Classical Studies with Archaeology

How does the modern world respond to, and make sense of, the ancient world? How does the ancient world influence our own world? This module examines key theoretical perspectives and evaluates their contributions to helping us understand the past. You'll focus on how we use texts and material culture to study and define past societies and also analyse responses to ancient ideas (relating to imperialism, ancient myths, philosophy, and ethics) in both their ancient and modern setting.

You’ll consider evidence of the past within a contemporary intellectual framework. Through various case studies, you’ll explore a range of cultural responses to ideas —such as Roman responses to Greek ideas —as well as their representations across a range of media.

During the module, you’ll participate in a group project based on communicating historical themes for public engagement. Examples of this may include the topography of Rome, perceptions of imperialism, a heritage-related project, or creating your own adaptation of a Classical myth or philosophical idea etc. The module will reinforce awareness of both the multifaceted nature of ancient ideas, as well as the relevance of Classics to the modern world.

This is your opportunity to learn how to carry out an independent research project, in preparation for the dissertation module that follows. You’ll develop a variety of academic skills through close engagement with source evidence (through data gathering, resource evaluation, writing, interpretation and presentation), building on the knowledge you’ve already acquired in other modules. You can base you project on any suitable subject or evidence source that you're passionate about.

Your proposed subject will be assessed for suitability and feasibility by a module convenor, based on your course pathway choice. Once your project has been approved, you’ll be appointed a project supervisor from CLAS staff to assist you. You should aim to pursue projects that are distinctive, persuasive, and connect to theoretical debates. Projects should be informed by your personal interests, your chosen pathway, the aims of the module, support from your supervisor, and the accessibility of relevant material.

If you wish to, and with support from your supervisor, you’re encouraged to explore materials, undertake practical experiments, and assemble information in new and creative ways that challenge the typical essay narrative, though you can still opt for the standard approach. You’ll develop the project through a sequence of preparatory steps leading to the final account of the enquiry, which you’ll submit at the end of the second term. This is a great experience for you to prepare for you dissertation and a great account of your own work.

Explore the dynamic interaction between Egypt during the Late Period and Ancient Greece. During the 26th Dynasty, there was a significant increase in contact between the Aegean world and Egypt, marked by the establishment of commercial settlements, robust trade relations, and the influx of Greek traders, mercenaries, and travellers. This interaction had far-reaching effects, providing crucial support for Egypt's last great independent dynasty, contributing to the rise of East Greek cities like Ionia, and influencing Greek sculpture and architecture.

Furthermore, this contact exposed the Greeks to a civilisation that they found impressive yet fundamentally different. This perception stimulated Greek thought and historical writing, notably through figures like Herodotus. Over time, it also shaped Western perceptions of Egypt, giving rise to myths about its ancientness, religion, and wisdom that persist in modern times and influenced the fields of traditional Egyptology and Classical Archaeology. You’ll draw information from various disciplines such as archaeology, papyrology, history, and literature to explore ancient interactions and modern debates comprehensively.

How do you imagine Roman Antiquity? How do the images produced for film, TV and popular fiction reflect the lives of those in Antiquity? Can we see the everyday experience of Pliny, Juvenal or Augustine, or of those killed in the eruption of Vesuvius in AD 79? You’ll explore everyday life in the Roman world, from haircuts, tattoos, and gestures, to everyday rites and rhythms, whether domestic, social, political, or religious, focusing on human experience, in its culturally specific organisation. Study from Augustan Rome to Late Antique Alexandria, and draw on depictions, literary evidence (such as poems), original documents (from personal letters to minutes), inscriptions and archaeology, focusing on key sites where preservation is good, such as Pompeii, Ostia, and Sardis. Here buildings, graffiti, occupation deposits, and other traces will allow snapshots of life to be constructed: of the houses, workshops, taverns, temples, amphitheatres, and law courts of Antiquity. You’ll undertake both empirical studies and historical reconstructions, to understand the importance not only of describing what remains of everyday life, but of actively reconstructing it, engaging different types of evidence in a critical dialogue.

