Archaeology

Archaeology at Durham combines scholarly rigour with hands-on investigation of the human past. The discipline uses material evidence, from excavated artefacts and structures to environmental remains and landscape features, to reconstruct the lives, beliefs, and social organisation of people across thousands of years of history. It draws on the physical and natural sciences as well as the humanities, making it genuinely interdisciplinary: the methods of carbon dating, soil analysis, and GIS mapping sit alongside archival research, historical interpretation, and theoretical debate.

Durham's three-year full-time archaeology programme includes a foundation year, a sandwich year placement, and a year abroad, as well as professional work placement experience, providing an unusually comprehensive combination of academic depth and practical engagement. Durham is one of the UK's leading universities for archaeology, with particular strengths in Roman, medieval, and North African archaeology, and the surrounding region, one of the richest archaeological landscapes in England, is itself a resource for the programme. The placement and year abroad allow you to gain professional field experience and to study or work in an international setting, building the skills and networks that support a career in the discipline.

You will study archaeological theory, field methods, material culture, environmental archaeology, heritage management, and a range of specialist periods and topics.

Graduates in archaeology go on to work in professional field archaeology, heritage management, museum curation, conservation, planning and development consultancy, education, and research. Many continue to postgraduate study to develop specialist expertise in areas such as osteology, environmental archaeology, heritage conservation, or digital archaeology. The combination of practical fieldwork skills and analytical rigour developed by the degree is valued across a range of public sector and research-facing careers.