| W. F. Albright Institute of Archaeological Research | |
|---|---|
| Established | 1900 |
| Type | Private research institute |
| Director | Dr. Seymour Gitin |
| Location | Jerusalem |
| Affiliations | American Schools of Oriental Research |
| Website | http://www.aiar.org/ |
The W. F. Albright Institute of Archaeological Research (AIAR), is an archaeological research institution located in Eastern Jerusalem. The Albright Institute is the oldest American research center for ancient Near Eastern studies in the Middle East. Founded in 1900 as the American School of Oriental Research, it was renamed in 1970 after its most distinguished director, William F. Albright. Today, the Albright Institute is one of three separately incorporated institutes affiliated with the American Schools of Oriental Research (ASOR), the others being in Amman and Nicosia. In 1948, at the by that-time ASOR-Jerusalem were analysed the recently discovered Dead Sea Scrolls (see below). Between 1981 and 1996, together with the Institute of Archaeology, Hebrew University of Jerusalem, the Albright Institute excavated at the ancient Philistine site of Tel Miqne-Ekron. Egyptologist Flinders Petrie lived with his wife at ASOR-Jerusalem in 1933, and died there in 1942.
It provides a base for a broad range of American-led scholarly research projects in Near Eastern studies from prehistory to the early Islamic period in the Middle East. Located in an historic 1920s-period building, the Albright offers fellowships for doctoral and post-doctoral studies, and maintains residential and research facilities for its fellows, including an extensive library. The Institute fosters North American participation in, and provides support for, archaeological excavations and surveys; promotes working relationships with related institutions in Jerusalem and the neighboring communities.
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ASOR-Jerusalem also played a significant role in the discovery of the Dead Sea Scrolls. In the Spring of 1948, Dr. John C. Trever was filling in for Millar Burrows, the director of ASOR in Jerusalem, when he was contacted by a representative of Mar Samuel, who wanted to authenticate three ancient scrolls that he had recently purchased from an antiquities dealer. Trever photographed the scrolls, and immediately sent copies to his mentor—famed Near East scholar William F. Albright, who congratulated him on the "greatest manuscript discovery of modern times!”
In early September 1948, Mar Samuel contacted Professor Ovid R. Sellers, Burrows' successor as ASOR Director in Jerusalem. Samuel showed Sellers some additional scroll fragments that he had acquired. Sellers then focused on finding the cave in which the scrolls had been found. In late 1948, nearly two years after the discovery of the scrolls, scholars had yet to locate the cave where the fragments had been found. Conducting such a search was dangerous. When the British mandate in Palestine ended on May 15, 1948, war broke out immediately, and peace would not be restored until November. With the unrest in the country, Sellers attempted to get the Syrians to help locate the cave, but they demanded more money than Sellers could offer. The cave was finally discovered on January 28, 1949 by a UN observer, and Sellers brought his box brownie camera to take the first photos of the cave, which were soon published in Life Magazine.