Archaeology

Archaeology 

Admissions overview for Downing College 

Why study Archaeology at Cambridge?

Are you curious about humanity’s deep past? The research archaeologists do ranges widely across time and space – from discovering where the fold in Tutankhamun’s mask came from to studying the population genetics of a south-east Asian island, to uncovering the impact of plague on medieval Cambridge. These are just a few examples of the work currently happening within the Department of Archaeology; if you study with us at Cambridge, you will have the opportunity to take part in this research as it evolves.

Archaeology covers a very large range of topics, spanning the evolution of humans through the development of farming, ancient civilisations and world empires, as well as the role of material culture in human life and of heritage in modern societies. Students can follow several streams: Archaeology (covering all world cultures), Biological Anthropology, and Egyptology and Assyriology.

Over the course of your degree, you might find yourself studying the behaviour of chimpanzees, learning about our oldest human ancestors, translating Egyptian hieroglyphs, learning about radiocarbon dating, examining imagery in a Babylonian poem, or knee-deep in a site excavating to discover new evidence to find answers to some of the many questions that remain about both our distant and more recent past.

We offer you research-led teaching. That means that the content of our modules is often at the cutting-edge of ongoing research. Our teaching combines lectures, seminars, practical work, language classes, and lab experience. You will have extensive contact with staff through our small-group tutorials. Fieldwork experience is a vital element of the Archaeology course, and there are many opportunities for students to join Department-based research projects.

As a student of Archaeology at Cambridge, you will work closely with and alongside teaching staff, postdoctoral researchers and graduate students. You will be able to experience a dynamic and diverse research environment. With your dissertation or lab projects you might have the opportunity to contribute to one of the big research projects hosted by our department. We are a friendly department with students and staff members from all over the world.

Our excellent resources include the Cambridge Archaeological Unit, a well-equipped IT suite, purpose-built laboratories and dedicated libraries. In addition, the Duckworth Collection of human and primate skeletal remains and fossil hominin casts, the Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology and the Fitzwilliam Museum provide access to extensive collections of primary sources of world importance.

By the end of your degree you will have engaged in the detailed study of primary sources, you may have studied an ancient language, and you will probably have written your first piece of independent research (in the form of a 10,000 word dissertation).

Choosing a college is quite personal as it is the place and community that will become your home. As teaching in Archaeology is centrally organised by the Department you will get the same academic offering at any college. That said it is always a good idea to see who the Director of Studies (DoS) for Archaeology is. All teaching for subject follows the same course outline set by the Faculty/Department. 

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Why study Archaeology at Downing?

While the questions that archaeologists ask are about understanding the past, the implications of the answers have enormous potential impact for understanding contemporary societies. You will gain insights into many of the most important challenges for human life on earth in the present day, from climate change to economic inequality, from pandemic diseases to the destruction of heritage in wartime, from genetic mutations to the political uses of the past to forge identities.

Cambridge is one of the largest centres of archaeological research in Britain, with seventeen laboratories that research everything from carbonised pollen and climate change to archaeogenetics and diseases. Archaeology students at Cambridge benefit from direct hands-on access to world class collections in Cambridge’s museums, libraries and research centres. Practical sessions for students mean that you might find yourself handling prehistoric pottery, learning excavation and surveying techniques, or in the British Museum deciphering an ancient text. There are a number of training excavations and field trips including a week abroad in Year 2.

At Downing you will find a friendly college that is close enough to the department to make a mad dash to your lectures and get there in under 10 minutes. We have an approachable Director of Studies whose office is in the department and so can easily be found for a quick chat when needed and who works with the Selwyn librarians to ensure that you have the books you need close at hand.

Our Archaeology students at Downing have a track-record of achieving solid academic results all the while actively participating in a wide range of extra-curricular activities and clubs ranging from rowing and archery to rambling and organising the Downing May ball. A number of our students have gone on to win places at highly competitive graduate programmes.

Teaching Staff

Our Director of Studies for the Archaeology Tripos is Dr Dacia Viejo-Rose. As the Associate Professor for Heritage and the Politics of the Past, her research interests lie at the intersection of cultural heritage, identity and memory specifically in relation to armed conflict and its aftermath. She coordinates the third-year core paper “The Past in the Present”.

“The range covered by Archaeology is extraordinary and sets it apart from many other disciplines. Perhaps you are passionate about history but want to work with material culture, be in the field, make new discoveries. Perhaps you are torn between a passion for both history and science. Archaeology is the place for you.”

Dr Dacia Viejo-Rose, Director of Studies

Who is Downing looking for?

We do not expect particular combinations of A-level subjects. What we look for in applicants is ability, motivation, and intellectual curiosity. Since Archaeology is such a broad field, our students have backgrounds in everything from Chemistry to Classics, History to Biology, English to Physics, Philosophy to Geography. The course is based on engaging with a wide range of literature, so candidates must also be able and willing readers.

What Archaeology students have studied 

According to the University, most Archaeology students (who had studied A levels and started at Cambridge in 2018, 2019 and 2023) achieved at least A*AA.

Most had studied at least one of:

• English (Language, Language & Literature, or Literature)
• History
• a language
• a science subject

Most studied at least one maths or science subject and at least one arts, language, or humanities subject.

Where could Archaeology take you?

Whatever interests you pursue and develop, the archaeology degree will refine your existing skills and build new ones, making you an informed and intelligent analyst of complex evidence, as well as a critical thinker, and an articulate presenter and writer of your ideas.

While about half of our graduates go on to archaeological careers or postgraduate study, many go on to careers in sectors as varied as media, commerce, diplomacy, advertising, museums, conservation and health, and others. The skills you’ll learn in your degree are highly valued by employers around the world:

• Team work
• Evidence evaluation, advocacy and debate
• Project Management
• Planning and Budgeting
• Use of quantitative and qualitative data
• Oral, written and visual presentation
• Public engagement
• Scientific lab work
• Geography and landscape analysis
• Sampling techniques and strategies
• Interpretation of maps and satellite imagery
• In-depth knowledge of world history, culture and religion

How can you find out more about Archaeology?

There are many ways to prepare for the admissions process and for the Archaeology course at Cambridge, from reading archaeological news and watching documentaries on archaeology to joining our summer school, coming to our Open Days, or volunteering at an Archaeological dig or society near you. Anything that will get you close to the subject give you a taste of what it is all about is a good place to start.

The Archaeology at Cambridge prospectus, as well as suggested reading lists for each of the four strands to the Archaeology degree, can be found here.

You can also view the Archaeology Department's website.

Information on outreach events and summer schools.

You can also contact the Archeaology Department's Outreach and Communications Officer, Lydia Clough.