This multidisciplinary course aims to give students a broad understanding of some of the most important issues in the development, practice, and theoretical underpinnings of a modern anthropological archaeology of all periods. The Unit also introduces key elements and concepts of Historical and Contemporary archaeology, Landscape and Garden archaeology, Maritime and Conflict Archaeology. It provides insights into the construction and nature of archaeological knowledge, demonstrates how artefacts become heritage, how this heritage is presented to the public, and how all archaeologies seek to illuminate past human behaviours. From prehistory to the present, the unit shows how these behaviours shape the materialities of the archaeological record, and how archaeologists employ a diversity of approaches to analyse this.

-

An introduction to the principles and practice of landscape archaeology, through a series of case studies. Case studies will be drawn from around the world, and will include agrarian landscapes and enclosures, parks and gardens, industrial landscapes, urban landscapes, colonial and military landscapes, 20th century landscapes. The unit will include an introduction to the principles and practice of landscape archaeological survey, and to the conservation of historic landscapes.

This course aims to give students a broad understanding of some of the most important issues in the development of the study of 20th century conflict archaeology. It will offer students a comprehensive introduction to the new sub-discipline, provide a theoretical and empirical description and analysis of a broad range of archaeological and anthropological approaches to the study of the recent past in time of war, from landscapes of conflict and commemoration to excavation of human remains, the identification of people's lives in artefacts, and the presentation of global wars in film, in museums, and a heritage.

This course aims to give students a broad understanding of some of the most important issues in the development of material culture studies. The Unit provides an introduction to the study of material culture by historical archaeologists and anthropologists, and to the range of material culture in the modern and contemporary worlds. The global contexts of artefact manufacture, trade and consumption will be emphasised throughout.

-

An independent piece of research work, that demonstrates familiarity with archaeological materials, documents and archives, bibliographical resources, visual evidence and previous work on the topic. It will be expected that the dissertation will relate to the field of Historical Archaeology, and will contain material that is both original and primary to the study.