BA Ancient History and Archaeology

About the Course

This degree scheme enables you to study the broad disciplines that make up both Archaeology and Ancient History. You will have the opportunity to study the material remains of ancient cultures and participate in excavations.

You will study the historical and literary documents along with the material remains of ancient and classical sites and their associated artefacts. The Archaeology part of the degree includes the study of the human past through an examination of physical remains such as stone tools, pottery and bones, through to buildings, structures, monuments and landscapes, while the Ancient History part widens the types of sources you will be studying by including textual and iconographic evidence.

This degree also offers you a number of field trips both within the UK and abroad and at the core of this degree is an intensive field visit to the Mediterranean region: currently, students visit Naples. Expert guidance on these trips will be given by members of staff from both the Archaeology and Classics sections within the University. Further work on the region is undertaken back in Lampeter, where you have the opportunity to further your knowledge of the archaeology and history of the Mediterranean.

Award
BA (Single Honours)

UCAS Code
VVD4

Course Length
3 years full-time; part-time study available

Entry Requirements

The School has a dedicated Admissions and Recruitment officer who deals with all UCAS application, liaises with the various Programme Coordinators and arranges visits, and Open Days. The programme requirements are between 240 and 260 points and above or Access to HE Foundation Degree. However we are keen to judge each application on its merits, and thus will also look at non traditional routes though here entry may require an interview.

Career Opportunities

• Library, museum, and archive work
• Teaching, postgraduate study, research
• Administration, government organisations
• Leisure and Heritage: classical tours, heritage sites, etc

You will develop powers of analysis, logical thought and argument within a supportive and encouraging environment. It will be these skills of communication, understanding, analysis and self-management that provide you with a passport into employment. Types of employment could include museum and archive work, journalism, law, banking, local politics, all types of administrative work, marketing and advertising, and teaching.

Campus

Lampeter Campus

Typical modules

• Pharaohs, Phoenicians and Peoples of the Sea
• Alexander the Great and the Hellenistic World
• Living and Dying in Imperial Rome
• Text and Society
• Bronze Age Society
• Sparta: An Extraordinary City
• Funerary Beliefs in Ancient Egypt
• Religions in Antiquity
• Excavation and Fieldwork

Key Features

• Opportunity for fieldwork in the Mediterranean
• Mediterranean fieldtrip to Athens or Naples
• Opportunities to explore two distinct disciplines
• Expert teaching and guidance

Programme Specification

Educational Aims and Programme Outcomes

The programme represents a marriage of both Ancient History and Archaeology. It therefore combines and distils the educational aims and programme outcomes of both programmes of study. Both sets of educational aims are relevant to the programme:

 The Education aims in Archaeology aim to:

• develop practical archaeological skills;
• encourage students to appreciate the breadth and variety of archaeological remains, sites and evidence, across different regions of Britain and parts of the world;
• develop a critical awareness of various theoretical perspectives as they relate to and underpin the study of Archaeology;
• develop a students’ ability to apply knowledge and understanding to the principles and methods of archaeology;
• demonstrate comprehension of the problematic and varied nature of archaeological evidence;
• to enhance a range of study and transferable skills thus equipping students for further study at PG level or the workplace.
• develop a students ability to reflect on current practice and developments in the field;
• develop a student’s knowledge of field and laboratory based Archaeology.

The Educational aims for Ancient History aim to:

On graduating with an honours degree in Ancient History, students should be able to:

