Archaeology and History

Explore the richness and variety of past human experience, and discover its influence on our present and future, with our BA Archaeology and History. This degree combines the study of history – and its political, social and cultural contexts – with invaluable archaeological training.

In your archaeological studies, you’ll study material remains to uncover our human past, from as early as the first hominins millions of years ago. Your historical studies will span the last thousand years, with a broad geographical spread that covers Britain and Europe, Africa, America, the Middle East and South Asia. You’ll examine historical records and explore visual and material culture through texts, paintings, photographs, films and oral sources.

Studying these complementary subjects together will provide a richer, more holistic understanding of our shared human past. You’ll balance your critical evaluation of historical sources against the physical evidence of lived experience provided by archaeological finds.

The University of Reading is ranked in the Top 100 in the world for Archaeology (QS World Rankings by Subject 2023). 100% of students in the Department of Archaeology and 100% of students studying BA History said our teaching staff were good or very good at explaining things (National Student Survey, 2023).

For more information, please visit the programme page: https://www.reading.ac.uk/ready-to-study/study/subject-area/archaeology-ug/ba-archaeology-and-history