Study Details: MSc 1 year full-time,
2 years part-time,
3 years part-time
Material culture tells the story of people and their things: allowing us insights into the significance that objects held for people in the past.
Interweaving practical and theoretical approaches to material culture, this course explores ethnoarchaeological and experimental archaeological approaches to objects, alongside functional analyses of a broad range of artefact types.
You will discover the theories underpinning our understanding of the material world while developing invaluable practical skills: from designing and executing your own experimental archaeology project, the analysis of microscopic wear and residue traces, working with objects from excavations and museum collections, to making a short documentary film for the heritage sector.
Whatever your period of interest is, this course will equip you with the skills and experience you need to begin a career in cultural heritage, academia, or commercial archaeology.
This course is also available as an MA Material Culture and Experimental Archaeology.
2:2 or equivalent in Archaeology, Anthropology or a relevant subject.
Alternative qualifications and professional experience will also be considered.
For fees and funding options, please visit website to find out more
This course is also available as an MA Material Culture and Experimental Archaeology.
This course will equip you for a number of careers in a diverse range of sectors, including the heritage sector, commercial archaeology, film, television and journalism. It will also give you a solid foundation for further study and research within academia.
Core modules
Experimental Archaeology
Thinking through Material Culture
Option modules
You will choose three option modules from examples including:
Artefacts and Materials Analysis
Digital Creativity
Understanding & Interpreting Historic Buildings
Virtual Reality and 3D Modelling
Any period specific module
You'll also have the opportunity to choose options from our full module catalogue:
Archaeologies of Colonialism in the British Atlantic World
Ancient Biomolecules
Animal Bones for Archaeologists
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
Debates in Funerary Archaeology
Digital Approaches to Archaeology
GIS and spatial analysis
Heritage Principles and Concepts
Histories of Conservation
Landscape Survey and Geophysics
Life and Death in Iron Age Britain and Ireland
Making the Nation
Medieval Settlement and Communities
Mesolithic Life and Death
Museums, Audiences & Interpretation
Prehistoric Art: Origins and Transitions
Plants in Archaeology
Presenting Historic Houses
Project Management
Researching & Analysing Historic Buildings
Roman Europe
Roman Archaeology: Ancient pasts, current issues
Skeletal Evidence for Health in the Past
Sustainability I: definitions of sustainability & methods of assessment
Sustainability II: understanding sustainability as change through time
Sustainable Buildings
Sustainable Conservation Challenges
The Archaeology of the Human Skeleton
The Archaeology of Roman Religion
The Ancient Celts: Archaeology and Identity in Iron Age Europe
The Viking Age: People, Places, Things
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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