Module ARCH52460: RESEARCH TOPICS IN HISTORIC ARCHAEOLOGY (DOUBLE MODULE)

Department: Archaeology

ARCH52460: RESEARCH TOPICS IN HISTORIC ARCHAEOLOGY (DOUBLE MODULE)

Prerequisites

• None

Corequisites

• None

Excluded Combination of Modules

• None.

Aims

• To develop an in-depth knowledge and understanding of a specialised aspect of Historic archaeology chosen from a list of topics representing the main areas of research in the Department and the strands within the MA in Archaeology.

Content

• Two of the following topics as available:
• The archaeology of burial practice in Britain, C12th-c19th: Burial Practice from the Normans; Large population cemeteries of the middle ages; Special Categories of the Dead: Saints, Clergy, and the Secular Elite; Jewish communities; Hospitals, and what people died of; On the eve of the Reformation; Reformation changes and contrasts; Burial in the 17th and 18th centuries; The context of burial in the 17th to 19th centuries; The unstoppable rise of the Undertaker.
• The archaeology of towns in Britain, C12th-C18th: The urban form and function from the 12th century; New towns and early ports; Urban hierarchies and civic institutions; urban housing; Urban warehousing and specialist functions; Death and religion in towns; Ports of trade; The 16th and 17th centuries; The urban renaissance thesis; Georgianisation and speculative enterprise.
• Urban Life, AD 400 to 1100: Town life or life in towns?; Proto-urbanism? AD500-650; The development of wics; Towns in the 8th and 9th centuries; The Viking impact; The development of towns 900-1050.
• Burial and Commemoration, AD 400 to 1100: Late Roman to Early Anglo-Saxon Transitions; The Creation of Identities, 5th to 6th Centuries; Expressions of an Elite; The Process of Christianisation; Vikings, Christians and Others; The Cult of Saints; The Landscape of Burial, 10th to 11th Centuries.
• Experiencing Landscape: These will vary according to the specific theme chosen year by year. However, all courses will involve: Preparation work involving delivery and discussion of student seminars; Reflective discussion of the theoretical background to the 'field experience' - why fieldwork is perceived as important, and its relevance to the practice of archaeology; Reflection on an placement of the specific area/period in the wider context of medieval and/or postmedieval archaeology.
• Historic landscapes: The history of landscape studies; the framework of recent research; the geomorphological record; gathering fieldwalking data; processing, presenting and analysing fieldwalking data; using historic maps; evaluating Sites and Monuments data; rapid sketch surveys; producing reports on the historic environment; historic landscape characterisation and protection; constructing landscape histories.
• Townscapes in North Africa & the Near East: Urban form and its transformation from Late Antiquity to the early Arab period. Mediterranean provinces, especially North Africa and the Near East from the Roman Imperial period to the 8th / 9th centuries AD. Comparison between the eastern and the western Mediterranean. Transformation of cities through the major historical events of this period: the decline and fall of the Roman Empire, the Vandal occupation of North Africa, the Byzantine Empire and the arrival of the Arabs.The classical city and the range of public and private buildings and their development over time. Transformation of space from Late Antiquity, the urban layout of towns and the reuse of individual buildings (e.g. the conversion of temples, baths, theatres, amphitheatres into churches, workshops, forts, housing, cemeteries etc.). The changing nature of society during a period of great historical upheaval. Christianization - the changes to urban topography brought about by the foundation of churches and the rise of the power of the clergy. History of studies and current issues on Roman/Late Antique urbanism; Changing townscapes in the 3rd and 4th centuries; The Vandal period: the case of North Africa; The Byzantine period: the rise of the Christian Empire and the impact on towns; The Arab conquest and the dissolution of the Empire: a new image of urban.
• People & Environment in the North Atlantic: This topic examines the nature of human / environment interaction across a variety of island systems in the North Atlantic during the later prehistoric and Norse periods. A number of recurring research themes will be addressed including issues of colonization and human impact on island environments, adaptation to marginal environments and economic continuity and change. Multi-disciplinary case studies will be used throughout the course, integrating a variety of archaeological and palaeoenvironmental techniques. The reconstruction of the later prehistoric and Norse environment and economy of three of the main island systems in the Atlantic seaboard of Scotland (Western Isles, Orkney and Shetland) provides the main focus for the course. The human / environment interaction during the Norse expansion across the wider North Atlantic is then examined for the Faroes, Iceland and Greenland. Reading archaeological science; Chronology and settlement overview; Chronology in the North Atlantic; Environmental archaeology in Atlantic Scotland; Atlantic Scotland: Colonisation, environmental impact and adaptation; Atlantic Scotland: Climatic deterioration and the move to monumentality; Atlantic Scotland: Iron Age economies and Late Iron Age / Norse transition; Norse / native interaction in Atlantic Scotland; Norse landscapes of Faroes; Norse landscapes of Iceland and Greenland.
• Continuity and Change in South Asia: This topic will enable students from the Egypt/India/Near East strand to gain advanced understanding of the emergence of South Asia’s two urbanisations, the Indus and the Early Historic. The teaching will explore specific issues concerning the degree of continuity and change within the region’s developmental sequence. A combination of case studies and recent archaeological work will be used to investigate the evidence of the diffusion of ideas and materials from West, Central and Southeast Asia; the limitations imposed by current South Asian archaeological methodologies and techniques; and the impact of colonialism and nationalism on the theoretical frameworks of South Asia’s archaeologists. Geopolitical context; Colonial archaeologies and archaeologists; Nationalist archaeologies and archaeologists; Neolithic revolutions; Normative states; Aryans and imperialism; The Asokan ideal.

