The British Institute at Ankara (BIAA), formerly British Institute of Archaeology at Ankara, is a research institute that supports, promotes, and publishes research into the humanities and social sciences of Turkey and the Black Sea region. The institute was founded in 1947 and became legally incorporated in 1956 as part of a cultural agreement between the Republic of Turkey and the United Kingdom. The institute is a UK registered charity and part 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 span ...

's Overseas Institutes. The institute has an office in based in

Ankara Ankara ( , ; ), historically known as Ancyra and Angora, is the capital of Turkey. Located in the central part of Anatolia, the city has a population of 5.1 million in its urban center and over 5.7 million in Ankara Province, maki ...

, where it maintains a library, research facilities, and accommodation for visiting scholars. It also has a London office. Archaeologist

Lutgarde Vandeput Lutgarde Vandeput is the Director of the British Institute at Ankara. Education and early career Vandeput studied classical archaeology at the Katholieke Universiteit Leuven with a Masters thesis on "Splijttechnieken in de Oudheid: een kritis ...

is the current director of the BIAA. In addition to funding the publication of research monographs on archaeology and the history of Turkey, the institute regularly publishes the journal
Anatolian Studies
' and the annual magazine
Heritage Turkey
'. By the decision of the Turkish government, all scholars from the United Kingdom wishing to do archeological research in Turkey must channel their permit applications through the British Institute in Ankara.

History

The BIAA was founded on 22 November 1947 after proposals by the British archaeologist

John Garstang John Garstang (5 May 1876 – 12 September 1956) was a British archaeologist of the Ancient Near East, especially Egypt, Sudan, Anatolia and the southern Levant. He was the younger brother of Professor Walter Garstang, FRS, a marine bi ...

, who became the institute's first director. He was instrumental in choosing Ankara as the location of the new institute, in contrast to similar existing organizations that were based in

Istanbul Istanbul ( , ; tr, İstanbul ), formerly known as Constantinople ( grc-gre, Κωνσταντινούπολις; la, Constantinopolis), is the List of largest cities and towns in Turkey, largest city in Turkey, serving as the country's economic, ...

. Other founding members included the archaeologist and museum curator

Winifred Lamb Winifred Lamb (3 November 1894 – 16 September 1963) was a British archaeologist, art historian, and museum curator who specialised in Greek, Roman, and Anatolian cultures and artefacts. The bulk of her career was spent as the honorary keeper ...

, who served as honorary secretary from the organisation's foundation until 1956, whereupon she became vice-president. The institute's journal, Anatolian Studies, was first published in 1951, becoming a key reference for all archaeology-related disciplines in the region.

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 ...

succeeded Garstang as director in 1949, In 1961,

Michael Gough Francis Michael Gough ( ; 23 November 1916 – 17 March 2011) was a British character actor who made more than 150 film and television appearances. He is known for his roles in the Hammer Horror Films from 1958, with his first role as Sir Arthu ...

became the institute's third director. He had a focus on the

Byzantine period The Byzantine Empire, also referred to as the Eastern Roman Empire or Byzantium, was the continuation of the Roman Empire primarily in its eastern provinces during Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages, when its capital city was Constantinopl ...

, with excavations at the church complex at Alahan and at Dağ Pazarı.

James Mellaart James Mellaart FBA (14 November 1925 – 29 July 2012) was an English archaeologist and author who is noted for his discovery of the Neolithic settlement of Çatalhöyük in Turkey. He was expelled from Turkey when he was suspected of involvem ...

, as assistant director from 1957 to 1961, started excavations at the site of

Çatalhöyük Çatalhöyük (; also ''Çatal Höyük'' and ''Çatal Hüyük''; from Turkish ''çatal'' "fork" + ''höyük'' "tumulus") is a tell of a very large Neolithic and Chalcolithic proto-city settlement in southern Anatolia, which existed from app ...

, identifying it as a unique Neolithic settlement. David French became the institute's fourth director in 1968. In 1993 French retired and in 1995 Roger Mathews became the 5th director. Hugh Elton, who was appointed as the director in 2001, changed the name of the British Institute of Archaeology to British Institute. The current director is

, who became director in 2006. British archaeologist

Shahina Farid Shahina Farid is a British archaeologist who is best known for her work as Field Director and Project Coordinator at the Neolithic site of Çatalhöyük in Turkey. She is currently the scientific dating coordinator for Historic England. Early ...

is honorary secretary.

References

{{Authority control British overseas research institutes Archaeological organizations