Information About Permits

According to the policy of the Greek Ministry of Culture and the rules adopted by the Managing Committee of the American School, all American scholars who wish to conduct field work in Greece, or to study, photograph or draw objects in Greek museums, storerooms and sites or subject such objects to scientific analyses should request that appropriate application for permission be made to the Greek authorities on their behalf by the American School.

All requests should be addressed to the Director or Administrator of the School and should include the academic status of the applicant(s), the nature of the project, and a current curriculum vitae.

The rules for permits are often quite confusing. If the information below does not answer your questions, please contact the who will be glad to offer advice.

Permit requests fall into three separate categories:

1. Requests for excavations, field surveys, conservation and other major projects. These must be submitted through the School to the Ministry of Culture in November. The procedure is complicated and further information is available on other pages about Permits for Excavation and Survey Work in Greece and, after the permit is obtained, Guidelines for Importing Archaeological Equipment into Greece.

The list of current permits and their availability can be found here.

2. Requests for taking samples and sending them abroad for analysis must be submitted through the School to the Ministry of Culture. Applications must include:

• a detailed list of objects, sherds or organic materials from which samples will be taken.
• a description of the chemical or physical method/analysis which will be used.
• the size or weight of the sample to be taken.
• a statement of whether the analytical method is destructive or non-destructive.
• photographs of all objects from which samples will be taken and will be analyzed.

The export of samples is discouraged and granted only when it can be demonstrated that analysis is impossible in Greece due to lack of technical facilities. These requests may be made at any time.

Permission for analysis of archaeological material (YPPO/GDAPK/ARCH/A2/F30/22268/778), 5 March, 2004
Codicil (YPPO/GDAPK/ARCH/B1/F42/32216/180), 26 April, 2004

3. Requests to study, draw, and/or photograph objects must be submitted through the School to the relevant Ephoreias of Antiquities. These requests may be made at any time.

• Requests for permission to study fully published objects should include precise bibliographical reference(s) for each item as well as museum inventory numbers, when possible.
• Requests for permission to study unpublished objects should include a letter of authorization from the excavator or other relevant authority, including the Greek Archaeological Society, if appropriate.
• Requests to study any material from excavations of other Foreign Schools, Greek Universities or the Archaeological Society must be accompanied by a letter of consent from the head of the relevant institution. Such documents should be obtained before applying to the School, and should be included with the request to the School.

Processing under (1) and (2) is expected to take four months or more; under (3) it takes a variable amount of time, ranging from a few weeks to several months. Requests submitted to the School should be as complete as possible.

The applicant will receive a copy of the School’s request(s) on his/her behalf, and, as soon as a permit is received, will be given a copy of the permit and any other relevant documents; the original will remain on file at the American School.

Permits for Excavation and Survey Work in Greece
Guidelines for Importing Archaeological Equipment into Greece