BA Archaeology

Archaeology lets you explore past humanity. It spans from prehistoric times to industrialization and globalization. And, it lets you consider key challenges of modern society. These include climate change, new technology's impact, and subtle understandings of gender, culture, and conflict.

We study past people through science. We analyze artefacts, texts, inscriptions, architecture, human remains, and landscapes. In the course, you will cover Egypt, the Near East, the Mediterranean, the British Isles, and North-West Europe.

You will work in the department of Classics, Ancient History, Archaeology and Egyptology (CAHAE). You will have a great chance to use staff expertise in material culture, ancient history, language, and literature. Staff are also experts in the fields on the subjects of social complexity, ancient writing, belief systems, and funerary rites.

You'll explore artefacts, buildings, and old texts. You'll handle our object collections in our labs and get exclusive access to the archives and experts of the Manchester Museum. You'll also go on trips to amazing sites.

Fieldwork training is integral to all our courses: you will have the opportunity to dig for at least four weeks, with your first two weeks in year one, followed by a further two weeks in year two.

Our past students have worked on sites of global importance, such as Stonehenge, Star Carr, and Easter Island. They have uncovered everything from the first British Mesolithic art to a Viking boat burial in Scotland.

Use our dedicated collections, labs, study spaces, and libraries to pursue your interests. Our award-winning teachers and top researchers will support you. You'll join our community, which is passionate about understanding the ancient world.

Experience digs in the UK and abroad

Fieldwork training is a key part of our degree. You'll be introduced to excavation by experienced archaeologists.

Placement year option

Use your subject-specific knowledge in the real world. Do this through a placement year in your third year of study. It will help you improve your job prospects, clarify your career goals, and build your external networks.

Study abroad

You may apply to spend one semester studying abroad during Year 2. You'll have the opportunity to join research teams and help make discoveries that shape our knowledge of the world.

Destination-specific specialisms could support research on Inuit material culture, Australian rock art, or Scandinavian hoards, enriching your final year dissertation.

Explore in-depth collections on campus

Use our well-equipped labs to study artefacts, architecture, and ancient texts and beliefs. We also have our own teaching collections. Plus, we have access to the exclusive archives and curators at Manchester Museum .

Outreach and engagement

You'll also have the opportunity to share your passion for archaeology through community and public engagement projects.

As an archaeology student you'll benefit from a breadth of teaching methods designed to develop your transferable skills, including:

• tutorials;
• seminars;
• laboratory sessions;
• lectures;
• fieldwork;
• group exercises;
• presentations;
• reports;
• one to one academic support sessions;
• original research guided by academic tutors.

Subsidised fieldwork includes one-day site visits as well as extensive periods of excavation in locations such as Herefordshire, Yorkshire and Scotland. You'll also be trained in our archaeological labs and museum archives to use a wide range of equipment to analyse and record objects. You can access training in digital illustration and GIS packages to support this activity and loan landscape survey and geophysics equipment for fieldwork.

• written examinations;
• coursework essays;
• research reports;
• practical tests;
• fieldwork workbooks;
• individual projects;
• oral presentations;
• third year dissertation;
• digital posters;
• audio performances.

In addition, archaeology field training involves a variety of assessment over a range of skills and techniques.

Manchester Museum

Manchester Museum is home to important prehistoric, classical and ethnographic collections. You'll go behind the scenes to handle, analyse, and explain rare artefacts. They include one of the finest Egyptology collections in Britain.

Our ongoing collaboration is between the museum and the global archaeology staff. It offers unique chances for students to help design major exhibitions.

Whitworth Art Gallery

The Whitworth Art Gallery holds important archaeological textile collections. It also has art and sculpture on themes such as landscape. These are part of its broader, internationally significant collections.

The Granada Centre for Visual Anthropology

The Granada Centre for Visual Anthropology has a film library. It has approximately 1,500 titles. The films range from classic ethnographic to contemporary documentary and world cinema.

Archaeological laboratories

You'll learn in our archaeological labs. You'll use microscopes, digital cameras, delicate measuring tools, and portable XRF to analyse and record objects. You can also access training in digital illustration and GIS packages to support this activity and loan landscape survey and geophysics equipment for fieldwork. A dedicated technician supports our labs. They can offer training and help.

Field survey equipment

Equipment to support your studies includes three total stations and a traverse kit. Also, a sub metre GPS survey system, a drone, and pro photography gear. Several of our lab-based resources can also be used in the field, including our PXRF instrument, ProScope and 3D scanner.