A framework for archaeological training undertaken on a ‘placement’ project with a University of Kent training excavation and/or survey, or with approved partners. You’ll find opportunities through guidance and instruction for you to gain practical experience and build vocational skills working and learning on archaeological sites and/or with archaeological materials, such as artefacts (cf. post-excavation analysis). Knowledge gained through such engagement is consolidated through classroom/lab. workshop teaching sessions during term. It is supported by a designated bursary allocated to the University from the government, to assist with the costs involved in participation (normally of at least 10 working days). There are three alternative pathways: archaeological excavation, archaeological survey, or artefact/materials focused study.

The main assessment is through submission of an illustrated portfolio featuring a description of the project and an account of types of work undertaken by the student and of the records, etc. generated through the placement. The portfolio will aim to demonstrate a clear comprehension of the nature of the site or materials and the ways by which they can be recorded, interpreted and presented, and the reasons for doing so. The second form of assessment relates to your engagement while on the placement. For this, placement directors will provide feedback and a scoring on the basis of a checklist of a range of standard fieldwork, etc. tasks and how they were undertaken and completed.

How were gender and sexuality conceived in ancient Rome? What roles and expectations were placed on men and women? What makes something ‘explicit’ or ‘graphic’, and why is this the case? By introducing you to the sexual practices, behaviours, attitudes, and relationships described throughout Latin sources, you’ll understand the debates about ideas that shaped both Roman society and culture, and the modern western world. You’ll learn about the perception of sexuality in antiquity and how that perception was translated into social and political relationships. You’ll cover literature and social history topics, which provide a wide-ranging complement to both subjects. You’ll analyse primary texts from a variety of literary genres such as satire, poetry, histories, letters, legal texts, inscriptions and graffiti and develop the ability to critically reflect on, and construct arguments to answer crucial questions on concepts of gender, sexuality, love, violence, and family, and illustrate how these impacted Roman society and influenced the modern world.

What were artworks and buildings like in the Greek and Roman world, how were they viewed, and what purposes did they have in society? Explore the function of art in politics and religion as well as fundamentals like style and dating across a timespan from Archaic Greece to the Late Roman period. Famous sites like Athens, Rome, and Delphi will be explored, including aesthetic and functional aspects as well as developments in building technology. You’ll investigate how and why art styles changed over time, including changes resulting from contact with diverse ancient peoples and cultures beyond Greece and Rome. You’ll gain skills in the critical evaluation of artworks and buildings, an understanding of diverse source materials, and knowledge of how the roles of artworks and buildings were both similar and different to those in today’s world.

Why is Homeric epic considered the foundation of literature in the Western tradition? Why does it have such an influence on famous authors such as Virgil, Dante, James Joyce, and countless contemporary authors? A study of the Iliad and/or the Odyssey introduces you to the key concepts of the world of epic, such as xenia (guest friendship), kleos (reputation), and kudos (glory). You’ll learn to recognise, and analyse the meaning of, epic conventions such as stock epithets, type scenes, and formulaic repetition. These concepts and conventions will enhance your understanding of the central themes of Homeric epic, such as heroism, the construction of the feminine, ethnicity, the role of the gods, warfare, peace, poetry, and conceptions of mortality. As a result you’ll gain knowledge of how Homeric epic enriches our cultural understanding of both the ancient Greek past and our present. You’ll also develop the ability to critically reflect upon the portrayal of epic heroism, embodied by figures such as Achilles and Odysseus, who continue to resonate in modern storytelling. The archetypal hero’s journey with its trials, triumphs, and personal growth remains a potent narrative framework throughout modern media.

