Ancient History and Archaeology

Ancient History and Archaeology is a degree that combines two disciplines devoted to understanding the human past, each bringing different kinds of evidence and different methods to bear on the societies and cultures that existed before living memory. Ancient History works primarily with written sources: inscriptions, literary texts, administrative records, and coins, asking what they can tell us about the political, social, and cultural life of the ancient world, particularly Greece and Rome. Archaeology works with material evidence: the buildings, objects, landscapes, and human remains that survive from the past, interpreting what they reveal about how people lived, organised their communities, and understood their world.

Together they give you a richer and more complete picture of antiquity than either discipline can provide alone.

At the University of Durham, this three-year full-time programme develops your skills in both disciplines within one of the UK's strongest ancient history and archaeology departments. You will work with ancient texts in translation alongside the material record, learning to evaluate different kinds of evidence critically and to construct arguments about the past with appropriate rigour. Fieldwork is central to archaeological training, and the programme includes a sandwich year and a year abroad, giving you professional and international experience alongside your academic studies.

Work placements are embedded in the degree, connecting your learning to the professional worlds of heritage, museums, and archaeological practice.

Durham's strong research environment and its outstanding museum collections, including Roman artefacts from the nearby Hadrian's Wall corridor, enrich the programme in practical as well as academic terms.

Graduates pursue careers in museums and heritage organisations, archaeology and fieldwork, education, journalism, publishing, the civil service, and cultural administration. Many go on to postgraduate study in ancient history, archaeology, classical studies, or museum studies. The combination of textual and material approaches to the ancient world is valued wherever understanding of the deep human past matters.