Learning Outcomes

• Using two of the following topics as available, students will have:
• The archaeology of burial practice in Britain, C12th-c19th: Developed a critical knowledge of the chronology, form and context of death, burial and ritual practices in Britain in the period from C.AD1100-c.AD1900; Analysed comparable evidence from other areas of predominantly north-west Europe, with some comparison with other areas of Europe and European historical colonial contexts; Acquired an appreciation of the diversity of regional sequences; Evaluated competing theoretical interpretation of this material; Developed their independent research and learning skills.
• The archaeology of towns in Britain, C12th-C18th: Developed a critical knowledge of the chronology, form and context of towns of varying nature in Britain in the period from C.AD1100-C.AD1800; Analysed this evidence in the context of predominantly north-west Europe, with some comparison with other areas of Europe and European historical colonies; Acquired an appreciation of the diversity of regional sequences; Evaluated competing theoretical interpretations of this material; Developed their independent research and learning skills.
• Urban Life, AD 400 to 1100: Developed a critical knowledge of the different classes of British early medieval urban sites, and associated practices and artifacts; Acquired an appreciation of associated regional and chronological diversity; Evaluated competing theoretical interpretations of this material; Developed their independent research and learning skills.
• Burial and Commemoration, Ad 400 to 1100: Developed a critical knowledge of the different classes of British early medieval funerary sites, and associated practices and artifacts; Acquired an appreciation of the regional and chronological diversity of this evidence; Evaluated competing theoretical interpretations of this material; Developed their independent research and learning skills.
• Experiencing Landscapes: On successful completion of this specialised topic, students will have: Demonstrated an advanced and critical understanding of a geographical area'specific period in medieval and postmedieval Britain and Ireland; reflected in critical depth on the theoretical nature of 'fieldwork' in archaeology; developed an advanced understanding of the relationship between field experience and archeological interpretation.
• Historic landscapes: developed a critical understanding of the range of evidence gathered in regional surveys; analysed comparable data from different parts of Europe; demonstrated a critical awareness of regional survey data; acquired a sound knowledge of archaeological outcomes of the application of regional survey techniques; developed independent research and learning skills.
• Townscapes in North Africa & the Near East: demonstrate advanced levels of current knowledge and intensive understanding of: Roman and Late Antique urbanism (particularly in the North Africa – Tunisia, Libya, Algeria - and in the Near East); The diffusion of Christianity and the progressive Christianization of urban areas; The major debates on the fate of classical Roman towns after the fall of the Roman Empire; Roman, Vandal, Byzantine urbanism, Early Arab occupation of classical Roman towns: did urban areas (in the civic sense) survived?; Evaluate the available sources of evidence and current issues and interpretations; Investigate and analyse specific case-studies for each period; Consider in detail the re-use of former public buildings and the social, political and economic contexts in which these transformations occurred.
• People & Environment in the North Atlantic: demonstrate critical understanding of the main chronological tools applied to the archaeological and palaeoenvironmental record in the North Atlantic Islands; understand the deployment and interpretation of various environmental applications used to reconstruct the environment and economies of the later prehistoric and Norse periods in the region; have a working knowledge of the range of environmental techniques that can be employed in modern archaeological excavations in the region; be competent in accessing and assimilating specialised research literature of an advanced nature in archaeological and environmental science in the region.
