Archaeology BA (Hons)

University of Cambridge

Archaeology at Cambridge is a dynamic course. You can study archaeology, Assyriology, biological anthropology and Egyptology.​

Explore human evolution and biology, ancient cultures and languages, early societies and how heritage affects identity and politics today. You can also choose a subject or 2 to specialise in.

Archaeology at Cambridge

This flexible course gives you the opportunity to study a broad range of subjects. Or you can choose to specialise from your first year.

You will also go on exciting digs, field trips and study tours in various parts of Europe and beyond.

There are 4 main subjects you can study:

• Archaeology – use material evidence, from molecules to monumental structures, to explore the human past and understand past societies
• Assyriology – study languages, cultures, history and archaeology of ancient Mesopotamia (Sumer, Babylonia and Assyria)
• Biological Anthropology – investigate human evolution and diversity, biology and behaviour, and the interaction between biology and culture
• Egyptology – study history, languages, society, archaeology and religion of ancient Egypt

Over the course of your degree you could:

• study the behaviour of chimpanzees
• learn about our oldest human ancestors
• translate Egyptian hieroglyphs
• learn about how climate change affected past societies
• examine imagery in a Babylonian poem

Teaching, facilities and resources

Teaching

Our staff are at the forefront of research, involving students through fieldwork and research projects.

The research we do ranges widely across time and locations, including:

• discovering where the gold from Tutankhamen’s mask came from
• studying the population genetics of south-east Asian islands
• uncovering the impact of plague on medieval Cambridge

Your future career

You’ll graduate with a wide-ranging portfolio of versatile and transferable skills that are valued by employers, opening the way to many careers.

Our graduates have gone on to work in:

• the commercial archaeology sector in the UK and internationally
• heritage organisations, such as the National Trust and Historic England

Recent graduates have also gone into:

• law
• advertising
• media
• conservation
• health
• further academic study

Teaching

You will usually have 6 to 8 lectures and one or two small-group supervisions each week. You may also have language classes, seminars and/or practicals.