Bachelor of Archaeology

Archaeology is the study of the past from its material remains, meaning everything that past generations have left behind for us to study from their artefacts to the DNA in their bones. Its theories and methods embrace the humanities and sciences. Its time range extends from the evolution of humans millions of years ago to the archaeology of the 21st century, through major transitions in human history including the beginnings of farming, states, empires and globalization. The complex role of the archaeological heritage for our own societies is another major interest of Cambridge archaeologists.

The Department of Archaeology and McDonald Institute for Archaeological Research make up one of the largest centres of archaeological research in Britain, indeed in the world. Recently we were awarded top place in the Good University Guide for Archaeology in the UK. And Cambridge’s Department of Archaeology has even wider interests: Assyriologists and Egyptologists study the first civilizations of Mesopotamia and Egypt through their ancient languages and history as well as their archaeology. Biological Anthropologists study the interactions between biology and culture throughout human evolutionary history, so their interests range from primatology and human ecology to health and disease today.

Students taking any of these courses benefit enormously from direct, hands-on access to world-class collections in Cambridge’s many museums, especially the Museum of Archaeology & Anthropology (whose curators contribute to Archaeology teaching), the Fitzwilliam Museum, and the Duckworth Laboratory, one of the world’s largest repositories of fossil human remains. As well as being taught through Cambridge’s outstanding mix of lectures, practicals, seminars and supervisions, Archaeology students are trained in fieldwork techniques. Excavations and field trips are key components of the course and students spend at least seven weeks in the field. Every summer, students doing dissertations go to the field, with a choice of field sites from all over the world.