Since 1997 the Institute for Aegean Prehistory Study Center (INSTAP SCEC) has worked closely with the Greek Ministry of Culture, Institute for Aegean Prehistory (INSTAPP, and several projects of the American School of Classical Studies to develop a comprehensive approach to excavation, study and heritage management.  While archaeology has long stressed the importance of temporal or material changes, archaeologists have also started drawing attention to significant changes in the way we approach and recover the past.  My lecture considers the evolution of the INSTAP Study Center in this light and its efforts to meet the emerging needs of the wider archaeological community on Crete and in the Aegean. A selection of the major discoveries by our projects serve as illustrations.

Our foundation’s primary goal has always been helping excavators prepare ancient material for study and publication, often in collaboration with our partners the Wiener Laboratory for Archaeological Science and the INSTAP Academic Press.  Together these institutions represent the pioneering vision of Dr. Malcolm Wiener, an American philanthropist and distinguished Aegean Prehistorian.  In 1997 our foundation served as the base for 4 surveys and 4 excavations of the American School of Classical Studies (some in collaboration with members of the Greek Archaeological Service).  By 2018, we were assisting many more ASCSA projects and had expanded our staff and facilities to help colleagues in the Greek Ministry of Culture and several foreign schools and Greek universities.  On Crete during this period we hosted approximately 150 projects with 1500 members and 250 individual scholars.  Since 1999 the INSTAP Publication Team extended these services to an even wider community (ca. 40-70 projects per year) working on Crete, the Greek Mainland and Islands, Cyprus and Turkey.

The final step in this heritage paradigm concerns efforts to share new discoveries from the Greek past with the wider scholarly community and the local and foreign lay audience.  This work includes the Study Center’s Newsletter, KENTRO, and our annual summer lecture series. Every year the staff also provide tours to student groups from Greek, European and North American Universities and at least 10 schools in the Ierapetra Municipality.  We also work closely with the Lassithi Ephoreia to improve public access to finds on display and sites where we work. We are proud of all these efforts because they have the potential to impact the widest audience and bring a degree of closure to the projects we have supported.

Short bibliography and/or website on lecture topic:

www.instapstudycenter.net