How can you gain a deeper understanding of the foundations of western civilisation, literature, culture and language? How can you improve your critical thinking, analytical skills, and problem solving? Now that you’ve acquired a foundation in ancient Greek/ Latin, and covered the basics of grammar and sentence structure, you’ll develop your ability to read, comprehend, and translate complex sentences and longer passages of ancient Greek/Latin. This knowledge will enhance your understanding of the key themes and ideas in the text. Not only will you be reading the authors who built the foundations of the western literary canon, but it will become much easier to grasp another language, improve your English grammar, and give you the tools to succeed in diverse disciplines such as coding and computer programming, scientific, legal or medical careers.

How can you gain a deeper understanding of the foundations of western civilisation, literature, culture and language? How can you improve your critical thinking, analytical skills, and problem solving? Now that you’ve acquired a foundation in ancient Greek/ Latin, and covered the fundamentals of grammar and complex sentence structure, you can enhance your ability to read, comprehend, and translate passages of ancient Greek/Latin. This knowledge will enrich your understanding of the key themes and ideas in the texts. Not only will you be reading the authors who built the foundations of the western literary canon, but you will have the tools to succeed in diverse disciplines such as coding and computer programming, scientific, legal or medical careers.

Museums all over the world are a beacon of knowledge and education and are spaces for the conservation of the most precious artefacts. At the same time, some of them have become contested places, because they house objects acquired during colonial times, they often exclude some voices, and because their funding models rely on unethical corporations.

You’ll gain an understanding of the core principles governing the collection, interpretation, and management of objects within museum settings. You’ll also be introduce to some of the contemporary controversies and ethical challenges facing museums, including issues of provenance, repatriation, inclusivity, and funding. Examples from all over the world will be used, to introduce you to diverse approaches in museums. You’ll gain the necessary skills and knowledge to undertake an internship in the museum of your choice.

You’ll emerge with a range of communication skills, essential for working in museums.

A tailored made 70-hour internship within a local, regional or national museum. The internship opportunity gives you first-hand experience in museum work – a crucial step towards a career in the field.

During the internship, you’ll apply the concepts and principles learned in class (in the Autumn term) within the dynamic context of museums. You’ll choose your museum as far as possible, ensuring that the internship aligns with your interests and career aspirations. You’ll undertake a specific project, to be defined between the course leader, the museum and yourself. Clear objectives and skills to be acquired will be outlined and regularly monitored.

The knowledge gained from the internship in a museum will be reinforced through classroom seminars, where you can delve deeper into theoretical concepts and discuss their practical applications. Assessment methods include a blog to help students comprehend the diverse skills acquired during their internships and a final report where you will reflect on your experiences.

Examine ancient Greek history from the end of the Persian invasions (480/479 BC) to the fall of Athens in 404 BC. You’ll focus in detail on the rise and fall of the power of Athens, the rivalry between Athens and Sparta with their respective alliances, ancient democracy, the Second Peloponnesian War and the role of the Persian Empire in Greek history in the 5th century BC. Particular attention is given to the causes of the conflict between Athens and the Delian League, on the one hand, and Sparta and the Peloponnesian League, on the other, to the rise and decline of Athenian democracy, the Periclean age, the oligarchic revolutions at Athens, the political and military history of the last three decades of the 5th century BC and to the trial and death of Socrates. You’ll be taught using a combination of ancient sources that include historiographic (Herodotus, Thucydides, Xenophon, Plutarch etc), epigraphic and archaeological evidence.

Explore Mediterranean life A.D. 283-650, from Diocletian and Constantine to the Arab Conquests, exploring the cultural background experienced by major figures such as Julian & Hypatia, Augustine & Monica, or Justinian & Theodora. You’ll separate the complex changes of this period, which have often been lumped into a single model of 'decline'. Long-term transformations, such as the centralisation of imperial power, the emergence of a Christian state, the collapse of the East, and the rise of Islam, remain major topics of interest. Consider themes such as the emperor and court, the impact of the military, the countryside, the economy, the end of paganism, and the rise of Christianity. These portraits draw on the extraordinary preservation in North Africa and the East Mediterranean, where cities, villages and monasteries often stand as if they had just been abandoned. Seminars will explore textual, iconographic, and archaeological evidence, from built structures to earthquake deposits, sometimes as rich as Pompeii. You’ll develop an understanding of both the last flowering of Greek culture and the foundations of the Middle Ages (Europe, Byzantium, and Islam), revealing an important chapter in our history, often ignored but vital to grasp.

