Archaeology BA (Hons)

Bachelor's degree

In Liverpool

Price on request

Description

  • Type

    Bachelor's degree

  • Location

    Liverpool

This degree programme enables you to study the most fundamental questions about human life through an understanding of archaeological methods and theory combining the archaeology of periods and areas of your choice. Learn how

to reconstruct the past from its material remains. Investigate the major social, economic, religious and technological developments in long-term human history from Britain to South Africa and Spain to China. Learn how to carry out archaeological excavation and survey, study human, animal and plant remains, artefacts and art to investigate our past from the emergence of our species until the 20th century. Single Honours students will be required to complete four weeks of supervised fieldwork. This involves two weeks of residential archaeological training on our field school at the end of Year One and a further two week placement at the end of Year Two. Choosing this subject as a Single Honours Year One modules provides you with a broad introduction to both archaeological methods and the archaeology of particular times and places around the world, (including modules on the principles and practice of archaeology, the origins of humanity, the ancient world (Greece, Italy and the Near East) and the archaeological history of the UK). Years Two and Three build on this foundation through a wide range of lecture, laboratory and practical skills-based modules. This programme has a vacation fieldwork requirement which totals four weeks of archaeological experience (fieldwork and/or museum-based work). These are usually spread over Years One and Two. Year One fieldwork usually consists of participation in a department-organised training project. In Year Two, many students work on overseas research excavations. Currently there are departmental research projects in Sicily, Bulgaria, Turkey, Jordan, Egypt, South Africa and Ireland as...

Facilities

Location

Start date

Liverpool (Merseyside)
See map
Chatham Street, L69 7ZH

Start date

On request

About this course

If you’re considering this subject as a combination within Honours Select, please refer to our Honours Select page for further information about entry requirements. Entry Requirements A level offerABB Subject requirementsNo specific subject requirements. BTECBTEC applications are encouraged. We evaluate each BTEC application on its merits and may make offers at DDM, with 100 out of 180 credits at Distinction. International Baccalaureate33 points Irish Leaving CertificateA1 A1 B1...

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Subjects

  • Management
  • Credit
  • Basic
  • IT
  • Basic IT training
  • Basic IT
  • Archaeology
  • Design
  • Materials
  • Project
  • IT Management
  • Skills and Training

Course programme

Module details Programme Year One

Students are introduced to the basic methods of archaeology and the main periods and areas taught at Liverpool. Students take six compulsory modules (plus two optional modules) which currently include:

  • The Origins of Humanity
  • Bronze Age Civilizations in Europe, the Mediterranean and the Near East
  • Empires and Citizens in the Classical Mediterranean and the Near East
  • From Boudicca to the Beatles – a Material Exploration of the British Past
  • Principles of Archaeology
  • The Practice of Archaeology
Compulsory modules
  • Principles of Archaeology (ALGY101) Level 1 Credit level 15 Semester First Semester Exam:Coursework weighting 50:50 Aims
  • To introduce students to the various theoretical tools, field methods and laboratory techniques that archaeologists use to study and interpret the past.

  • To acquaint students with the types of data archaeologists collect, and how they analyse and interpret these data in order to reconstruct and understand past societies. ​

  • To develop the student''s intellectual skills in terms of knowledge acquisition, research, written and visual communication as well as group work and reflexive evaluation (both self and peer evaluation). ​

  • Learning Outcomes Acquire essential subject-based knowledge.

    ​ Become familiar with scientific equipment, techniques and materials that are used and analysed by applied archaeological science.

    ​ Become aware of the relevance of the materials, methods and arguments presented in the module for the study of the past in diverse archaeological contexts.

    ​ Become familiar with the main schools of thought and intellectual debates involved in the study, and the critical analysis of specific archaeological subjects, research questions and case-studies.

    ​ Become aware of appropriate standards of professional conduct, including health and safety protocols.

  • The Practice of Archaeology (ALGY102) Level 1 Credit level 15 Semester Second Semester Exam:Coursework weighting 0:100 Aims
  • This module aims to introduce students to the issues involved in the design and implementation of archaeological research.

  • To introduce students to the challenges facing modern archaeologists.​

  • To introduce students to desk-based archaeological assessments​

  • To introduce students to aspects of archaeological mapping and GIS​

  • To introduce students to aspects of field recording​

  • To introduce students to aspects of archaeological data analysis​

  • To introduce students to issues involved in archaeological project and excavation design​

  • To introduce students to issues involved in the interpretation of archaeological sites and cemeteries​

  • To introduce students to principles of heritage and management of archaeological sites​

  • Learning Outcomes By the end of the module students should be able to show some understanding of the objectives of archaeological research.

    ​ By the end of the module students should be able to demonstrate an awareness of how archaeology works in both academic and commercial spheres

    ​ By the end of the module students should be able to show critical awareness of the practice of archaeolgical researchand research design

    ​ By the end of the module students should be able to show an understanding of how different approaches can lead to different interpretations

    ​ By the end of the module students should be able to show an understanding of desk-based assessment

    By the end of the module students should be able to show an understand some basics of archaeological mapping ​

    By the end of the module students should be able to show an understanding of basic archaeological data analysis ​

    By the end of the module students should be able to deminstrate an understanding of aspects of archaeological field recording ​ and data collection

    By the end of the module students should be able toshow an understanding of basic issues around management of archaeological sites ​

    By the end of the module students should be able to show an understanding of issues of excavation strategy ​

  • The Origins of Humanity (ALGY105) Level 1 Credit level 15 Semester First Semester Exam:Coursework weighting 0:100 Aims
    1. ​​​T o introduce the study of the early human record using a comparative interdisciplinary approach
    2. ​To provide a foundation for studying evolutionary anthropology in greater depth.
    3. ​To provide a basic understanding of the deep past for those interested in more recent archaeological and historical periods. ​

    Learning Outcomes

    The student will have gained a broad understanding of the social, biological and technological evolution of humans.

