Ancient History and Archaeology with FY

Ancient history and archaeology together offer one of the most richly layered approaches to the ancient world available at degree level. Ancient history works primarily through texts: the political and philosophical writings, histories, letters, and literary works that survive from Greece and Rome give us an extraordinarily rich, if partial, window onto the ideas, events, and experiences of the ancient past. Archaeology works through material evidence: the physical objects, structures, landscapes, and biological remains that people left behind offer perspectives on life that no text records, particularly the lives of those who did not write.

Combining the two disciplines gives you the full range of tools for understanding antiquity.

At Birkbeck this four-year programme includes a foundation year, giving you a preparatory stage to develop the academic skills and subject knowledge you need before entering the main degree. You will engage with textual sources and material evidence in combination, learning to interpret each in the context of the other and to understand how the two forms of evidence can confirm, complicate, and enrich each other's picture of the ancient world. Hands-on experience with archives, collections, and archaeological practice is a feature of the programme, grounding the academic work in real engagement with primary sources and material objects.

Birkbeck's London location provides exceptional access to museum collections, archives, and scholarly events that directly support and enrich the curriculum.

Graduates move into careers in heritage management, museum and gallery work, archive and library work, education, publishing, journalism, and the cultural sector. The analytical and research skills that ancient history and archaeology develop are also valued in law, policy, and the civil service. Many graduates continue to postgraduate study in classical archaeology, ancient history, or museum studies.