Why is Virgil considered Rome’s most famous poet? Why is his Aeneid still regarded as one of the greatest epics of the ancient world? Why do its themes still have enormous impact today? By introducing you to the world of the hero, Aeneas, and his quest to found Rome, you’ll see how Virgil connects the mythical past to his own history and his present. Gain a deeper understanding of intertwined themes in the epic, such as morality, the role of the artist/creator, the trauma of migration and exile, and the construction of gender. In so doing, this module develops students’ ability to understand and critically assess debates about ideas that shaped the Rome of Emperor Augustus. You’ll be able to see, debate, and make parallels between ancient and modern themes such as the trauma of war, violence, heroism, masculinity, the construction of the female, migration, exile and identity.

In 350 BCE, the Roman Republic was a tiny city-state in Central Italy consisting of Rome and its immediate hinterland. Two hundred years later, it stretched from Seville in the west to Cyprus in the East and ruled over 50 million people. How can a state retain its core beliefs and traditions when its size increases dramatically? What challenges does the growth of an empire pose for the stability of the state itself? You’ll be encouraged to ask fundamental questions about the nature of imperial power, the ways in which it can be justified and challenged, and the relationship between military expansion on the one hand and changes in culture and politics on the other. You’ll study the way in which Rome’s imperial boom changed almost all aspects of living in the Roman Republic: its politics and laws; its literature and art; its approach to warfare and international diplomacy; and even the motifs and symbols of civic life itself, from the grand temples of the Roman forum to the tiny silver coins an ordinary citizen would carry around the city. Rome’s Republican empire unified the entire Mediterranean and much of continental Europe under a single banner, creating an idea of a unified Europe that would be imitated centuries later by modern dictators and politicians. Imperial exploitation enriched the elites of the city, but ultimately led to the rise of ambitious generals and populists like Julius Caesar who destroyed the Roman Republic. By charting that history in this module, you’ll confront the corruption of power and its enduring relevance today.

This module introduces undergraduate students to systematic research within a framework of supervised guidance. It provides an opportunity to select a topic of their choosing, in either archaeology, history, ancient literature. Students are invited to suggest subjects and provisional titles (topics). Prospective topics are scrutinised for suitability and feasibility and approved by the convenor before research can begin. Students receive instruction through a programme of timetabled guidance sessions and from the module convenor and a designated academic supervisor throughout the process. In addition, one-to-one meetings with the supervisor enable tailored tuition, covering the selection of the precise question/s for investigation, most apt reading, and so forth.

Students prepare a short formal research proposal in the first half of the autumn term in order to formulate the question their investigation will address; this is submitted as an assignment, assessed, and feedback provided. Two further assessed step submissions follow as the research builds: a research outline with associated bibliography and a critical evaluation of a key source material. Students should aim to ultimately produce what is an original study. The finalised Dissertation is submitted at the end of the second term of study.

How can you gain the fullest understanding of the civilisation, literature, culture and language of ancient societies? How can you fundamentally improve your critical thinking, analytical skills, and problem solving? Now that you’re proficient in languages and have covered the fundamentals of grammar and complex sentence structure, this module will enrich your ability to read, comprehend, and translate passages of ancient Greek/Latin/ Egyptian. You’ll have a better understanding of the key themes and ideas in the texts and will see them within a broader literary and cultural context. You’ll understand how to use relevant theme-specific scholarly tools and publications in your studies, and will have the tools to succeed in diverse disciplines such as coding and computer programming, scientific, legal or medical careers.

