One of the most important tasks of the Hungarian National Museum, founded in 1802, is the comprehensive care of Hungary's archaeological heritage, which is carried out by the National Archaeological Institute. The Institute operates at the intersection of archaeological museology and archaeological heritage protection. It works in cooperation with Hungarian and Carpathian Basin museums and organisations holding archaeological collecting and excavation rights, providing professional guidance and coordination for their activities.
The organisation, comprising nearly 300 staff members, was established through the merger and integration of several former institutions and organisational units, resulting in a body with a highly complex and wide-ranging scope of responsibilities.
The Hungarian National Museum is the statutorily designated authority for archaeological heritage protection in Hungary.
It carries out a wide range of targeted professional tasks within deadlines, including administrative procedures, the assessment of archaeological risks related to development projects, and the implementation of necessary archaeological interventions.
Internationally embedded operation
The institutional structure also reflects the functions and operating models of classical research institutes. Accordingly, it encompasses—among other objectives—a fully developed international embeddedness, fundamental research conducted for scientific purposes, as well as well-conceived publication strategies and other forms of knowledge dissemination and public outreach.
From planning research to the public
The National Archaeological Institute is unique in its ability to integrate archaeological heritage protection and archaeological museology into a single, coherent system. As a result, all archaeological activities of the museum have been brought under one organisational framework.
In Hungary, this has created a coherent institutional structure in which the procedures of archaeological heritage management are fully integrated: from planning-related research, through preventive excavations, the processing and storage of finds, and finally to the realisation of exhibitions and communication with the general public.
Renewal at a European Level
Within the framework of the Hungarian National Museum and its National Archaeological Institute, extensive workshop-based professional activity is under way in numerous fields. This work serves not only the completion of day-to-day tasks, but also the development and foundation of future-oriented innovations.
For this reason, the Institute has established organisational units that did not previously exist. In both the Scientific Research Programme and the Institute’s annual conferences, particular emphasis is placed on the latest interdisciplinary approaches, involving multiple fields of scholarship:
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Archaeometry
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Bioarchaeology
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Theoretical Fundamental Research
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Contemporary Archaeology
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Education and Methodology
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Experimental Archaeology
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Environmental Archaeology
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Community Archaeology
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Archaeological Innovation
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Landscape Archaeology
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Archaeology of the Virtual World
A core pillar of the Institute’s mission is its responsibility, as a leading scientific research centre, to respond to a changing reality. Only in this way can archaeology successfully meet new challenges and continuously renew itself.
The National Institute of Archaeology is unique in its ability to integrate archaeological heritage conservation and archaeological museology into an integral whole, and all the museum's archaeological activities are therefore integrated into one system. In Hungary, the work processes of archaeological task provision are thus integrated in a coherent organisation: from plan research, through preventive excavations, to the processing and storage of finds, and finally to the realisation of exhibitions and communication with the general public.
European-standard renewal
Within the framework of the Hungarian National Museum, the National Institute of Archaeology, workshop work is being carried out in a number of areas that not only serve to carry out day-to-day tasks, but also to develop and lay the foundations for future developments. For this reason, the Institute has also created departments that did not exist before. The Scientific Research Programme and its annual conferences have given prominence to the latest trends in a number of scientific fields:
- Archeometry
- Bioarchaeology
- Basic Theoretical Research
- Prehistorical Archaeology
- Training and Methodology
- Experimental archaeology
- Environmental archaeology
- Community archaeology
- Archaeological innovation
- Scape archaeology
- Archaeology of the virtual world
An important pillar of the Institute's mission, to be a leading scientific research centre reflecting changing realities. Only in this way can archaeology meet the challenges it faces and keep renewing itself.