In 2019, it was decided to create a "KulturGutRetter-Mechanismus" under the leadership of the German Archaeology Institute in partnership with the Technisches Hilfswerk, the Römisch-Germanisches Zentralmuseum, and other partners.

Additionally, through altruistic research of other cultures and academic interaction with other nations, it is meant to contribute positively to Germany's reputation in the world.

Even before its establishment, there were learned societies, like the Accademia Etrusca [de], focused on the material remains of ancient peoples, but they were antiquarian in approach.

The first moves toward an archaeological organisation took place in Rome in the 1820s, with the establishment of the Roman Hyperboreans [de], a circle of European academics, artists, and diplomats.

The early attempt to establish a "Roman-Hyperborean Society" to facilitate that collaboration are commemorated in the logo of the DAI, which depicts a Hyperborean griffin.

On 2 January 1829, the archaeologist Eduard Gerhard, the Prussian envoy Christian Charles Josias von Bunsen, the Hannoverian chargé d'affairs in Rome, August Kestner, the commissario della antichità Carlo Fea, and the Danish sculptor Bertel Thorvaldsen announced the foundation of an Instituto di corrispondenza archeologica (Italian for "institute of archaeological correspondence").

The membri were a smaller group who undertook long-term duties and were obliged to produce academic contributions and to review publications.

For the first time, efforts were made to gather and publish all archaeological finds, rather than focusing on the significance of individual monuments in isolation.

The Bullettino degli Annali dell'Instituto di Corrispondenza Archeologica was the first archaeological periodical, and created the possibility for new discoveries to be continually published.

The RGK was intended to be the central hub of archaeological research in Germany, which had hitherto been undertaken by a range of local heritage associations, antiquarian societies, and the Imperial Limes Commission.

In Turkey, the Istanbul Division was established, taking over projects and structures of the Berlin museums, which had been active in Asia Minor since the late 19th century.

In 1967, the Commission for Ancient History and Epigraphy, which had been established in 1955, was brought under the DAI's umbrella to facilitate the study of textual material recovered from archaeological excavations.

The Lisbon division was founded in 1971 and subsequently closed in 1999, with its library passing under the control of the Portuguese Directorate General for Cultural Heritage.

With the outbreak of the Iran-Iraq War in 1980, the Baghdad division's library and offices were largely relocated to Berlin and it ceased excavations, shifting its focus to heritage protection.

The Eurasian Division was established in 1995, to pursue research in Eastern Europe and Central Asia, which had become possible following the dissolution of the Soviet Union.

The Damascus, Sana'a, and Baghdad Offices were placed under the control of a new Eastern Division, based at the DAI's headquarters in Berlin in 1996.

Following the outbreak of the Syrian Civil War in 2011, the Damascus Office shifted its base to Amman in Jordan, where it formed a close partnership with the German Protestant Institute of Archaeology of the Holy Land (GPIA).

The German Archaeological Institute is headed by a president (since 2011, this is Friederike Fless, the first woman to hold the position), who is supported by a general secretary (since 2014, this is Philipp von Rummel [de]).

The members of the scholarship committee are Friederike Fless (chairwoman), Katja Sporn, Ruth Bielfeldt, Ulrike Fauerbach, Kaja Harter-Uibopuu, Lutz Käppel, Carola Metzner-Nebelsick und Monika Trümper.

The members of the heritage building committee are Ulrike Fauerbach (chairwoman), Friederike Fless, Philipp von Rummel, Katja Piesker, Steffen Laue, Klaus Nohlen, Andreas Schwarting, Axel Seemann and Josef Steiner.

The commissions have academic advisory boards, whose members previously served for an unlimited period of time, but now have a maximum term of ten years.

Units and areas within the presidium: A full list of the publications of the Institute (journals, series, monographs) is accessible online.