Takes a critical and interdisciplinary approach to ancient history and modern interpretations of ancient history. After first developing a rich and detailed view of a key theme in ancient history, such as politics, law, migration or social justice, you'll explore how this central theme contributed in the ancient world and how it is addressed and differs in twenty-first century debates.

Dig deeper and explore advanced approaches to topics in archaeology. After first developing a rich and detailed view of a key theme in archaeology, you will explore how this central theme contributes to our understanding of the ancient world.

You’ll gain skills in communication, critical thinking, and use of primary and secondary sources, as well as a deeper understanding of archaeology as a tool to uncover secrets of the past and inform our modern understanding of antiquity.

Take a critical and interdisciplinary approach to modern interpretations of ancient literature, culture, and art.

You’ll develop a rich and detailed view of a key theme of your choice in classical studies (e.g. inebriation, madness, divine signs, humour, emotion, ugliness, the senses), before exploring how this theme is addressed both in the ancient world and in twenty-first century debates.

Through this exploration of the ancient world, you’ll sharpen your focus and develop skills across critical thinking, problem solving and communication to set you up for an exciting and successful career.

What is virtue? What is knowledge? What are the first causes and principles of reality? What is the nature of mimesis? You’ll explore these questions that have persisted from the ancient era to the 21st century.

Through lectures and seminar discussions you’ll gain a critical distance from normative and modern definitions of philosophical terms, in order to understand how ancient philosophy generally approached questions and problems with different suppositions and conceptions of reality, reason, and the purpose of human existence.

Through this deep discussion, you’ll discover your own answers to these critical questions through the context of ancient and modern philosophy, while developing crucial skills in analysis and reasoning to give you an edge with employers.

How did the western Roman Empire become the Early Medieval West? What happened when large numbers of people migrated into the Roman empire from beyond the Roman frontiers?

You’ll explore the period between 300 and 600 C.E, examining the interactions between so-called ‘barbarians’ and the population of the western Roman empire. Important sites from Italy to Britain will be examined using a range of archaeological, historical and visual evidence. You’ll cover everything from military changes during the period to the impact of social and political breakdown on ordinary people.

Through weekly lectures you’ll build knowledge and through seminars, you’ll explore case studies on specific topics in more depth, gaining confidence in source interpretation. Discover the end of the Roman west; what survived, and what did not of Roman culture and lifestyles in early medieval Europe.

Discover the civilisations of the Near East which developed in Mesopotamia (Iraq), Iran, Anatolia (Turkey), the Levant, and the Eastern Mediterranean Islands between the Bronze and the Iron Age (3100-550 BC).

Through exploring historical events and peoples who played a role in the formation and collapse of cities and empires you’ll gain a greater understanding of this exciting period in ancient history. And you will explore cultural traditions and interactions through the lens of art and artefacts, writing, religion and economy to develop your knowledge of the societies and everyday lives that contributed to it.

Do you want to bring your passion for the ancient world to the classroom through teaching? If so, this is the perfect first step for you to get there. This module is designed for students interested in pursuing a career as primary or secondary school teachers. You’ll take a placement in a secondary school, which will enhance your employment opportunities. You’ll also develop your knowledge and understanding of Classical Studies and Ancient History in the secondary school context.

By introducing you to the essentials of teaching practice during seminars and workshops, you’ll gain invaluable experience. Seminars and the internship will complement each other. During seminars, you’ll benefit from the opportunity to discuss aspects related to your placement and receive appropriate guidance from staff at regular intervals to support your journey.

You’ll usually make weekly visits to a school and have a designated teacher-mentor. As part of the internship, you’ll will observe real taught sessions. Initially, students will likely concentrate on specific aspects of the teachers' tasks, and their approach to teaching a class. As term progresses, it is expected that your role will be, to some extent, a teaching assistant, by helping individual pupils who are having difficulties or by working with small groups. This is the perfect way to gain crucial experience and take the first step to an exciting and rewarding career in teaching.

