Archaeological Practice

• Use our fully equipped laboratories and the latest industry-standard surveying equipment.

• Take part in fieldwork projects in the UK and overseas.

• Places emphasis on skills acquisition but within an academically rigorous environment.

• Learn applied scientific approaches to archaeology, with fieldwork opportunities throughout your studies and conduct research using original laboratory or field data.

• Option of four-year pathway with a professional placement year

Archaeology unearths the stories of our past. It is the role of the archaeologist to discover and excavate sites and interpret the material recovered from them. Our Archaeological Practice course is the original vocational archaeology degree, and is specifically designed to give you the practical and technical skills necessary for a successful career in archaeology.

The degree focuses on the current practice of archaeology, including the methods used for prospecting new sites, excavation techniques, analysis of finds and the preparation of reports and publications.

Our three-year programme places emphasis on skills acquisition - partly during  fieldwork undertaken both during term time and in the summer vacation - but also includes the academic study of different periods and cultures, from the earliest humans to the start of the twentieth century.

Year 1 provides an introduction to different sub-disciplines of archaeology, including fieldwork, resources, material culture and archaeological science. You will receive training on state-of-the-art field equipment including ground penetrating radar, magnetometers, magnetic susceptibility meters, differential GPS instruments and total stations. In addition, you will learn how to use industry-standard computer software such as ArcGIS and Geoplot. The department has a geoarchaeological consultancy, ARCA, whose staff will also teach you. The consultancy offers valuable laboratory work experience and an opportunity to combine your academic expertise with reporting for a professional audience.

In Year 2, you will study geographic information systems, methods of measured survey and a variety of approaches to remote sensing. You are prepared by modules on theory and method for your final year dissertation. There is also a range of optional modules that explore the entire human story from Early Prehistoric Europe, through Ancient Greece to Medieval, post-Medieval and Modern Eurasia, as well as Human Bioarchaeology, the Archaeology and Anthropology of Death and Burial, and a multi-day field trip module in which you visit sites in another region of Britain.

In Year 3, you write a dissertation based on applied research that you have carried out, usually in a field setting or the laboratory, as well as undertaking more fieldwork. There is an option to do a short industry placement instead of the dissertation, many of which have led to employment with the archaeological company providing the placement. Archaeological Project Management is tailored to those students wanting to work in commercial archaeology. You can also choose from optional modules which include examining the archaeology of Europe Prehistory and further afield from a range of perspectives, including religion, society and conflict.

You may choose to pursue the four-year BSc (Hons) Archaeological Practice with Professional Placement pathway which includes an industry placement year, where you will build an invaluable portfolio of work.