The British Institute for the Study of Iraq (BISI) (formerly the British School of Archaeology in Iraq) is the only body in

Britain Britain most often refers to: * The United Kingdom, a sovereign state in Europe comprising the island of Great Britain, the north-eastern part of the island of Ireland and many smaller islands * Great Britain, the largest island in the United King ...

devoted to research into the ancient civilizations and languages of

Mesopotamia Mesopotamia ''Mesopotamíā''; ar, بِلَاد ٱلرَّافِدَيْن or ; syc, ܐܪܡ ܢܗܪ̈ܝܢ, or , ) is a historical region of Western Asia situated within the Tigris–Euphrates river system, in the northern part of the ...

. It was founded in 1932 and its aims are to support and undertake research into the archaeology (and cognate subjects) of

Iraq Iraq,; ku, عێراق, translit=Êraq officially the Republic of Iraq, '; ku, کۆماری عێراق, translit=Komarî Êraq is a country in Western Asia. It is bordered by Turkey to the north, Iran to the east, the Persian Gulf and K ...

and the neighbouring countries from the earliest times to c. AD 1700, and to promote the cultural heritage of Iraq. Since 1934, the School has published a refereed journal, ''Iraq'', which is now published annually, in November/December of each year. It is a registered charity and has its headquarters in the office of the

British Academy The British Academy is the United Kingdom's national academy for the humanities and the social sciences. It was established in 1902 and received its royal charter in the same year. It is now a fellowship of more than 1,000 leading scholars spa ...

Carlton House Terrace Carlton House Terrace is a street in the St James's district of the City of Westminster in London. Its principal architectural feature is a pair of terraces of white stucco-faced houses on the south side of the street overlooking St. James's Pa ...

in London.

History

The School was founded in 1932 as a memorial to the life and works of

Gertrude Bell Gertrude Margaret Lowthian Bell, CBE (14 July 1868 – 12 July 1926) was an English writer, traveller, political officer, administrator, and archaeologist. She spent much of her life exploring and mapping the Middle East, and became highl ...

. Bell was passionate about archaeology and bequeathed £6,000 for its founding when she died in 1926. Further fundraising in 1929 added £14,000, and although the Great Depression left the fund depleted, the school was established in 1932. Its initial purpose was to fund excavations by archaeologists and provide scholarship to British students working on archaeological projects in Iraq. The School carried out excavations in Iraq before the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposi ...

. Activities resumed in 1948, and the School worked continuously from then until 1990. Since then the School has been prevented by political circumstances from resuming its research activities. However, friendly relations with the Iraqi Department of

Antiquities Antiquities are objects from antiquity, especially the civilizations of the Mediterranean: the Classical antiquity of Greece and Rome, Ancient Egypt and the other Ancient Near Eastern cultures. Artifacts from earlier periods such as the Meso ...

and contact with Iraqi colleagues have been maintained, mainly through private visits. The School was funded by a grant from the British Government starting in 1946, which allowed it to establish a base in

Baghdad Baghdad (; ar, بَغْدَاد , ) is the capital of Iraq and the second-largest city in the Arab world after Cairo. It is located on the Tigris near the ruins of the ancient city of Babylon and the Sassanid Persian capital of Ctesiphon. I ...

. Its first director was

Max Mallowan Sir Max Edgar Lucien Mallowan (6 May 1904 – 19 August 1978) was a prominent British archaeologist, specialising in ancient Middle Eastern history. He was the second husband of Dame Agatha Christie. Life and work Born Edgar Mallowan in Wands ...

whose wife was Agatha Christie who wrote ''

Murder in Mesopotamia ''Murder in Mesopotamia'' is a work of detective fiction by British writer Agatha Christie, first published in the UK by the Collins Crime Club on 6 July 1936 and in the US by Dodd, Mead and Company later in the same year. The UK edition ret ...

''. Among the notable projects the school was involved in was the excavation at

Nimrud Nimrud (; syr, ܢܢܡܪܕ ar, النمرود) is an ancient Assyrian city located in Iraq, south of the city of Mosul, and south of the village of Selamiyah ( ar, السلامية), in the Nineveh Plains in Upper Mesopotamia. It was a m ...

