 To improve Britain 's cultural influence abroad , Wheeler had been urging the establishment of a British Institute of History and Archaeology in East Africa , touring East Africa itself in August 1955 . In 1956 the Academy requested £ 6 @,@ 000 from the Treasury to fund this new institution , to which they eventually agreed in 1959 . The Institute was initially established in Dar es Salaam in 1961 , although later relocated to <unk> . Meanwhile , Wheeler had also been campaigning for the establishment of a British Institute of Persian Studies , a project which was supported by the British Embassy in Tehran ; they hoped that it would rival the successful French Institute in the city . In 1960 , the Treasury agreed , with the new institution being housed on the premises of the University of Tehran . He further campaigned for the establishment of a British Institute in Japan , although these ideas were scrapped amid the British financial crisis of 1967 . 
