Archaeology at Hull

Although Hull does not have a single Department of Archaeology, the subject is actively pursued in several departments, particularly Geography and History (both of which were awarded a 5 rating in the last RAE exercise).

Here at Hull we offer full-time undergraduate degrees involving a substantial proportion of Archaeology.

• BSc Geography and Archaeology
• BA History and Archaeology

Hull students undertake training excavations during the summer break in their first year, working at Brodsworth, South Yorkshire on excavations that are run jointly between Hull and Sheffield universities.

We are currently developing links with archaeological colleagues in the Orkney Islands aimed at developing fieldwork opportunities for student training excavations (see Visit Orkney website) and the news section (news link).

Possible areas of research

Come and join us! We welcome enquiries from potential graduate students (MSc by Research, PhD) or post-doctoral researchers interested in working with us.

• Mesolithic-Neolithic transitions in Britain and Europe
• wetland archaeology - all aspects of the excavation, interpretation and study of wetlands
• physico-chemical and microbiological studies of in situ potential in waterlogged burial environments
• landscape archaeology
• many aspects of prehistoric archaeological research can be undertaken
• landscape evolution and change in prehistory and the recent historical period
• modern pollen-vegetation relationships or novel approaches to reconstructing past landscape mosaics (including biotopographic 'retrodictive' modelling) (see their website for details of the PolLandCal network, an international group doing a lot of interesting and varied research in this area)
• factors affecting the preservation of pollen and other palaeoenvironmental indicators on- and off-site contexts
• palaeoecology of the White Peak area of Derbyshire and other limestone and chalk geologies, or of north-west Scotland
• palaeoecology as a tool for neoecology and/or conservation

Reasons to study Archaeology at Hull University include:

• Excellent rating in the 2007 National Student Satisfaction survey
• Top ten university for graduate employability
• Excellent staff-student ratio of 1:12 with a friendly and vibrant atmosphere
• Small group teaching with an emphasis on fieldwork and applied skills
• Diversity of topics across human and physical geography and archaeology
• A top ten department for Geography research in the UK