Module ARCH1061: ARCHAEOLOGY PRACTICALS

Department: Archaeology

ARCH1061: ARCHAEOLOGY PRACTICALS

Type	Tied	Level	1	Credits	20	Availability	Available in 2013/14	Module Cap	None.	Location	Durham

Tied to	F400
Tied to	F402
Tied to	VQ48

Prerequisites

• None.

Corequisites

• Introduction to Archaeology (ARCH1071).

Excluded Combination of Modules

• None.

Aims

• To provide a basic introduction to field and laboratory techniques for the recording and analysis of primary materials, sites and monuments, using group work wherever possible.

Content

• Basic introduction to and hands-on experience of a range of materials used in past societies (pottery and two others), together with lab tests.
• field visits and excursions to sites and monuments in urban and rural contexts, to learn about recording of buildings, sites and monuments and about landscape appreciation.
• field training in basic excavation recording and surveying techniques.

Learning Outcomes

• By the end of the course, students will have improved their ability to function productively in a team and will have gained a basic understanding of: The properties of, and technologies associated with, pottery and a selection of two other materials.
• IT skills of word processing, spreadsheets, the WWW, computer graphics, the Durham library system and email.
• Some of the techniques of recording sites and monuments in an urban context and in a landscape context.
• A range of recording and surveying techniques to be used during their summer training excavation.

• Direct experience of practical archaeological work, both field related and in the study of artefacts and other materials.

• Gain direct experience and competence in a range of transferable skills.
• Group work (key benchmarking transferable skills taught here).

Modes of Teaching, Learning and Assessment and how these contribute to the learning outcomes of the module

• The module is taught through a combination of lectures, practicals, fieldtrips and self-guided learning.
• It is assessed through a series of written practical assignments, which assess the student’s experience of a range of practical archaeological work.
• Lectures will ensure the effective communication of key information and theoretical ideas, supported by reading lists and written summaries of follow-up notes posted on DUO, enabling students to gain up-to-date knowledge, as well as guidance on further reading.
• Practical classes involve demonstrations and hands-on exercises using archaeological materials, undertaken in small to medium sized groups.
• Fieldtrips involving visiting, experiencing and discussing archaeological sites and monuments in the landscape and archaeological collections in museums.
• Self-guided learning comprises personal study, research, revision and evaluation associated with classes and assignments; guided by lecturers, tutors and reading lists of specialist books, articles and web-sites.
• Research is embedded into the teaching of this module through the experience that students gain of the processes of research using each of the practical techniques that are taught and through the examples and topics chosen within the lecure component which derive from the specialist research interests of the staff.

Teaching Methods and Learning Hours

Activity	Number	Frequency	Duration	Total/Hours
Lectures	9	Fortnightly	1 Hour	9
Practicals	6	3 Per Term	3 Hours	18	■
Fieldwork	4	2 Per Term	3 to 8 Hours	23	■
Self Taught Computing	3			3
Preparation and Reading				147
Total				200

Summative Assessment

Practical Assignments 100% (10% per session, from a selection including lithics, ecofacts, pottery, sites and museums field trip, buildings and towns excursion around Durham, field survey, planning, stratigraphy, excursion Houghall and Maiden Castle, landscapes field trip).

Component: Ten written assignments		Component Weighting: 100%
Element	Length / duration	Element Weighting	Resit Opportunity
Written assignment, each accounting for 10% of the overall mark of the module, based on practical sessions, excursions, field trips.		10%
Written assignment, each accounting for 10% of the overall mark of the module, based on practical sessions, excursions, field trips.		10%
Written assignment, each accounting for 10% of the overall mark of the module, based on practical sessions, excursions, field trips.		10%
Written assignment, each accounting for 10% of the overall mark of the module, based on practical sessions, excursions, field trips.		10%
Written assignment, each accounting for 10% of the overall mark of the module, based on practical sessions, excursions, field trips.		10%
Written assignment, each accounting for 10% of the overall mark of the module, based on practical sessions, excursions, field trips.		10%
Written assignment, each accounting for 10% of the overall mark of the module, based on practical sessions, excursions, field trips.		10%
Written assignment, each accounting for 10% of the overall mark of the module, based on practical sessions, excursions, field trips.		10%
Written assignment, each accounting for 10% of the overall mark of the module, based on practical sessions, excursions, field trips.		10%
Written assignment, each accounting for 10% of the overall mark of the module, based on practical sessions, excursions, field trips.		10%

Formative Assessment:

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■ Attendance at all activities marked with this symbol will be monitored. Students who fail to attend these activities, or to complete the summative or formative assessment specified above, will be subject to the procedures defined in the University's General Regulation V, and may be required to leave the University