Study Details: MA 1 year full-time,
2 years part-time,
3 years part-time
Discover more about the ancient Celts and their encounters with the Greek and Roman world.
The European Iron Age is a dynamic focus of contemporary archaeological research. This course takes an interdisciplinary approach, studying archaeological evidence alongside classical literary sources, and examines the impact of new scientific analysis.
You’ll discuss the nature of Celtic identity and the broader meaning of ethnicity in past societies. Scientific developments, for example in ancient DNA research, will inform our ideas and spark new debates.
You can tailor the course with options covering a huge range of topics, including landscape, society, animals, conservation, and scientific techniques such as isotope and ancient DNA analysis. The skills you develop in laboratory and fieldwork will be useful for careers or further research in archaeology and heritage.
This is the only UK masters specialising in European Iron Age archaeology. The University of York is establishing itself as a major centre for research on the period, and the Department of Archaeology is home to staff with specialist expertise in the field.
2:2 or equivalent
Mature students or those with less conventional qualifications but with relevant professional experience and enthusiasm for this field will be considered. To find out if your professional experience or qualifications are appropriate, please contact the Course Director.
For fees and funding options, please visit website to find out more
Many of the Department’s graduates secure funding for PhD research projects and go on to pursue careers in academia. The course will also equip you for a range of careers from commercial archaeology to heritage and museum work. You will gain a broad range of transferable skills, applicable to areas beyond the archaeology and heritage sectors.
Core modules
The Ancient Celts: Archaeology and Identity in Iron Age Europe
Life and Death in Iron Age Britain and Ireland
Option modules
You will choose three option modules from examples including:
Debates in Funerary Archaeology
GIS and spatial analysis
Landscape Survey and Geophysics
Thinking through Material Culture
Virtual Reality and 3D Modelling
You'll also have the opportunity to choose options from our full module catalogue:
Ancient Biomolecules
Animal Bones for Archaeologists
Archaeologies of Colonialism in the British Atlantic World
Artefacts and Materials Analysis
Becoming Human
Building Conservation Projects
Buildings Recording
Contemporary Issues in Museums
Critical Approaches to Archaeological Practice
Data Science for Archaeology
Death, Burial and Commemoration in the Roman World
Digital Approaches to Archaeology
Digital Creativity
Experimental Archaeology
Heritage Principles and Concepts
Histories of Conservation
Making the Nation
Medieval Settlement and Communities
Mesolithic Life and Death
Museums, Audiences & Interpretation
Prehistoric Art: Origins and Transitions
Presenting Historic Houses
Project Management
Researching & Analysing Historic Buildings
Roman Archaeology: Ancient pasts, current issues
Roman Europe
Skeletal Evidence for Health in the Past
Sustainable Buildings
Sustainability I: definitions of sustainability & methods of assessment
Sustainability II: understanding sustainability as change through time
Sustainable Conservation Challenges
The Archaeology of Roman Religion
The Archaeology of the Human Skeleton
The Viking Age: People, Places, Things
Understanding & Interpreting Historic Buildings
Zooarchaeology in Context
Some option modules combinations may not be possible. The option available to you will be confirmed after you begin your course.
Our modules may change to reflect the latest academic thinking and expertise of our staff, and in line with Department/School academic planning.
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