MA Archaeology (Roman)

Overview

Roman archaeology has changed dramatically in recent years, pursuing new and complex research questions about the creation and diversity of the Roman Empire. If you are fascinated by any or all aspects of the archaeology of the Roman Empire, this MA will enable you to gain a deeper appreciation of the subject and to develop a critical understanding of both the archaeological and historical evidence of the Roman world.

Durham is one of the leading departments of Roman Archaeology in Britain with an international reputation, built up over many years, for its programmes of innovative and high-quality teaching of Roman archaeology. The MA draws directly on our research strengths: Roman Britain, the population of the north-western Roman provinces and their neighbours, Roman imperialism and historiography; pre-Roman and Roman Italy, Roman imperialism, landscape archaeology; topography of Rome, Roman - Late Roman - Byzantine Italy, north Africa and the the East, Roman and Byzantine pottery, Roman economy; Iron Age/Roman transition in Britain and France, early Roman settlement and landscapes.

Facts

Find out more about entry requirements, mode of study, duration of the course, and tuition fees here. (Note: this link will direct you to the University's central course tool. Use the link provided to return to the Department of Archaeology homepage.)

Find out more about funding your programme here.

Programme structure: Specialist Route (1), Specialist Route (2), Research Training Route (3), Research training Route (4). See below for more details.

How will I be taught?

The MA in Archaeology courses are composed of several modules: Research and Study Skills in Social Archaeology (RSS), combinations of a Research Topic module related to your strand (either single or double), a Selected Module from those on offer elsewhere in the Department, a Guided Study module and a dissertation.

Part-time students are expected to complete the course in 2 years. The choice of modules for each year should be made in consultation with the Strand Convenor. It is usually expected that part-time students will complete RSS in the first year and the dissertation in the second year.

RSS is taught through a combination of lectures, tutorials, practicals and one field trip.

In addition, students do a Research Topic module, which can be single or double. For the Research Topic Module students must choose one or two topics depending on whether they are taking a single or double module. Teaching is undertaken through a series of lectures and tutorials.

What will I be studying?

Research Topics offered in the Roman Strand (subject to availability):

• East and West: Roman Production and Trade in the Mediterranean and beyond
• Pagans, Christians, Muslims: Changing Townscapes the Mediterranean (North Africa and the Near East) in the first millennium AD
• Roman Archaeology and Mythical History
• Roman Landscapes of the Mediterranean

The Guided Study module is based exclusively on tutorials and seminars, and allows students to follow a detailed and specialised course of study in their specified area. It facilitates the provision of intensive teaching of specified geographical areas and/or topics, which will provide vital preparation for research.

Dissertation: All strands of the MA in Archaeology programme require a triple-module dissertation of up to 20,000 words.

Who will teach me?

Dr Becky Gowland specialises in human skeletal remains and one of the main focuses of her research is on health and demography in the Roman Empire. She has published a number of articles and books on the social archaeology of human remains.

Prof Richard Hingley is a specialist in Roman settlement and society and focuses on the use of theory in Roman Archaeology, while also researching upon Roman the genealogy of imperialism, historiography and heritage. He has led a major project on Hadrian’s Wall over the past six years and is author of nine books that address the archaeology and history of Roman Britain and of the Roman empire.

Dr Anna Leone, a specialist on Roman and Late Antique Italy, North Africa and Near East, and pottery. She has co-directed two projects one at the villa dei Gordiani along the via Prenestina in Rome and one in Sicily. She is starting a new field project in Libya. In the last ten years her research has focused primarily on the transition from Paganism into Christianity and from Christianity into Islam, especially in North Africa. She has published two books on the changing of society and use of urban spaces from Late Antiquity into the Islamic conquest as well as the fate of the Pagan urban materiality (monuments, statuary and marble decoration) in the transition to Christianity.

Dr David Petts specialises in social archaeology of the 1st millennium AD, with a particular focus on the development of Christianity. Whilst most of his current work is focused on the north of England, he has significant research interests in Wales, as well as the wider North Sea world and is the author of four books on Roman and early medieval topics.

Dr Penny Wilson is an expert on Egypt, with experience of the survey of sites of Roman date. Her focus of interest involves the dynamics of life in the Nile delta including coping with the Nile's flood regime in the past, the development of urban centres and the tension between agricultural life and the state. She is also interested in the interactions between the religious life and thinking of the temple and the world outside and the nature of religious experience in 'ordinary' daily life.

Dr Rob Witcher is a specialist in landscape archaeology, especially Mediterranean field survey; (pre-) Roman Italy; ancient globalisation; Geographical Information Systems. His interest extends from the core of the Empire (Italy) to the imperial periphery (Britain). He is currently working on the countryside, economy and demography of Italy with a focus on peasant societies. In particular, he is interested in comparing between areas such as the hinterland of Rome (the suburbium) and more peripheral, mountainous landscapes such as the Sangro valley in Abruzzo.

Dr Tom Moore specialises in Iron Age/Roman transition in Britain and France. His research interests focus on breaking down the theoretical and methodological barriers between different approaches to the European Iron Age and he recently co-organised an international conference addressing these issues (Western Europe in the first millennium BC: Crossing the divide) with leading specialists from France, Iberia, USA, Ireland and the UK.

What is my next step?

For further information about applying for the MA Archaeology (Roman), please visit How to Apply.

All Home/EU applicants offered a place on the MA Archaeology (Roman) course will be asked to pay a £500 deposit by 1 April 2013. For offers made by the Department after 1 April 2013, each applicant will have 4 weeks to pay the £500 deposit from the official offer letter. This £500 deposit will be deducted from the first instalment of fees after starting the course in September 2013. Please note, that this £500 deposit will only be refunded in the event of the applicant not meeting their conditions set out in the official offer letter.

All Overseas applicants offered a place on the MA Archaeology (Roman) course will be asked to pay a £1000 deposit no later than 6 weeks following any official offer emailed letter. Please note, that this £1000 deposit will only be refunded in the event of the applicant failing to meet their conditions set out in the official offer letter or refusal of a visa for entry to the UK. Please ensure that you read this information concerning the deposit.

This £1000 deposit will be deducted from the first instalment of fees after starting the course in September 2013.