Mediaeval History & Archaeology MA (Hons)

In the first two years of your degree (known as sub-honours), the modules you take depend on which degree programme you have chosen. There are no separate modules in Archaeology at this level, and Archaeology is taught as an integral part of approaches to understanding ancient and mediaeval societies.

1st Year

Students taking Ancient History & Archaeology take the following compulsory first-year modules:

• The Greeks in a Wider World: surveys Greek history from the origins of the Greek city-states in the Archaic period (ca. 800 BCE), through the heyday of Athens’ empire and democracy in the fifth century, to Alexander the Great’s conquest of the Persian Empire. Alongside political and military history, the module tackles topics such as religion, sexuality, and Greek interactions with other peoples of the ancient Mediterranean world. Archaeological evidence is integrated throughout the module, and the archaeology of Athens is closely studied.
• Rome and the Mediterranean: traces Rome’s trajectory from a small settlement in Central Italy to the centre of a Mediterranean empire. The module examines a wide range of topics, including politics, the family, religion, slavery, poverty and the economy. It exposes the links between the growth of Rome’s power abroad and the consequence of empire at home. These consequences included a transformation in the archaeology of the city of Rome itself, as it grew from a small riverside town to a sprawling imperial capital.

Students taking Ancient History & Archaeology and Social Anthropology will also take the first-year modules in Social Anthropology.

Students taking Mediaeval History & Archaeology take:

• The Fall of Rome and the Origins of Europe (400-1000): examines how political, cultural and social life changed in the Byzantine, British and ‘barbarian’ worlds in response to major upheavals.
• Scotland and the English Empire 1070-1500: compares and relates the societies of the English crown and the kingdom of Scotland in the aftermath of the Norman Conquest of England.

Students taking Ancient History & Archaeology typically take the following second-year Ancient History modules, but may take second year Classical Studies modules instead:

• Mediterranean Communities: examines the human settlement and material culture of the entire Mediterranean world throughout classical antiquity.
• The Roman Empire: explores the Roman empire with particular reference both to social, religious and economic changes as well as to political and military history.

Students taking Ancient History & Archaeology and Social Anthropology will also take the second-year modules in Social Anthropology.

Students taking Mediaeval History & Archaeology take the following compulsory second-year module:

• Mediaeval Europe (1000 – 1400): examines key themes that helped to shape Western Europe from the 11th to 14th centuries, a period known as the ‘High Middle Ages’.

and choose at least one from the following:

• History as a Discipline: Development and Key Concepts: provides an introduction to key theoretical and methodological approaches which have characterised the emergence of History as a discipline since mediaeval times.
• Introduction to Middle Eastern History: provides an introduction to Middle Eastern history from the dramatic reconfiguration of the Middle East in late Antiquity to its contested and contentious recent past.
• Mediterranean Communities: deals with the human settlement and material culture of the entire Mediterranean World throughout classical antiquity.
• Scotland, Britain and Empire (c. 1500-2000): provides an introduction to how and why the British nation state evolved from the separate kingdoms of England, Scotland and Ireland and how and why it has survived over the last three centuries.

If you take any of these degrees in your third and fourth years, you will take the following compulsory third-year module:

• Principles and Techniques in Archaeology: provides an induction to the practical conduct of archaeology and how it affects the results of excavations and surveys, and an in-depth introduction to key archaeological topics and theories.

You will then choose from a variety of advanced options which incorporate archaeology into the study of ancient and mediaeval civilisations and cultures, focusing on topics such as castles, cities and urbanisation, networks, ancient art and sculpture, and the Bronze Age civilisations of the Aegean.

Here is a sample of Honours modules which have been offered in previous years:

• Archaeological Methods
• The Archaeology of Minoan Crete
• Art of the Roman Empire
• The City of Rome
• From Pompeii to Aquileia: the Archaeology of Roman Italy (50 BCE – 300 CE)
• In the Footsteps of the Ancients: Exploring the Archaeology and Topography of Greece
• Living with Material Culture
• The Roman Army.

In fourth year, students have the option of undertaking a dissertation of about 10,000 words on an approved topic in Archaeology. This independent project enables you to develop key research skills which are desired by both prospective employers and by graduate schools offering postgraduate degrees.

The sub-honours modules listed here are the compulsory modules that students must take in order to graduate in this subject. However, most students at St Andrews take additional modules, either in their primary subject or from other subjects they are interested in. For Honours level, students choose from a range of Honours modules, some of which are listed above.