BA Archaeology

Compulsory modules

Revolutions and Transitions: the Human Journey from 6 Million Years Ago to the Present Day

Discover how archaeological research has shaped our understanding and knowledge of the development of human society over the last 6 million years, from our earliest ancestors through to the present day. You’ll learn how archaeological methods are used to reconstruct the human past and identify major issues of debate in our history.  

Archaeology Today: Methods and Practice

Uncover the main methods and practices currently employed in modern archaeology, both in archaeological fieldwork and post-excavation analysis. You’ll gain essential knowledge on the variety of techniques used in modern archaeology and an understanding of current practice in the UK. 

Early Empires: Mesopotamia, Egypt and Rome

Discover the archaeology of the world’s early empires, dating from 2500BC to AD395, focusing on the great empires of ancient Mesopotamia, Egypt, the Persian Achaemenid Empire, and the Roman Empire. You’ll examine ideology, imperial cult, trade, urbanisation, warfare, agriculture and the everyday lives of imperial subjects, as you study the rise and fall of some of the greatest, most feared, socio-political entities to have existed.  

Optional modules

Forensic Anthropology and the Archaeology of Death

Learn the archaeological methods and theories employed in the scientific study of the dead, both from the modern forensic and older archaeological contexts. Gain insight into how humans have buried their dead over the time, analyse skeletal remains, and conduct fieldwork in a cemetery survey.  

Contemporary World Cultures: an Introduction to Social Anthropology

Gain a general introduction to social anthropology – the study of human societies and cultures. You’ll explore key themes in the discipline through the study of topics including kingship and marriage, gender and sexuality, the role of religion, ritual and witchcraft in social life, and contemporary hunting and gathering societies.    

Warfare in Early Modern Europe, c. 1500-1715

Consider the relationship between warfare, and its ‘badges, battles and buttons’, with the wider social, economic and political contexts. You’ll be introduced to war and warfare in early modern Europe and study the consequences of war and the historical basis of our contemporary ideas on war.  

After Malthus: Sex, Society and Sustainability

Discover the legacy of Thomas Malthus’ ‘population principle’ in shaping a series of debates across the long nineteenth century and its influence upon ideas of birth control, natural selection, ‘Social Darwinism’, and environmental sustainability. 

Roman History: The Rise and Fall of the Republic

Investigate a period marked by profound socio-political changes in Rome and discover the evidence for ancient history and modern methodological approaches, considering the relevance of Roman antiquity to issues in the modern world.

Ancient Song

Discover a range of lyric poetry from ancient Greece and Rome and consider a range of thematic approaches to reading the surviving texts.

Presenting the Past: An Introduction to Museum Studies

Examine how contemporary museum practice contributes to social challenges. Visits to museums, case studies and theory will help you to consider the origins of museums along with how information is collected and presented to different audiences.   

Optional Language or University Wide Module

Study a module from outside your department to enhance your understanding of history and culture. Alternatively, you can learn one of ten languages offered by the University at a level appropriate for you. 

These are the modules we typically offer at this level of study. If you have any questions about specific modules, please email the Archaeology Admissions Tutor at archaeology@reading.ac.uk.

Please note that the University cannot guarantee that all optional modules will be available to all students who may wish to take them.

You can also register your details with us to receive information about your course of interest and study and life at the University of Reading.

Compulsory modules

Archaeology and Heritage: Past, Present and Future

Discover how and why archaeologists have excavated and interpreted the material remains of past societies over time. You’ll examine interpretations of the past through to the modern day, spanning the ancient Near East and Classical Greece and Rome. You’ll also examine the evolution of ideas, considering how wider society has changed archaeology and how it may continue to develop in the future.  

Ancient Objects: Materials and Meanings 

Learn the skills, techniques and interpretative frameworks specific to the study of artefacts, including how they’re recorded, analysed and interpreted. You'll be exposed to a wide range of artefacts covering two chronological periods as you explore methodological aspects and analyse data for your dissertation.  

Archaeology Field School and Professional Practice

Gain a practical, hands-on introduction to field techniques and site recording methods used on both urban and rural excavations. You’ll spend four weeks on a departmental excavation and participate in site work including excavation, finds and sample processing, geophysics, survey and aspects, and geoarchaeology.  

Optional modules

Prehistoric Europe: The First Million Years

Uncover Europe’s pre-history, from the earliest Palaeolithic through to the Iron Age c. 1,600,000 – 800 BC), from Turkey and the Balkans to Britain, Ireland and Scandinavia. You’ll consider important research questions and themes such as technology, dietary strategies, life histories, hominin cognitive abilities, settlement and burial archaeology, ritual practice, and comparative anthropology.   

Bioarchaeology

Learn the key methods employed in the examination of human and animal skeletal remains from archaeological sites, and utilise skeletal collections held by the Department of Archaeology. You’ll uncover the role of the osteoarchaeologist, and learn how to identify, record and analyse human and non-human remains.  

