Documents | Correspondences | Journals | Nachlass

The material archived here mainly originates from the research and administrative activities of the institute and is organized according to the following criteria:

• Administrative materials, including files and correspondence that document the history of the institution, its branches and its employees.
• Scientific material generated during excavation and research activities. It is organized according to topographical and thematic criteria, with a focus on the excavations in Carnuntum and Ephesos.
• Literary estates of former directors and scientific staff that have been arranged as individual collections whenever possible. The following estates (or partial estates) are available: Fritz Eichler, Rudolf Egger, Franz Miltner, Camillo Praschniker, Emil Reisch, Hermann Vetters, Otto Walter.

Photos | Slides | Photographic Plates

The material included in the image archive mainly includes the photographic documentation of the OeAI excavations from the foundation of the institute to the present day.

About 10.000 lantern glass slides stand out from the negative collection and include images from the beginning of the excavations in Ephesos up to the 1950s. The storage of this valuable historical image collection is currently being rearranged. The aim is to protect the images to the greatest possible extent. The slides are being repackaged in folding envelopes according to modern archival practices and are being stored in special archival boxes. During this process the pictures are also being digitized.

The collection of negative films in various formats (approx. 108.000 images, mainly black and white) from the 1950s to the 1990s mainly feature excavation photographs and documentation of the various find groups.

The slide collection (total approximately 130.000 slides) includes general photographs of excavation sites of the institute and also images that were created during research trips of members of the department. Added to this are detailed shots as well as excavation documentation of OEAI research projects.

The entire slide collection and the lantern glass slides now have been digitized and uploaded to oeai.DAM. Over 7.000 lantern glass slides are already publicly accessible. The entire negative film collection has also been scanned, with half of the images already uploaded and tagged in oeai.DAM.

Squeeze Collection | Sketchbooks of Inscriptions

The OeAI also houses an epigraphic archive with around 5,000 squeezes (paper and latex). A large part (around 4,000 copies) are of Ephesian inscriptions but there are also some from other excavations and research trips of the OeAI. There are also sketch books of the inscriptions from Ephesos. The use of the archive is possible upon request.

Plans | Maps | Reconstructions | Diagrams | Documentation of Excavations and Finds

The map archive includes approximately 25,500 drawn records of over 10,000 different subjects in the form of pencil drawings, ink drawings and copies. In addition to topographic maps and overview plans, it primarily contains graphic documentation of excavations and architectural fragments, as well as reconstruction drawings of monuments. The plans document excavations from the late 19^th century to the early 21^st century mainly from Austria, the Balkans, and the countries of the Eastern Mediterranean, with a focus on Ephesos. Some of the oldest records include documentary and artistically valuable watercolors with landscape paintings and ink drawings of various buildings (mainly by Carl Humann, George Niemann and Wilhelm Wilberg).

A large portion of the collection has already been digitally archived, with approximately 1,000 of them publicly accessible as images. Metadata for the entire digitized collection of over 25,000 plans can be accessed via Academy-CATalogPlus.

Digital Images and Plans

Find more information about oeai.DAM here.