[4] Mortimer Wheeler formally resigned as honorary director in 1944 when he became director-general of the Archaeological Survey of India and, at the end of the Second World War, the directorship was awarded to V. Gordon Childe.

[5] Until 1958, the institute was based at St John's Lodge, Regent's Park, London subsequently moving to purpose-built premises on Gordon Square designed by Booth, Ledeboer, and Pinckheard.

[8][9][10][11] Research at the Institute covers fieldwork, laboratory analysis and conservation, artefact studies, and theoretical, synthetic, and analytical work.

[19] It has also been ranked in the top two for student satisfaction in the Complete University Guide's 2015 League Table of UK archaeology departments.

[21] Part of the Institute of Archaeology since its early home at St John's Lodge in Regents Park.

Archaeological materials include ceramics, lithics and other objects from a range of periods across Europe, Africa, Egypt, the Levant, Mesopotamia, Pakistan, India, Mesoamerica, South America and the Caribbean.

There are also extensive collections of archaeobotanical and zooarchaeological material which act as primary sources for the identification of plant and animal remains.

[24] The Institute Library was founded in 1937 to support teaching and learning at the new Institute of Archaeology and has subsequently gained an international reputation as one of the most extensive collections of printed material in the world relating to all aspects of archaeology, museum studies and cultural heritage, largely thanks to the work of the post-war librarians Joan du Plat Taylor, Geraldine Talbot and Heather Bell.

[38] The Institute of Archaeology regularly publishes news and events, including details of seminars, conferences, job opportunities, recent press coverage, publications and other announcements.

[42] An annual open day, a 'Festival of World Archaeology', is normally held in June, providing fun, archaeology-related activities for children and adults alike.