Changing the Face of the Earth: Past, Present and Future Sustainability

Examine how archaeology, environmental science and anthropology can provide a deep-time perspective on global challenges and sustainability and how they may contribute to future solutions. You’ll explore the historical emergence, sustainability, and collapse of communities and civilisations, alongside the role of humans in changing climate and ecosystems in the future.

Summer Placement

Take the opportunity to complete a research or professional placement during the summer vacation preceding Part 2 or Part 3 of your degree. You can work alongside a member of staff on a current project based in the UK or internationally, or with a professional organisation, consultancy or government organisation.   

Celts and Romans: Northern Europe and Britain

Explore archaeological evidence for Roman presence in Northern Europe between the years 300 BC and AD 300. You’ll also consider the wider context of major social, cultural, and economic changes in the region during this period. 

Medieval Europe: Power, Religion and Death

Learn how archaeological evidence, approaches and interpretation contribute to our understanding of Europe in the Middles Ages. You’ll apply your knowledge on a field trip to Winchester, one of the richest medieval urban landscapes in southern England. 

Museum Learning and Engagement 

Critically examine the learning role of museums in society and discover resource design, evaluation, and visitor research. Talks from museum-based professionals and museum visits will allow you to contextualise and apply your learning.  

Curatorship and Collections Management

Explore the methods used by professionals to store, catalogue, and research objects, and to communicate their meanings to the public. You’ll receive an induction to these methods and undertake assignments based on objects in the University’s collections.  

Optional Language or University Wide Module

Study a module from outside your department to enhance your understanding of history and culture. Alternatively, you can learn one of ten languages offered by the University at a level appropriate for you.

These are the modules we typically offer at this level of study. If you have any questions about specific modules, please email the Archaeology Admissions Tutor at archaeology@reading.ac.uk.

Please note that the University cannot guarantee that all optional modules will be available to all students who may wish to take them.

You can also register your details with us to receive information about your course of interest and study and life at the University of Reading.

Compulsory modules

Dissertation in Archaeology

Plan, organise and carry out an independent archaeological research project. You’ll undertake primary research as you critically assess previous approaches to a research question and identify or design methods relevant to its solution.  

Optional modules

Archaeology of the Dark Ages

Explore the archaeology of Ireland, Scotland, Wales, and British-speaking areas of England from the 5th to 10th centuries. You’ll examine interactions between them and the wider world, and their transformation by Christianisation and political centralisation.

The Anthropology of Heritage and Cultural Property

Explore how heritage is an important global industry for tourism and heritage site conservation. You’ll discover the historical development of concepts, politics, and legal claims on heritage and cultural property in the contemporary world. 

Objects and Identities in the Roman Empire

Explore the relationships between the consumption of objects and the expression of individual and group identities in the Roman world. You’ll focus on issues such as ethnicity, regionality, and the use of objects to represent feminine and masculine. 

Biological Anthropology

Discover key methods used by human bone specialists, starting with the identification of human remains. You’ll learn how to examine bones for disease and injury, along with methods for assigning biological sex, age-at-death, and stature to a skeleton.

Post-excavation: Assessment, Analysis and Publication in the Profession

Prepare for employment in professional archaeology by learning post-excavation techniques and legal and planning policy frameworks. You’ll analyse records of an excavation and create a dated stratigraphic sequence for a post-excavation site report. 

Emergence of Civilisation in Mesopotamia

Deepen your knowledge of Mesopotamia from the 4th to the 2nd millennium BC. You’ll explore the origins of writing and socio-politics, the nature of power, city-states and empire, and human-environment inter-relationships, resources, trade, and exchange.

The First Europeans: Archaeology of the Lower Palaeolithic

Explore the earliest archaeological evidence in Europe covering hominin evolution, their technologies, diets, and survival strategies. You’ll also consider the dramatically changing climates, habitats, and landscapes of the Lower Palaeolithic world.

The Archaeology and Anthropology of Food

Explore how food contributes to our understanding of all human populations as a biological necessity and social commodity. Themes such as feasting, cannibalism, gender, migration, and colonialism will be considered. 

Living in Medieval Towns

Follow the evolution of towns and cityscapes from post-Roman times to the emergence of medieval towns. You’ll discover the socioeconomic complexities of urban centres, effects of the Black Death, and complexities of modern urban archaeology. 

Neolithic and Early Bronze Age Britain

Explore anthropological and archaeological interpretation of neolithic and early bronze age Britain. Topics include farming, treatment of the dead, ritual practices, the nature of settlement, perceptions of the landscape, and the arrival of metal to the British Isles.  

Optional Language or University Wide Module

Study a module from outside your department to enhance your understanding of history and culture. Alternatively, you can learn one of ten languages offered by the University at a level appropriate for you

These are the modules we typically offer at this level of study. If you have any questions about specific modules, please email the Archaeology Admissions Tutor at archaeology@reading.ac.uk.

Please note that the University cannot guarantee that all optional modules will be available to all students who may wish to take them.

You can also register your details with us to receive information about your course of interest and study and life at the University of Reading.