. In the aftermath of

2003 invasion of Iraq The 2003 invasion of Iraq was a United States-led invasion of the Republic of Iraq and the first stage of the Iraq War. The invasion phase began on 19 March 2003 (air) and 20 March 2003 (ground) and lasted just over one month, including 26 ...

, the school devoted its resources to assisting in the rebuilding of Iraq's heritage. Funding from the British government however halved in 2007, and then stopped completely in 2009. The school also receives an income from private sources. It currently has about 650 subscribing members. It is governed by a Council, which meets in London and is elected annually by the members, under Regulations approved by the original members in 1932 but recently revised. On 12 December 2007 the organization's name was changed to The British Institute for the Study of Iraq. It also broadened it scope to promoting Iraqi cultural heritage and engaging in partnerships and collaborations with Iraqi archaeologists. Since the 1990s it has also funded Iraqi students studying in Britain. It helped in the creation of the Basra Museum opened in 2016.

Assyrian ivories

In 2011 the BISI sold one-third of its collection of

Nimrud Ivories The Nimrud ivories are a large group of small carved ivory plaques and figures dating from the 9th to the 7th centuries BC that were excavated from the Assyrian city of Nimrud (in modern Ninawa in Iraq) during the 19th and 20th centuries. The iv ...

, discovered between 1949 and 1963 in excavations led by Sir

, to the

British Museum The British Museum is a public museum dedicated to human history, art and culture located in the Bloomsbury area of London. Its permanent collection of eight million works is among the largest and most comprehensive in existence. It docum ...

for £1.17 million. Another third was donated to the British Museum in recognition of the storage of the collection by the museum over the previous 24 years. It is anticipated that the remaining third of the collection will be returned to Iraq sometime in the future. A selection of the ivories was put on display at the British Museum in 2011.

Notable people

List of directors

* 1947 to ????: Sir Max Mallowan * 1961 to 1965: Donald Wiseman * 1965 to 1969: David Oates * 1969 to 1975: Diana Kirkbride-Helbæk * 1975 to 1981: Nicholas Postgate * 1988 to 1995: Roger Matthews

Other staff

Dominique Collon Dominique Petronella Margaret Collon, (born 18 May 1940) is a Belgian-born academic, author, archaeologist and former curator at the British Museum in London who has worked and travelled extensively in the Near East in Syria, Turkey and Iraq. She ...

, co-editor of the journal ''Iraq'' from 1979 to 2010 * Barbara Parker (later Parker-Mallowan), secretary/librarian 1950–1961, and president 1983–1993

Bell Medal

The Gertrude Bell Memorial Gold Medal is awarded by the BISI for "outstanding services to Mesopotamian archaeology". , there have been five recipients: *

(1976) *

Seton Lloyd Seton Howard Frederick Lloyd, CBE (30 May 1902, Birmingham, England – 7 January 1996, Faringdon, England), was an English archaeologist. He was President of the British School of Archaeology in Iraq, Director of the British Institute of Archaeo ...

(1979) * David Oates (1997) *

Roger Moorey Peter Roger Stuart Moorey, (30 May 1937 – 23 December 2004) was a British archaeologist, historian, and academic, specialising in Mesopotamia and the Ancient Near East. He was Keeper of Antiquities at the Ashmolean Museum of the University of ...

(2003) *

Lamia Al-Gailani Werr Lamia Al-Gailani Werr (, 8 March 1938 – 18 January 2019) was an Iraqi Assyriologist specialising in ancient Mesopotamian antiquities. Al-Gailani was born in Baghdad and completed her education in Iraq and the United Kingdom. Her doctoral stud ...

(2009)

References

External links

British Institute for the Study of Iraq
{{Authority control British overseas research institutes Archaeology of the United Kingdom Archaeology of Iraq Archaeological organizations Ancient Near East organizations Charities based in London 1932 establishments in the United Kingdom Iraqi culture Middle Eastern studies