The Spokane Society of the Archaeological Institute of America (AIA) celebrated its 75th Anniversary on May 6 with a gala including dinner and a lecture! The dinner, which the Society called "The Feast of King Midas," was a reconstruction of a 2,700 year-old funerary meal that King Midas served his guests at a feast honoring his late father Gordius. Recipes were based on analyzed organic residue found on pottery from a vast tomb excavated in…
Day 4: Wednesday, February 6. Our plan for a morning visit to the Egyptian Museum, located in the now globally famous Tahrir Square, has been on my mind for weeks prior to the departure of this trip. Even the smallest chance of any disturbances in the area would prevent our visiting the treasures located in the museum. Through careful AIA Tours planning, and as a great benefit of our “behind the scenes” special access, the…
The Archaeological Institute of America is delighted to announce the selection of Rebecca W. King as its new Executive Director. Ms. King comes to the AIA most recently from her role as Executive Vice President at North Bennet Street School in Boston. While there, she worked to successfully stabilize the school’s operating budget and brought in well over half of institutional revenue, advised on successful closure of a multi-million dollar endowment campaign, and provided committed…
In the sixth in a series of weekly blogs, IAFS/Learn intern Lauren Nofi reports on progress in cuttings 6 and 9, on a field trip to the Hills of Tara and Slane, and on the last week of the IAFS winter program. Howdy! As usual, another super busy week on site! This week I spent most of my time in Cutting 9. Cutting 6 crew took the rubble pile to the east of the chapter…
AIA Archaeology Hour and Archaeology Abridged are back for 2023! Tune in for virtual lectures with Egyptologist Kara Cooney on January 17, 18, and 26. Talks will be recorded and added to our AIA YouTube Channel. AIA ARCHAEOLOGY HOURThe Good Kings: Absolute Power in Ancient Egypt and the Modern World*Each AIA Archaeology Hour presentation is repeated on two consecutive nights.Tuesday, January 17 at 7 pm PT (Register here)Wednesday, January 18 at 7 pm ET (Register…
Theresa B. Goell (1901-1985) Archaeologist, Architect, and first female to lead an excavation in southeastern Turkey Theresa Goell standing next to the colossal head of King Antiochus on the West Terrace of Nemrud Dagi. The colossal statues of the West Terrace had all collapsed by the time of excavation; this head, among others, was righted by Goell's team.Image: Courtesy of the Museum of the Ancient Near East, Harvard University Dr. Donald H. Sanders is an architect, architectural…
Tatiana Avenirovna Proskouriakoff (1909- 1985) Russian-American Archaeologist, Architect, Scholar, Known for Groundbreaking Contributions to Maya Archaeology Tatiana Proskouriakoff, when she worked for the Carnegie Institute of Washington, producing her famous reconstruction drawingsImage: © Ms. Char Solomon, biographer of T. Proskouriakoff, and owner of the site the image is sourced from. Dr. Ben Thomas, AIA Director of Programs, is an archaeologist who studies ancient Maya settlements and architecture as well as an Assistant Professor at the Berklee College…
John Wesley Gilbert (1863-1923) African American Archaeologist, Classicist, Educator, and Advocate "John Wesley Gilbert" (1888). Images of Brown. Brown Digital Repository. Brown University Library. https://repository.library.brown.edu/studio/item/bdr:63702/ Dr. John W.I. Lee, Associate Professor of Ancient History at University of California Santa Barbara, is completing a book about John Wesley Gilbert, the first African American scholar to attend the American School of Classical Studies at Athens. Dr. Lee shares with us why you should know Professor Gilbert and his pioneering work…
We asked archaeologists, historians, and classicists: who are the archaeologists the public should know? These profiles aim to share the life and work of archaeologists you should know, and to celebrate the significance of archaeological inquiry, highlight the excitement of archaeological discovery, and inspire archaeology enthusiasts as well as professional archaeologists. Our aim with this feature is to call attention to archaeologists whose work has been overlooked and/or who represent new directions in the field.…
October 17, 2024 @ 6:30 pm
Dr. Andrew Goldman, Gonzaga University, will present Gordion After King Midas. Cities of the ancient world are often occupied for thousands of years, and the passing of the millennia can bring dramatic changes to their character and function. Ancient Gordion, located in central Turkey, is one such settlement. It is best known as the Iron Age capital of the Phrygian kingdom, where King Midas ruled in the 8th century BCE and Alexander the Great stopped…
