In 1898, the Austrian Archaeological Institute was established. Today it serves as a research institute of the state. Its scientific co-workers in the Institute's centre in Vienna as well as in its sister-institutes at Athens and Cairo control numerous archaeological projects both at home and abroad. The most well-known of the Institute's research projects is Ephesos on the west coast of Turkey.

On the 1st of October, 1898, the Royal Imperial Austrian Archaeological Institute in Vienna began its scientific activities. On March 15th 1897 Emperor Franz Josef I had approved the proposal for the foundation of such an institute with his signature.
At that time, it was the duty of the Institute to unite all the activities of the monarchy in the area of classical archaeology. Included amongst these were scientific research (in particular, excavations both at home and abroad and their publication), the administration of the museums in Aquileia, Pula, Zadar and Split (at that time belonging to the Austrian state), and the bequest of foreign stipends. Foreign offices of the Royal Imperial Ministry for Culture and Teaching in Constantinople/Istanbul, Smyrna/Izmir and Athens were taken over by the OEAI in 1898. The secretariat in Constantinople was abandoned in 1901, while on the contrary in Athens, the offices were moved into their own building. The excavations at Ephesos, begun in 1895 and still under the direction of the Institute, were initially under the control of the sister-branch at Smyrna. In Greece, the Institute began regional surveys at Lousoi, Elis and Aigeira (all in the Peloponnese), sites which - like Ephesos - remain the focus of Austrian archaeological research.
In the economically difficult years following the collapse of the monarchy, the Institute only just managed to remain active, while the sister-institute in Izmir had to be abandoned and the number of personnel diminished to a bare minimum. The Institute's survival could only eventually be secured through its incorporation into the University of Vienna in 1935. Nevertheless, even in these difficult times numerous scientific projects were undertaken, amongst them the exposure and conservation of the second amphitheatre at Carnuntum in the 1920s.
After the annexation of Austria by Germany (1938), the Institute lost its independence in 1939 and was adopted as a sister-institute of the Archaeological Institute of the German Reich. In 1945, its previous status of 1935 was restored. With only a few co-workers, the Institute resumed its scientific activities after the Second World War with, above all, excavations at home. In the 1950s, it was possible to resume excavations at Ephesos, in 1964 the sister-institute at Athens was reopened, and in 1973, a new sister-institute, developed from a long-standing research site, was founded at Cairo.

With the passing in 1981 of the Research Organisation Law, the Austrian Archaeological Institute was again organized as an independent research institution of the state. Today it is subordinated to the Austrian Federal Ministry of Science and Research and provided with its own legal status. With the transformation of the UG 2002, the structure of the OEAI was placed on a new basis.
Field work within Austria and abroad, and the connected scientific publication of excavated finds and monuments, constitute the present duties of the OEAI. Corresponding to the modern consciousness concerning responsibility towards ruins - everything once exposed requires protection - activities having to do with the care of monuments are increasingly important.

Picture Captions
Abb. 1: Pula, Amphitheatre (ÖAI Inv. II 0643)
Abb. 2: Carnuntum, so-called Heidentor (Heathen Gate) (ÖAI Inv. II 1462)