Ancient History and Classical Archaeology

Ancient history and classical archaeology together provide one of the richest possible approaches to the study of antiquity. Ancient history works primarily with written sources, including literary texts, inscriptions, papyri, and other documentary evidence, to reconstruct the political, social, cultural, and intellectual life of the Greek and Roman worlds and their neighbours. Classical archaeology works with material remains, including buildings, sculpture, pottery, and the landscapes of ancient settlement, to reach parts of the past that texts cannot illuminate.

Together they give you access to the ancient world from multiple angles, each discipline enriching the other.

At Leicester this distance learning programme allows you to study ancient history and classical archaeology wherever you live, with the flexibility to fit your studies around work and family commitments. The distance learning format is designed thoughtfully, providing a genuinely rigorous academic experience that does not require your physical presence on campus, making it accessible to students for whom traditional full-time attendance is not possible. You will engage with primary sources from both textual and material traditions, developing your ability to interpret evidence of very different kinds.

You will develop skills in historical and archaeological reasoning, close reading of ancient texts, interpretation of material culture, and the construction of well-evidenced arguments about the ancient world. These are transferable capacities with value well beyond the subject itself.

Graduates of ancient history and classical archaeology programmes move into careers in heritage and museums, archives, education, arts administration, cultural tourism, publishing, journalism, and the civil service, as well as into a wide range of other roles where research skills, cultural knowledge, and analytical thinking are valued. Many continue to postgraduate study in classical studies, ancient history, archaeology, or museum studies.