of Classics in one form or another. Considering the great deal of shared interest between the constituent groups of the AIA and SCS, it is little wonder we have long partnered for a Joint Annual Meeting. Classical Studies has historically been of great importance to much of the AIA’s professional membership and of great interest to many of our members in general. Classics focused educational outreach, programs, funding initiatives for students and scholars, and advocacy, remain important components in AIA’s efforts to serve its members and the public. The AIA looks forward to continuing to promote our shared interest in the Classical past with the SCS.
.png)
ArchaeoCon 2019 at the AIA-SCS Joint Annual Meeting in San Diego, CA. Pictured is an ArchaeoCon Exhibitor from the Legion Six Historical Foundation and ArchaeoCon attendees. Photo Credit: AIA.
.png)
ArchaeoCon 2019 at the AIA-SCS Joint Annual Meeting in San Diego, CA. Pictured is an ArchaeoCon Exhibitor from the Legion Six Historical Foundation and ArchaeoCon attendee. Photo Credit: AIA.
.png)
Views of 2008 work at the temple of Athena at Assos in present-day Turkey. Assos was the site of an AIA expedition in the 1880s, and a project at this site was also the recipient of the AIA’s first Site Preservation Grant. Photo Credit: Dr. Nurettin Arslan.
.jpg)
Latin II students with Lillian Joyce and Cathie Dunar. In 2011, the Secretary of the AIA-Northern Alabama Society, Cathie Dunar, who taught high school Latin, timed their big annual Junior Classical League chapter celebration to be the last school day before National Archaeology Day. Each class prepared Roman dishes and talked about Roman culture. AIA-Northern Alabama Society President, Dr. Lillian Joyce, came to visit for two class periods during the event. Photo Credit: Cathie Dunar.
More June 2019 Newsletter Content
Explore the social media efforts of the Vindolanda excavation site.
Read about the divide - historical and constructed - between archaeology and classics.
Familiarize yourself with the new disability accomodations that will feature at the AIA/SCS joint annual meeting in D.C.
Photo Credits for June 2019 Newsletter
