Who are the Archeologists?
The Association of Interdimensional Archaeologists is one of the most mysterious groups in the Backrooms. Although the history of the organization itself is quite well known, not much is actually known about the members. They appear and disappear. They can be invisible whenever they want. Similarly, they can make everyone talk about them if they desire. It's also worth mentioning their motto – "Surrounded by the dust of ages, we eternally tread among the crumbling history". That really says a lot about them.
What are they doing?
Archaeologists are always searching for something, but sometimes they themselves don't know exactly what. Some of them have education and are "real archaeologists", while others are simply looking for adventures in this weird universe. Their ranks include both well known professors and ordinary assistants who just want to experience something interesting. For this reason, the Association is quite a loose group. There is no direct leadership, and the only form of authority is the more representative office of the Secretary, granted for life to one of the Archaeologists after the death of his predecessor. The Secretary's main duties include establishing the locations and dates of meetings, as well as setting the current goals of the Association. However, these goals always remain among the members of the group, and no one else has any idea about them until they are achieved. We have already mentioned that they are discreet in their actions, right?
Many wanderers apply to the Association, but the group's missions usually turn out to be dangerous enough that a large portion of them quickly resign. Provided they survive their first expedition. Typically, the group focuses on searching for items found within the Backrooms that exhibit any historical or material value, and they are really good at it. Many believe that the Archaeologists simply know more about this place. This is probably true, whatever "more" means.
Beginnings (1814-1833)
According to official data, the Association of Interdimensional Archaeologists was founded as the Association of the Archaeologists of the Impossible on February 14, 1814, by one of the most famous British archaeologists, Count James Christopher Earl, at a meeting in London. He met at that time with twelve other archaeologists from around the world, including Professor Zygmunt Kochanowski, who, after Earl's death in 1824, took his place as the second Secretary of the Association.
In 1830, at a meeting in Crakow, Kochanowski announced the group's plan and outlined its goals for the upcoming year. Since then, the rules for transferring the office of Secretary have been officially established, and annual meetings in some of the largest cities in Europe have become a tradition. It is unknown whether the Association was aware of the existence of the Backrooms at that time, as the group increasingly operated in our reality, taking on ever more challenging tasks.
Backrooms Exploration (1833-1914)
The first mentions of Backrooms appeared in the notes of archaeologists between 1833 and 1834. These years are also considered the date of the first explorations of Backrooms by beings from our reality. In 1855, the new Secretary of the Association was Harvard Kane, who included research into other realities as one of the group's goals for that year at the general meeting in Munich.
The attitudes of archaeologists towards exploring unknown realities changed depending on the views of the current Secretary. However, even during the years 1855-1890, under the leadership of Charles Martin Russeau, who was exceptionally skeptical of such activities, interest in Backrooms among archaeologists did not decline. Paradoxically, it was during this time that these expeditions were most frequent.
World Wars (1914-1945)
A few months before the beginning of the Great War, a Pole once again became the Secretary of the Association, and he was Professor Ryszard Górski, from a noble family. He was a great enthusiast of exploring the Backrooms, and when the war broke out, he moved there along with many other Archaeologists. After the war, he returned to Poland and in 1923 organized a meeting at the University of Warsaw, during which he delivered his famous speech about the Main Mission of the Association.
During World War II, Górski was arrested and interned by the Nazis in the Dachau concentration camp, where he died in 1945. The next Secretary was Dr. Alfred von Fleek, who promised to continue the work of his predecessor by increasingly encouraging Archaeologists to venture deeper into the Backrooms.
In The Shadow (1945-1989)
The exploration policy of the Backrooms initiated by Ryszard Górski and consistently continued by his successors yielded the expected results. During the Cold War, the Association nearly ceased operations in our reality, and by the end of the 1980s, all Archeologists had left this reality, returning only for the annual meetings. This was mainly due to the depletion of undiscovered parts of our world, which, despite being currently hidden from most of humanity, no longer represented a secret for many Archeologists.
In the early 1970s, with the end of the space race between the Soviet Union and the United States, the rivalry of these powers shifted to another reality. The Warsaw Pact quickly gained the upper hand in this round of the Cold War by establishing the first organization solely aimed at researching the Backrooms, the Polish-Soviet Committee For Interdimensional Cooperation. This group would hinder the operations of the Association for many years, leading to significant tensions between the two organizations.
Modern Day Activity (1989- )
Currently, the Association of Backrooms Archaeologists is in a completely different situation than at the very beginning of its existence. Firstly, it has completely moved to the Backrooms, and secondly, it has competition. While the goals of other, newer groups operating outside our reality usually do not overlap with the goals of the Archaeologists enough to seriously hinder their realization, they still pose a certain threat to the Association. After all, others are aware that the Archaeologists know more. Who wouldn't want to take advantage of that knowledge?