• demonstrate an awareness of the main problems and issues bearing upon the history of the ancient world, and awareness of and critical engagement with aspects of ancient society, religion and philosophy; be able to analyse them critically and creatively and be able to evaluate the similarities and differences with our own culture
• demonstrate familiarity with the major ancient historians sufficient to be able to offer comment and reasoned analysis of their respective historiographical aims, methods, use of sources and their position within the historiographical tradition, and analyse in general terms the complex interrelationship between history, literature, philosophy and ideology in the context of one or more ancient societies
• evaluate, analyse and synthesise a wide range of sources appropriate to the subject area
• evaluate, analyse and synthesise a wide range of viewpoints on problems of interpretation and evaluation, and adopt a variety of critical approaches to the subject drawn from different disciplines within the subject area
• gather, memorize, organize and deploy evidence and information, and show an awareness of the consequences of the unavailability of evidence
• select and apply appropriate methodologies when using primary and secondary historical materials
• demonstrate a professional approach to referencing and the use of bibliography
• synthesise complex and diverse arguments and ideas lucidly and coherently, both orally and in writing
• engage in analytical and evaluative thinking about texts, sources, arguments and interpretations
• engage in lateral thinking, making connections between ideas and information in different fields of their study
• reflect critically on the extent, and limitations, of their learning and understanding
• present an argument orally in a clear, organized and effective manner
• present an argument in a written form in a clear and organized manner, with appropriate use of correct English
• work creatively, flexibly and adaptably with others, both peers and academic staff
• demonstrate autonomy, manifested in self-direction and intellectual initiative, both in learning and study and in the management of time
• participate effectively in oral discussions
• write and think under pressure and to meet deadlines
• make critical and well-informed use of IT resources (such as e-mail and the World-Wide-Web) to acquire and manipulate general and subject-specific information; use a word processor and scanning technologies to create clearly presented written assignments and handouts

PROGRAMME OUTCOMES

The following outcomes and constructed from a consideration and assimilation of the programme outcomes for both Archaeology and the programme outcomes for Ancient History and are thus specifically tailored to this programme rather than just being the addition of one set to the other. The programme outcomes for Archaeology are in turn based on Quality Assurance Agency for Higher Education Benchmark Statement for Archaeology (2007) whilst the programme outcomes for Ancient History are rooted in the QAA Benchmarking Statements for Classics and Ancient History (2007) stresses the broad based nature of the discipline placing emphasis on the interplay between theory, method and practice. On completion of the programme of study a student should be able to:

Section 1:  Knowledge and understanding

1. Demonstrate broad and comparative knowledge of the archaeology of a number of geographical regions and chronological periods, with an emphasis on the Mediterranean
2. Demonstrate an understanding of the varied nature of primary archaeological evidence and the principles and methods by which archaeological data are acquired and analysed
3. Demonstrate an understanding of the development of archaeology as a discipline
4. Demonstrate an awareness of key  issues bearing upon the history of the ancient world and the ability to analyse these critically
5. Evaluate, analyse and synthesise a wide range of ancient historical sources

Section 2:  Cognitive or Intellectual Skills

6. Select and apply appropriate methodologies which using primary and secondary historical sources
7. Engage in analytical and evaluative thinking about texts,  sources and their interpretation
8. Analyse and reflect upon a range of archaeological data in a systematic and coherent way
9. Apply classification and analytical skills in collating and categorising archaeological data
10. Plan, undertake and present work of a scholarly standard that demonstrates an understanding of the aims, theories, methods and techniques of archaeological practice

Section 3:  Transferable Skills

11. show clarity, fluency, and coherence in written expression;
12. show clarity, fluency, and coherence in oral expression ;
13. the ability to work collaboratively and to participate in group discussion;
14. use IT and computer skills to gather and deploy evidence and data to find, retrieve, sort and exchange new information;
15. design, research, and present a sustained and independently researched piece of archaeological and/or ancient historical writing
16. organise tasks and manage time effectively.

Further Information

Assessment methods

Assessment methods for the course draw upon a range of different forms and approaches that include a variety of written formats from essays (ranging from 1500 words up to 3500 words in length), to book reviews, short 1000 word analyses, document or ‘gobbitt’ work, oral presentations delivered both in a group and individually, and both seen and unseen examinations.

In addition to summative assessments the programme also undertakes a range of formative assessments that may include one or more of the following: peer assessed work, quizzes, group presentations, reflective journals, field reports, internet searches, document analysis, and bibliographic exercises.

Learning and Teaching methods

Teaching methods are designed to provide interest, variety and academic curiosity. Seminars, workshops and small group work are our principal means of teaching, though supported by lectures, field trips, revision and study groups. We are also offer one-to-one tutorials in which you can discuss aspects of your on written work such as help with the structuring of essays, or writing technique or feedback advice on a specific assignment.