Founded in 1879, the AIA was chartered by the United States Congress in 1906, in recognition of its role in the development and passage of the Antiquities Act, which Theodore Roosevelt signed into law that year. Today, the AIA remains committed to preserving the world’s archaeological resources and cultural heritage for the benefit of people in the present and in the future.
Patty Gerstenblith, president of the Lawyers’ Committee for Cultural Heritage Preservation
As President of the Archaeological Institute of America (AIA), I am writing to express my strong support on behalf of the AIA for the request by the Government of Cyprus to renew the U.S.-Cyprus MOU imposing import restrictions on Classical and Pre-Classical archaeological materials and on Byzantine ecclesiastical material from Cyprus under Article 9 of the 1970 UNESCO Convention.
The Archaeological Institute of America congratulates the J. Paul Getty Museum for its recent decision to strengthen its acquisition policies for works of art including ancient art and archaeological materials.
The Archaeological Institute of America (AIA) and the American Schools of Oriental Research (ASOR) deplore the loss of innocent life in northern Israel and Lebanon and profoundly wish for a quick resolution of the armed hostilities in the area.
A proposed amendment to the National Historic Preservation Act (NHPA), now under consideration by Congress, may jeopardize the protected status of as yet undiscovered archaeological sites.
In response to the Association of Art Museum Directors’ (AAMD) new guidelines on the loan of archaeological artifacts and ancient artworks, the Archaeological Institute of America (AIA) today issued a statement pointing out its shortcomings and proposed a set of principles for future acquisitions or loans of antiquities by American museums.
The public hearing of the Cultural Property Advisory Committee on the renewal of the U.S.-Italy bilateral agreement took place in Washington D.C. on September 8, 200. AIA President Jane Waldbaum and Vice President for Professional Responsibilities, Malcolm Bell, III both attended and presented testimony on behalf of renewal. Links to PDFs of their letters to the committee are posted below.
The Archaeological Institute of America (AIA) announces a new educational program first implemented earlier this year at the Marine Corps base at Camp LeJeune in North Carolina. In the first four months some 2,000 troops en route to Iraq and Afghanistan have benefited from presentations on the archaeology, history and cultural heritage of the region by experts in the field.
The Hill of Tara is one of the most important archaeological sites in Ireland. In use since ca. 4000 B.C., at first as a burial ground and religious center, it was also a center of Irish kingship and a key medieval site. It stands in the midst of a larger landscape containing a wealth of related sites and monuments. Now, Tara and the surrounding landscape are threatened by a proposed major highway (the M3) that will cut through the landscape and divorce Tara from the related sites that surround it.
In response to ongoing looting of their archaeological and cultural heritage, the People’s Republic of China has requested a bi-lateral agreement with the United States under Article 9 of the 1970 UNESCO Convention and implemented by the U.S. Cultural Property Implementation Act. The agreement was supported by the AIA and SAFE.