• Continuity and Change in South Asia: demonstrate a detailed knowledge and understanding of the subject matter; critically assess current issues and interpretations, and the evidence which underpins them; appreciate the impact of colonialism and nationalism on interpretations of South Asia’s cultural sequence; apply their analytical and evaluative skills to specific case studies; consider in depth the role of concepts of ‘material culture’ in the south Asia.
• The cultural development of North West Europe from the demise of the Western Roman Empire to the Viking Age, with particular emphasis on examining the cultic and popular beliefs and practices of early medieval communities around the North Sea basin. Students will cover a range of broad themes including the social structure and economies of early medieval societies; religion and conversion; early state formation and the social, political and economic interactions of groups, regions and polities. The aspect will begin by examining approaches and themes in Migration Period archaeology with emphasis on understanding chronology, movement and identity in North-West Europe. In Part 2 pre-Christian beliefs and practices around the North Sea basin will be explored and characterised by means of interdisciplinary sources with emphasis on understanding the roles of burial, landscape and artefacts in popular belief and cult practices. The third section of the module will focus on the impacts of Christianity on the North Sea communities and chart how religious change affected society, materiality and landscape. Students will take part in seminars and present short papers which explore key sites and assemblages against the broader background of religious and political change in early medieval Europe, establishing how theoretical perspectives have changed and influenced interpretation.
• Production, Exchange and consumption in the Roman World: Imperial interests; Feeding the Roman army; Feeding the people; Local production and consumption; Mechanisms of exchange; Long-distance trade; Artisans and crafts people; Retail outlets; Urban settlements as producers and consumers.

• Students will have acquired an appreciation of the complexity and diversity data available on different temporal/spatial scales, have gathered relevant data and evaluated competing interpretations of available materials and data.

• Students will have developed independent research and learning skills.

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

• Core content is delivered through lectures and seminars, shared with Level 3 undergraduates. Lectures will be tutor-led; some seminars are tutor-led and some student -led. Tutor-led lectures and seminars are used to deliver complicated theoretical and interpretational material in an interactive manner, while student-led seminars require students to discuss their prior reading. There is an emphasis on the reading and critical appraisal of both primary archaeological reports and discursive and synthetic literature.
• In addition, students will attend advanced level tutorials which will allow them to apply the knowledge gained in lectures and seminars, archiving subject skills learning outcomes.Tutorials will consist of small groups of MA students.
• Formative essays will be used to consolidate student's ability to research, articulate and critically evaluate both primary and secondary archaeological literature.
• The summative essays will be used to assess student's ability to explain, synthesise and critically evaluate the course material, testing all the learning outcomes.

Teaching Methods and Learning Hours

Summative Assessment

Formative Assessment:

The preparation achieved in the module RSS that precedes this module is considered to be sufficient formative preparation for the summative assignments in this module.

■ 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