British Institute at Ankara



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's Overseas Institutes. The institute has an office in based in Ankara, where it maintains a library, research facilities, and accommodation for visiting scholars. It also has a London office.

Archaeologist Lutgarde Vandeput 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, 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. Other founding members included the archaeologist and museum curator Winifred Lamb, 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 succeeded Garstang as director in 1949, In 1961, Michael Gough became the institute's third director. He had a focus on the Byzantine period, with excavations at the church complex at Alahan and at Dağ Pazarı. James Mellaart, as assistant director from 1957 to 1961, started excavations at the site of Çatalhöyük, 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 Lutgarde Vandeput, who became director in 2006. British archaeologist Shahina Farid is honorary secretary.

Heritage Turkey
Heritage Turkey is an annual magazine-type publication containing reports of research projects supported by the British Institute at Ankara. Short articles are written by project directors and scholars. Heritage Turkey, which was first published in 2011, features articles mostly on archaeological excavations in Anatolia. It is a continuation of the Anatolian Studies journal published by the British Institute at Ankara and Cambridge University Press.

Heritage Turkey's first volume was published in 2011 and Volume 12 was published in 2022. The online version of Heritage Turkey can be accessed from the website of the British Institute of Archeology in Ankara.