Survey the Mediterranean city from AD 300 to 650, the period in which Constantinople was founded and became Europe’s greatest polis.

City life in this period was, until recently, poorly understood, hindered by the prejudices of classical archaeologists, who removed late levels without record, and the selective interests of Christian archaeologists who concentrated on churches. Now, new archaeological fieldwork has revealed much greater complexity, with an urban collapse in the West but flourishing cities in the East, providing a foundation for Early Islamic urbanism.

You’ll explore this developing understanding of the ancient city through both regional and thematic patterns, visible in classic sites, such as Trier, Rome, Ostia, Sabratha, Phillipi, Ephesus, Gerasa, and Constantinople. You’ll learn to link changes in the physical appearance of cities to wider events and processes: the effects of war, the rise of pateres and circus factions, the decline of paganism, and the urban flowering of both Christianity and Judaism.

Through seminars you’ll explore the rich source material available, whether drawn from architectural remains, stratigraphic archaeology, epigraphy, and selected text, so you can better study a range of issues for cities of any period, from topography and morphology to processions, civic regulation, and economic change.

Explore the history, archaeology and culture of the Ancient Greek world from the Late Bronze Age to the Archaic period (ca 1600 BC – 480 BC).

You’ll begin at the very start of the Ancient Greek world, covering everything from the Greek trade and colonisation on the Mediterranean, the Tyrrhenian and the Black Sea; the cultural, architectural and artistic exchanges of the Greeks with Near Eastern, North African and Italian populations; the formation of the Greek polis (city-state) and the circumstances for the invasion of Greece by the contemporary Persian Empire. Through this you’ll develop a greater understanding of Ancient Greece and sharpen your focus on critical analysis and insights.

How did religion structure ancient Greek cosmovision? Did religion have extensive political power? How important was architecture and mythology to religious practice?

You’ll answer these questions and gain a comprehensive understanding of the major types of religious festivals and worship, the cults involved and the divine spheres of influence addressed through ritual, using archaeological, ancient historical, and literary material.

Explore the structure of the belief system and the ways it was used to assist in addressing uncertainties of the future. Apart from the study of material evidence and literary sources, you’ll also focus on the cognitive underpinnings of worship and the development and role of monumental architecture in religious practice.

Explore the impact of the Classical World on ancient Egypt between Alexander's invasion and the Arab conquest, and on the nature of the civilisation which emerged under Greek and Roman rule.

Alexander entered Egypt as liberator, but his successors created a regime with Greek as the main official language and Greeks as the ruling elite. Foreign soldiers were settled on reclaimed land, Greek cities were founded, especially Alexandria, one of the glories of the ancient world. An elaborate system of economic regulation maximised production to support warfare, city-building and display. New cults were created to unite the two peoples and strengthen the regime.

Native Egyptians showed their resentment in disaffection and rebellion. Roman rule was if anything harsher and more remote. Yet it is a mistake to see the relationship as wholly negative. Art and architecture flourished. In civil service, army, business the new regime offered avenues to advancement for native Egyptians. Egyptian religion retained its prestige and was adopted by many Greeks and Romans, spreading far outside Egypt.

You’ll get hands on exploring this exciting period through rich and varied sources: temples, tombs, remains of settlements, mummies, inscriptions, sculpture, coins and an extraordinary range of papyrus documents, offering unique insights.

The Hellenistic period, saw an expansion of the Greek world into the Near East and, as a result, the profound political and cultural transformation of the whole of the Eastern Mediterranean.

This played a crucial role not just in the transmission of classical Greek civilisation but also in the shaping of the Roman Empire and its culture, particularly in the Eastern Mediterranean. For these reasons, it is a key period in the development of Greek, Roman and later European civilisations.

You’ll undertake a general survey of the political, social, economic and cultural history of the Eastern Mediterranean in the period between 336 and 30 BC, following on from the classical Greek and in part dovetailing with and in part preparing the ground for the Roman historical modules.

