A Partnership in Discovery

The Oriental Institute is a leader in archaeological explorations in the Near East. Every year, our researchers in Egypt, Turkey, Israel, Kurdistan, and other countries make new discoveries that vastly enrich our understanding of the ancient civilizations of the Fertile Crescent.

The Oriental Institute's Adopt-a-Dig program creates a new partnership of discovery between you, our supporters, and the field researchers whose projects are rewriting the history of the rise of civilization. With active digs in Egypt, Israel, The Palestinian Territories, Kurdistan, and Turkey, you now have the opportunity to partner with field projects that closely match your own interests. As a dig "adopter", you can make a five-year commitment to fund the project of your choice at the level of your choice, enabling each of our excavations to have the stable, predictable support base they need to make long-term excavation plans. In turn, dig directors will involve their supporters more closely and directly than ever before, integrating you into the fieldwork and discoveries they make each season.

From the field, where our staff actively unearths Mesopotamian, Phrygian, or ancient Egyptian artifacts, to our home base at the University of Chicago, where research findings are presented and exhibited to the public, the Oriental Institute is committed to expanding the world's knowledge of the civilizations who once ruled at these sites. We invite you to become part of this partnership of discovery.

Click on one of the links below to explore the digs in our Adopt-a-Dig program. Then, pledge your donation at Make a Gift by indicating the project you wish to support in the special instruction box.