Classical Archaeology and Ancient History

Classical archaeology and ancient history together provide one of the richest ways of understanding the ancient Mediterranean and Near Eastern worlds, combining the material evidence that archaeologists recover from excavation and survey with the written sources, inscriptions, and documentary records that historians analyse. Neither discipline is complete without the other: objects and sites need historical context, while texts need to be tested against physical evidence.

At the University of Oxford you will study the civilisations of ancient Greece, Rome, and their neighbours across roughly a millennium, from the Bronze Age through to late antiquity. Archaeological study introduces you to how scholars identify, excavate, record, and interpret the physical remains of past societies, from monumental architecture and urban planning to ceramics, coins, and everyday objects. Ancient history trains you in the critical reading of ancient texts, from literary and philosophical works to legal documents and personal letters, alongside the evaluation of secondary scholarship.

You will learn to move between these kinds of evidence, understanding both what they reveal and what they obscure.

This is a three-year full-time programme. Oxford's tutorial system means you will receive intense individual attention and regular practice in forming and defending arguments under intellectual pressure. Access to world-class museum collections, including the Ashmolean, means that your learning is grounded in engagement with original material.

Graduates of Classical Archaeology and Ancient History go on to careers in academia, museums, heritage organisations, publishing, archaeology, and arts administration, as well as professional fields such as law, the civil service, and finance, where the analytical and communication skills developed in the degree are highly valued. Many progress to postgraduate study in classical studies, archaeology, ancient languages, and related disciplines.