Archaeology and History

Archaeology and history together provide two of the most powerful means available for understanding the human past. History works primarily with written sources, analysing documents, chronicles, legal records, diaries and correspondence to reconstruct events and processes, understand how people thought and acted, and trace the forces that have shaped societies over time. Archaeology recovers and interprets the physical traces of past human life, from objects and buildings to landscapes and skeletal remains, reaching back far beyond the written record and supplementing it in ways that transform our picture of the past.

Together they give you a richer and more complete understanding of human history than either can provide alone.

At the University of Chester this four-year programme includes a foundation year, designed to develop the academic skills and historical knowledge you need to engage confidently with the degree that follows. Across the full programme you will study history ranging from the ancient world to the modern period, developing your ability to read and evaluate primary sources, construct sustained arguments and write with clarity and precision. The archaeology component introduces you to excavation techniques, artefact analysis, landscape archaeology and the theoretical debates that shape the discipline.

The programme includes a year abroad, giving you the opportunity to encounter different national approaches to the past and to broaden your understanding beyond the British and European traditions. Chester's location in a city of exceptional archaeological and historical richness, with Roman remains, medieval city walls and a cathedral, gives the degree a strong practical dimension.

Graduates work in museums, archives, heritage organisations, local government, education, journalism and the cultural sector. Many go on to postgraduate study in history, archaeology, heritage management or related fields. The skills the degree develops, including evidence evaluation, sustained research, analytical writing and the ability to engage the public with the past, are valued well beyond the heritage professions.