    ​The student will have developed a critical awareness of how early prehistory is constructed using interdisciplinary sources​

    ​The student will have developed skills in evaluating primary and secondary sources of information​ about human evolution.

  • Bronze Age Civilizations: Mesopotamia and The Mediterranean (ALGY106) Level 1 Credit level 15 Semester First Semester Exam:Coursework weighting 60:40 Aims
    1. ​T his module aims to introduce students to the archaeology and history of the ancient Near East and Aegean from ca. 4,000 to 800 BC.

    2. To familiarize students with teh causes and consequences of the world''s earliest examples of urbanization, state-formation, literacy and imperialism and the role that geography, culture and history played in this diversity

    3. To introduce students to the possibilities and problems of combining the evidence from ancient texts and archaeological materials to produce interpretations of developments in the past.

    Learning Outcomes

    ​S tudents successfully completing the module will achieve a basic understanding of the archaeological record of Mesopotamia and the Aegean from ca. 4,000-800 BC, and a particular appreciation of the important evidence this region supplies for issues of global significance, such as the origins of writing, urbanism, state-formation, and imperialism.

    Students successfully completing the module will gain significant experience in absorbing, synthesising, and using unfamiliar archaeological and historical evidence for the purposes of investigating questions of general historical and cultural significance. ​

    Students successfully completing the module will further develop their ability to construct and express effective verbal and written argument. ​

  • Empires and Citizens: The Classical Mediterranean and The Near East (ALGY131) Level 1 Credit level 15 Semester Second Semester Exam:Coursework weighting 50:50 Aims
    1. To introduce students to the geographical setting, chronological frameworks and general social, cultural, political and economic developments of the Mediterranean world from the sixth century A.D.

    2. ​To familiarize students with key themes and forms of evidence relevant to advanced study of Mediterranean Archaeology in the Classical period.

    3. ​To introduce students to the direct analysis of material culture from the Classical Mediterranean world as well as the role of museum collections in the study of Mediterranean archaeology.

    Learning Outcomes

    ​Students will acquire an introductory knowledge of the geographical setting, chronological frameworks and general social, cultural, political and economic developments of the Mediterranean world from the sixth century B.C. to the sixth century A.D.

    ​Students will be gain a comparative appreciation of key similarities and differences between Classical Greece and Imperial Rome from an archaeological perspective;

    ​ Students will be able to analyse a range of material remains and apply core methodological and theoretical perspectives to answer questions about the social and political dynamics of life in the ancient Mediterranean

    ​Students will compare and assess different responses to challenges posed by living in communities and interacting with other communities in the ancient Mediterranean.

Programme Year Two

Students take two compulsory modules (Archaeological Excavation Skills and Artefacts and Technology), and then choose a further two modules from a selection that currently includes the following:

  • Archaeology and the Microscope
  • European Prehistory
  • Ancient Warfare
  • Hunter/Gatherer Societies
  • Human Osteoarchaeology
  • The Archaeology of Roman Britain
  • International Relations in the Ancient World 1500-1200BC
Compulsory modules
  • Archaeological Excavation Skills (ALGY211) Level 2 Credit level 15 Semester First Semester Exam:Coursework weighting 0:100 Aims
  • This module will aim to help students to learn the basic skills of archaeological excavation.

  • ​To help students understand the nature and limitations of archaeological evidence produced through the excavation of archaeological sites.

  • Learning Outcomes Students learn the basic techniques of the British archaeological profession. This includes single-context excavation and recording; light/heavy tool use; allocation, description, and interpretation of archaeological contexts; formation processes; stratigraphy & matrices; environmental sampling and processing; accurate technical drawing of site plans and sections; site photography; basic topographical and geophysical survey techniques; finds identification, handling, conservation; finds illustration; heritage communication; and health & safety on archaeological sites. The module introduces the concept of reflexive practice, largely regarding the student''s own skills, as well as re. archaeological recording systems/standards, the future of on-site drawing methods, and issues of heritage management. Students are also introduced to the post-excavation process, including the commissioning of specialist analyses, finds photography, and the writing of archaeological reports.

    ​At the end of the module students will have a portfolio of work that they can use to prove their basic competence in excavation skills and which students can show to future archaeological employers.

  • Artefacts and Technology (ALGY250) Level 2 Credit level 15 Semester Second Semester Exam:Coursework weighting 40:60 Aims
  • This module provides an introduction to some of the types of information that can be gained from the scientific study of archaeological artefacts. 

  • ​This module focuses on the artefacts - the materials used, their properties, how far it is possible to determine the origins of raw materials, how materials were processed and how the final artefacts were made and used. A complimentary module, Analytical Methods (ALGY397), is available in year 3 which is concerned specifically with the techniques used and how they work.

  • Learning Outcomes

    Students who take this module should gain an...

Archaeology BA (Hons)

Price on request