January 1, 2019
The 120th Joint Annual Meeting of the Archaeological Institute of America and the Society for Classical Studies will take place January 3–6, 2019, at the Marriott Marquis San Diego Marina Hotel. Nearly 2,500 attendees, including professionals in the field, students, and archaeology enthusiasts, will be at the meeting. The latest information, including the program and registration and hotel/travel details, is available online at archaeological.org/annualmeeting.
The 123rd season of the AIA Lecture Program, which began in August 2018, will run through May 2019. Approximately 20,000 people attend AIA lectures each year, making it one of the Institute’s largest outreach efforts.
Still to come in the 2018–2019 season is a tour from January 24 to February 28 by AIA Kress Lecturer, Troels Myrup Kristensen, associate professor of classical art and archaeology in the Department of Culture and Society, Aarhus University. Kristensen’s lecture Connecting the Dots: New Perspectives on Mobility and Gathering in Ancient Mediterranean Sanctuaries discusses the results of a recently completed five-year research project on ancient Mediterranean pilgrimages.
Join us to celebrate the AIA’s 140th anniversary at ArchaeoCon in San Diego on Saturday, January 5, at the Marriott Marquis San Diego Marina Hotel. ArchaeoCon is a public event for people of all ages that will feature entertaining and educational programs, workshops, and demonstrations that celebrate archaeology and the AIA. AIA Trustees Sarah Parcak, 2016 TED Prize winner and founder of GlobalXplorer°, and Josh Gates, host of Expedition Unknown, will headline the festivities. Event details are available at archaeological.org/annualmeeting.
The AIA is hosting a very special event in Los Angeles on Saturday, February 2, 2019, at the University of Southern California’s Bovard Auditorium. Join renowned archaeologist Sarah Parcak and explorer Josh Gates from the Discovery Channel as they share entertaining stories from the field and from their television experiences. There will be time for audience members to ask questions and an opportunity for some attendees to meet the presenters.
Sarah Parcak, National Geographic Society Archaeology Fellow, Fellow of the Society of Antiquaries, and winner of the 2016 $1 million TED Prize, serves as the founding director of the Laboratory for Global Observation at the University of Alabama at Birmingham. Josh Gates is an adventurer and avid explorer. The Discovery Channel’s Expedition Unknown chronicles Gates’ adventures as he sets out on a global journey to find the truth behind iconic unsolved legends.
Visit the AIA website at archaeological.org for tickets and more information about this exciting evening.
The eighth International Archaeology Day (IAD) was observed around the world on Saturday, October 20, 2018. This annual celebration of archaeology, begun by the AIA in 2011, has grown exponentially over the last eight years. In 2018, more than 1,000 events were held by hundreds of Collaborating Organizations in over two dozen countries. Within the United States, 46 states held IAD events and close to 80 AIA Societies hosted activities in their communities. We estimate that more than 200,000 people attended these events.
IAD is held annually on the third Saturday of October. Though the majority of events take place on that day, activities continue throughout the month. IAD 2019 will take place on October 19. Sign up today to become a Collaborating Organization and plan a public event that showcases archaeology. Find out more at archaeologyday.org.
AIA programs and activities shared in “Dispatches from the AIA” are made possible through membership dues and gifts from generous donors. The AIA uses these resources to continue its mission of supporting archaeological research, preserving sites around the world, promoting outreach, and making the world of archaeology accessible through its publications and websites. We urge you to join the AIA and support the Institute’s efforts to understand, protect, and promote our cultural heritage. Visit archaeological.org/join.
You can still buy the AIA’s 2019 calendar, “A Year of Archaeology,” featuring archaeological images from the AIA’s Annual Photo Contest. Proceeds support the AIA’s Site Preservation Program, which has awarded grants to help preserve and protect 29 sites on five continents. Buy a calendar today for yourself or as a gift for friends and family to support the protection of archaeological sites for years to come at archaeological.org/calendar.
The AIA is pleased to announce that we recently rejoined the Society for Classical Studies’ Placement Service. If you are an AIA member, you now have access to all the benefits of the Placement Service at no charge, including scheduling job interviews at the annual meeting, uploading to the CV/Resume Book, and all the other benefits that come with being a member. For complete details, go to archaeological.org/careers.
Each year the AIA makes available numerous grants, fellowships, scholarships, and awards to support and recognize the efforts of scholars and students. To be eligible for AIA grants and fellowships, applicants must have been members of the AIA for at least two consecutive years (one year for students) by the application deadline. To learn more about AIA fellowships and grants, please visit archaeological.org/grants.