You’ll explore a range of sources, historical, literary, papyrological, epigraphic and archaeological. Particular attention will be paid to the interaction between the incoming Graeco-Macedonian and indigenous local populations and the formation of new states and cultures in order to gain a full understanding of this period of change, development and upheaval.

Get hands-on with a tailored made 70-hour internship within a local, regional or national heritage site. You’ll gain a first-hand comprehensive experience in heritage work, a crucial step towards a career in the field.

During the internship, you’ll deploy accurately the concepts and principles learned in class (in the Spring term) within the dynamic context of heritage sites. Choose the site of your internship as far as possible, ensuring that the internship aligns with your own interests and career aspirations. Finally, you’ll undertake a specific project, to be defined between the course leader, the heritage site and yourself. Clear objectives and skills to be acquired will be outlined and regularly monitored.

The systematic knowledge gained from the internship will be reinforced through classroom seminars, delving deeper into theoretical concepts and discussing their practical applications. Assessment methods include a blog to help critically evaluate the diverse skills acquired during your internship, and a final report where you’ll critically reflect on your experiences.

Heritage sites have often been in the news as core elements of tourism, identity and sometimes of the ‘culture war’. But what are heritage sites? How are they conserved, managed, developed, and interpreted? Why can they be controversial?

Throughout this module, you’ll gain a comprehensive and critical understanding of the principles of protecting, listing and conserving heritage, as well as of value-led management of heritage, with the full participation of local populations. You’ll also gain key employment skills, as you learn about drafting management and tourism plans, while also integrating heritage within development strategies. Using real world examples from across the globe, you’ll be introduced to diverse approaches. By the end of this module, you will have the necessary skills and critical knowledge to undertake an internship in a heritage site of your choice.

Monsters and monstrosity are found in all throughout Roman culture, both inside and outside mythology. Most were inherited from Greece but adapted for new tastes and purposes.

You’ll focus on Greek and Latin literature in ancient Rome, but earlier sources and visual media may be included to support this, as well as the interdisciplinary approach of monster theory.

Your interpretation of source materials leads to a broader and deeper understanding of monsters in ancient Roman stories and thought. If you are passionate about exploring the history of monsters and significance in Roman culture, this module is for you.

What does it take to become an archaeologist? You’ll find out. Explore fieldwork techniques deployed in the discovery, recording, and analysis of archaeological sites, over a combination of lectures, small-group work and practical assignments in the field, using professional grade equipment.

We aim to follow recognised professional standards so that you are ready for employment. Topics/methods may vary year to year but typically include strategies for finding and recording sites, from the study of archive sources to geophysics, field walking, and the survey of earthworks and standing buildings, drawing on new techniques such as laser survey and photogrammetry.

Fieldwork practicals will be outside, dependent upon weather and availability, around the rich historical sites of Canterbury and its hinterland.

Explore Britain through from the Late Iron Age and the time of Julius Caesar’s visits in the first century BCE to the fifth century CE and the much debated ‘end of Roman Britain’.

Historical testimonies of the ancient authors, epigraphy, coins and the archaeological and architectural evidence of sites and artefacts provide the rich forms explored as you examine the history of the changes to the province under Rome. The development of towns, villas, the new infrastructure and commerce are considered, as well as the deployment and impact of the Roman army and other institutions and cultural practices new to Britain.

You’ll also cover daily life in the province through indicators such as religious practice, consumption, burial, art and crafts. This transformative time witnessed huge differences of wealth and life experience, from that of governors and elites to humble rural communities and enslaved people.

You’ll also establish the context of Roman Britain through reference to the western provinces of empire and the world of ‘barbaricum’ – Scotland and Ireland. Processes of change are put under the microscope as ‘Romanisation’ theory, creolisation, post-colonial perspectives, and identity, ethnicity and interactions are scrutinized through the various remains.

These sources do not provide the entire picture, and you’ll learn to use them in combination and in an evaluative and critical manner as well as handing the materials themselves through practical workshops.