Archaeology and Ancient Civilisations BA (Hons)

Durham University

Using archaeological techniques and approaches, this course puts the heritage of Greece and Rome under the lens. Drawing on the latest research, it also provides a chance to explore Egypt and North Africa, as well as the lesser-known civilisations of the Near East and South Asia.

Year 1 Compulsory modules: Archaeology Practicals / Ancient civilisations: Methods, Approaches, Sources / Cities in Antiquity. Optional modules; choose one or two modules from the following lists of modules which have been available in previous years: Archaeology Archaeology in Britain / Discovering World Prehistory / Ancient Civilisations of the East / Medieval to Modern: An Introduction to the Archaeology of the Medieval to Post-Medieval World Or ONE or TWO modules in another department including Classics and language modules: Greek Art and Architecture / Living in a Classical World / Remembering Athens / Monuments and Memory in the Age of Augustus.

Year 2 Compulsory modules: Professional Training (requires three weeks of fieldwork in the summer preceding Level 2) / Ancient Mediterranean Civilisations: East and West / Developing Archaeological Research (required to take a dissertation in Archaeology at Level 3). Optional modules; choose three modules from the following list of modules which have been available in previous years: Archaeology / Becoming Roman: from Iron Age to Empire in Italy and the West / Archaeology of Medieval and Post-medieval Britain in its European Context / East Mediterranean in the Bronze Age Advanced Skills (Single or Double). A module in any Department including Classics or language modules: Roman Religion / Roman Buildings and Decoration / Crisis of the Roman Republic / History of the Hellenistic Age / Archaic Greece / A module in another department (including a language module).

Year 3 (Year 4 if undertaking a Year Abroad) Compulsory modules: Dissertation (double module) / Current Archaeology / Specialised Aspects in Archaeology. Optional modules; choose TWO modules from: Advanced Professional Training (requires three weeks of fieldwork in the summer preceding Level 2) / Specialised Aspects in Archaeology (single or double) / Interpreting Heritage / Museum Representation / A module in any department.

Fieldwork You will undertake six weeks’ compulsory fieldwork; three weeks at our field school in the first year, and three weeks at an excavation of your choice in the second year. For Single Honours students, only one module in any department may be taken over Levels 2 and 3.

We review course structures and core content (in light of e.g. external and student feedback) every year, and will publish finalised core requirements for 2020 entry from September 2019.

Study Abroad Archaeology: We are part of the ERASMUS programme which encourages students to study for part of their course in a university of another EU country. We currently have links with the universities of Gothenburg (Sweden), Mainz (Germany), Bordeaux (France), Vienna (Austria) and the Free University of Berlin (Germany), as well as Bergen (Norway) and Koc (Turkey). Studying abroad through one of these exchanges, like the Year Abroad, will involve inserting an extra year into your programme of study between your second and final years. If, in your second year, your application for a place is successful, you will be transferred from the three-year version of your degree to a four-year version. Students will also have the opportunity to participate in excavations run by members of staff and colleagues of other universities at various places round the world.

For more information on this course, please see our website.