February 4, 2024 @ 2:00 pm
Elspeth Dusinberre (University of Colorado Boulder) will present her work on the spectacular burial tumuli at Gordion (Türkiye), the capital of ancient Phrygia and seat of the legendary King Midas of the Golden Touch. This talk will consider material ranging from ca. 850-525 BCE. It will begin with Gordion’s oldest burial tumuli and look at the largest, the so-called Midas Monument, but it will focus ultimately on the last century or so of tumulus construction.…
October 12, 2022 @ 7:00 pm
Professor Elspeth Dusinberre will present her current work on the spectacular burial tumuli at Gordion (Turkey), the capital of ancient Phrygia and seat of the legendary (but historical) King Midas of the Golden Touch. This talk will consider material ranging from ca. 850-525 BCE. It will begin with Gordion’s oldest burial tumuli and look at the largest, the so-called Midas Monument, but it will focus ultimately on the last century or so of tumulus construction.…
Kevin Colls reading the curse on Shakespeare’s grave inside Holy Trinity Church in Stratford Upon Avon, United Kingdom.Photo courtesy of Kevin Colls. On March 29, 2026, the AIA Lincoln/Omaha Society hosted the first of two events that was part of their "Shakespeare and Archaeology" series this spring. The Society received a Society Outreach Grant towards the events. During the first event, the Society screened the film "The Lost King," which tells the story of how…
This week, AIA Director of Programs, Ben Thomas, and Senior Programs Coordinator, Meredith Langlitz, are participating in the 7th World Archaeological Congress (WAC) at the Dead Sea in Jordan. This Congress, the first in an Arab country, is being held at the King Hussein Ibn Talal Convention Center under the patronage of His Majesty King Abdullah II Ibn Al Hussein. Prince El Hassan Ibn Talal, a strong advocate for Jordan’s cultural heritage and the King’s…
Dr. Teresa Moore of the University of California Berkeley spoke to the American Research Center in Egypt, Northern California Chapter concerning the activities of the villagers who cut and decorated the Valley of the Kings in the Ramesside Period. She began with the most notorious member of Deir el-Medina, the chief workman Paneb, who was known to get drunk and throw mud-bricks at other workmen celebrating nighttime religious festivals. Her talk centered on activities performed…
AIA Session The 2025 Annual Meeting was held in Philadelphia, PA from January 2–5 at the Philadelphia Marriott Downtown. The academic program began on the morning of Friday, January 3rd and finished on the afternoon of Sunday, January 5th. Sessions were scheduled within morning, midday, and afternoon blocks. Paper order within a session may not reflect the final time slots. Please check the annual meeting app and printed program for exact order and times. Joint AIA/SCS Program PDF…
AIA Session The 2024 AIA and SCS Joint Annual Meeting took place January 4-7, in Chicago, Illinois. The academic program began on the morning of Friday, January 5th and finished on the afternoon of Sunday, January 7th. Sessions were scheduled within morning, midday, and afternoon blocks. Paper order within a session may not reflect the final time slots. Please check the annual meeting app and printed program for exact order and times. SESSION BLOCK 1: FRIDAY, JANUARY 5, 8:00-10:30…
Bronze Age Publication Bundle Christopher Nolan’s The Odyssey has sparked renewed excitement around one of the world’s most enduring stories. If the film left you wanting to go deeper into the world behind Homer’s epic, the AIA Uncovering series Bronze Age Bundle offers a rich and rewarding way to continue the journey. This bundle explores the archaeology behind Homer's Odyssey—from the fortified city of Troy and the palace of King Nestor at Pylos, to the…
Step Inside the World’s Greatest Archaeological Discoveries The past is closer than you think. Each volume in the Uncovering series brings you inside the excavations through in-depth storytelling and exclusive insights from excavations at some of the world’s most iconic archaeological sites. The Archaeological Institute of America, the oldest and largest archaeological organization in North America, has partnered with leading scholars to create four richly illustrated, expertly researched volumes. Each is a standalone read. Together, they tell…
AIA Session The 2026 Annual Meeting was held in San Francisco, CA from January 7–10 at the Hilton San Francisco Union Square. The academic program began on the morning of Thursday, January 8 and finished on the afternoon of Saturday, January 10. Sessions were scheduled within morning, midday, and afternoon blocks. Paper order within a session may not reflect the final time slots. Please check the annual meeting app and printed program for exact order and times. SESSION…
