DAI - History

FOUNDING HISTORY

The foundation stone of the German Archaeological Institute was laid in Rome almost 200 years ago. On 21 April 1829, a circle of friends, scholars, artists, and diplomats founded the Instituto di Corrispondenza Archeologica to disseminate and carry out research on the monuments of ancient art, epigraphy, and topography. Today, the DAI looks back at an eventful history evolving at numerous locations whilst closely linked to historical, political, and economic transformations.

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Chronicle of the Locations

1829

Foundation of the Instituto di Corrispondenza Archeologica in Rome

The Instituto di Corrispondenza Archeologica was founded in Palazzo Cafferelli, the residence of the Prussian envoy to the Holy See on the Capitol.

1833

Relocation of the Institute's management to Berlin

When Eduard Gerhard moved from Rome to Berlin, the headquarters of the Institute also moved. The members of the "Centraldirection" met in Gerhard's private apartment at Unter den Linden 17 or in his office in the Altes Museum.

1870

Reorganisation into a Prussian state institution

On 3 March 1871, at its headquarters in Versailles, the Institute was converted into a state institution, initially a Prussian one, by William I.

1874

Conversion into a Reichsanstalt

The former Prussian institution is transformed into a Reichsanstalt and assigned to the Foreign Office. It was not until 1887 that it was given its present name, the Deutsches Archäologisches Institut (German Archaeological Institute).

1874

Foundation of the Athens Department

The ceremonial opening of the department in Athens in 1874 marked the beginning of a series of departments and commissions that now characterise the work of the DAI worldwide.

1902

Foundation of the Roman-Germanic Commission

The Roman-Germanic Commission was established in 1902 by an immediate decree of the German Kaiser. Like its predecessor, the Reichs-Limeskommission, initiated by Theodor Mommsen, it was to carry out transnational research.

1929

Affiliation of the Cairo Department

On the occasion of the 100th anniversary of the Kaiserlich Deutsche Institut für ägyptische Altertumskunde (Imperial German Institute for Egyptian Archaeology), founded in 1907 by Ludwig Borchardt, the Cairo Department is incorporated into the DAI.

1929

Foundation of the Istanbul Department

In 1929, despite difficult economic conditions, the Istanbul Department was established as the Institute's third overseas institution on its centenary.

1943

Foundation of the Madrid Department

The foundation stone of the Madrid Department was laid on 15 November 1943. It was closed at the end of the war and did not reopen until 1954.

1955

Foundation of the Baghdad Department

The DAI has been represented in Baghdad since 1955 by a department, now a branch of the Orient Department. Since then, it has been housed in a number of different buildings in Baghdad.

1961

Foundation of the Tehran Department

Erich Boehringer planned a new branch in Tehran to serve as a base for German research. This was to coincide with the start of new research at Takht-e Soleiman in north-west Iran. Today, the Tehran Department is a branch of the Eurasia Department.

1967

Affiliation of the Commission for Ancient History and Epigraphy

As the DAI expands, the need for greater integration of archaeological written sources is becoming ever more apparent. For this reason, the Commission for Ancient History and Epigraphy, founded in 1951, was incorporated into the DAI.

1971

Foundation of the Lisbon branch office

The Lisbon branch had to be closed in 1999. It was reopened in 2009 as a research centre in its former library, now housed in the Portuguese Office for the Preservation of Monuments.

1978

Foundation of Sanaa Station

The DAI's work expanded to include the southwestern Arab region with the opening of a branch office in Yemen in 1978. Today it is attached to the Orient Department as a branch.

1979

Foundation of the Commission for Archaeology of Non-European Cultures

On the occasion of the 150th anniversary of the Institute, the Commission for General and Comparative Archaeology was founded in Bonn. It was later renamed the Commission for Archaeology of Non-European Cultures.

1980

Foundation of Damascus Station

In the course of the reorganisation, the Damascus station, which carries out research from prehistory to the Islamic period, was incorporated as a branch of the newly founded Orient Department.

1995

Foundation of the Eurasia Department

The DAI expanded its field of work to include Europe and Central Asia with the establishment of the Eurasia Department on 1 January 1995. With the end of the Cold War, the successor states of the Soviet Union opened up for joint archaeological research.

1996

Foundation of the Orient Department

Founded in 1996, the Orient Department is responsible for Baghdad, Damascus and Sanaa. It is based in a villa on the grounds of the DAI headquarters in Berlin-Dahlem.

2007

Foundation of the Ulaanbaatar Research Branch

Thanks to a generous donation from the Theodor Wiegand Society, the Ulaanbaatar Branch opened in 2007, providing a focal point for long-standing German-Mongolian projects in Karakorum and Karabalgasun.

2009

Foundation of the Beijing branch office

In 2009, the Eurasia Department opened an office in the Beijing German Centre's landmark tower, serving as a bridge between Chinese and German archaeological research.

2016

Foundation of the Budapest Research Unit

Since its foundation, the Roman-Germanic Commission has maintained close relations with the Danube region, especially Hungary, and in 2016 established a research centre in the premises of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences' Archaeological Institute.

2017

Foundation of the Amman Research Center

The German Protestant Institute for the Study of the Ancient History of the Holy Land was founded in 1900 by a resolution of the Protestant regional churches. Since 2017, the DAI has operated a research center at its location in Amman.

PRESIDENTS AND SECRETARIES

The history of the management of the Instituto di Corrispondenza Archeologica and the German Archaeological Institute is one of terminological diversity. The designations presidents, secretaries, and secretaries-general have been supplanting each other over the years. It was only in the run-up to the centenary anniversary in 1929 that the title president became binding. The individual branch offices today are besides supervised by directors.

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190 years of DAI in a minute

From Edurad Gerhard's trip to Italy in 1820, to the first use of the griffin as a logo, to the foundation in Rome in April 1829. The history of the company is succinctly and vividly summarised in this video, created for the 190th anniversary in 2019.

THE DAI's HISTORY OF PUBLICATIONS

Already in 1829, the year of its founding, the institute got underway on an intensive publishing activity. Today, it supervises 14 journals, around 100 series, and various monographic works and consequently forms one of the world's largest platforms for modern archaeological research.

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SPECIAL HONOURS: THE WINCKELMANN MEDAL

At the occasion of its centenary celebrations in 1929, the institute's honorary member, Johann II Prince of Liechtenstein, established the commemorative Winckelmann Medal for special honours. The medal was designed by Edwin Scharff (1887-1955), a sculptor working in Berlin. Since 1929 the medal is awarded first and foremost to cities and institutions for special achievements in archaeology.

The laureates so far have been:

1929 Gustav Adolf, Crown Prince and later Gustav VI Adolf, King of Sweden

1929 The city of Rome

1939 The Greek Archaeological Society in Athens

1969 The city of Frankfurt am Main

1974 The Acropolis Museum in Athens

1974 The National Archaeological Museum in Athens

1979 The City of Berlin

1979 The Austrian Archaeological Institute

1979 The Pontificia Accademia Romana di Archeologia

2004 The Archaeological Institute of America