Participating Institutions
The State Board for Antiquities and Heritage, Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities, and its predecessors have been responsible for the country’s extensive historical and archaeological remains since 1922. Its staff includes archaeologists who are currently conducting excavations and surveys in many parts of the country.
The British Institute for the Study of Iraq (BISI) is the primary institution in the UK engaged in the study of Iraq’s past. Formerly known as the British School of Archaeology in Iraq, it was founded in 1933 in memory of archaeologist and explorer Gertrude Bell, who founded the Iraq Museum.
The University of Manchester, our principal supporting academic institution, is an internationally recognized centre for the study of archaeology. The department has excellent facilities to support fieldwork and finds analysis, drawing also on the expertise and equipment of the geography and science departments. Manchester has one of the UK’s top university libraries as well as its own museum, and boasts a long tradition of involvement in the Middle East.