Ephor (archaeology)

In Greece, ephor (Greek: έφορος, romanized: ephoros, lit. 'overseer') is a title given to the head of an archaeological ephorate (Greek: εφορεία, romanized: ephoria), or archaeological unit. Ephors are responsible to the Ministry of Culture and Sports.

Most ephorates are responsible for a particular region of Greece. However, the Ephorate of Underwater Antiquities has jurisdiction over underwater sites across the whole of Greece, as does the Ephorate of Private Archaeological Collections, while two Ephorates of Palaeoanthropology and Speleology exist, one for northern and one for southern Greece.