Ancient History

Ancient history is the study of the civilisations of Greece, Rome and the wider ancient Mediterranean world, as well as the earlier societies of the Near East, Egypt and beyond. It asks how these societies organised themselves politically and socially, how they understood the divine, how they made war and built empires, and how they left behind the texts, inscriptions, coins, buildings and material remains through which we attempt to reconstruct lives separated from us by thousands of years. It is a discipline that demands rigorous engagement with fragmentary evidence and competing interpretations, and that develops the analytical and argumentative skills that serve graduates in many fields.

At the University of Bristol, you will explore real-world issues like politics, the creation and spread of myths, and the relationship between human societies and their environments, by studying the dynamic cultures of the ancient Mediterranean. The programme is three years full time and includes a foundation year, which provides an additional year of preparation for students entering from a non-traditional background or who want extra time to develop their reading, writing and analytical skills before the main degree begins. The typical entry tariff is 136 points.

Bristol has a distinguished ancient history department, and you will study within a research environment that takes the ancient world seriously as a subject of ongoing scholarly inquiry. You will work with primary sources in translation, engage with historiographical debates, and develop the ability to construct sustained, evidence-based arguments that are at once precise and genuinely open to the complexity of the past.

Graduates from ancient history programmes move into careers in education, the civil service, journalism, publishing, museum and heritage work, law, and a wide range of other roles where analytical thinking and clear writing are valued. Some continue to postgraduate study in ancient history, classical studies, or archaeology, and others pursue professional training routes in law, teaching, or public administration.