Archaeology at Exeter

Professor Bruce BradleyProfessor of Experimental Archaeology

Key Themes

• Archaeology of the Americas

• Bioarchaeology

• Experimental archaeology

• Medieval archaeology

• Landscape archaeology

• Material culture studies

World Archaeology

• 13 academic staff, 7 of whom originate from outside the UK

• Active research in:– UK– Continental Europe (West, Central and Eastern)– South Asia– Central Asia– North America– South America– North Africa

Professor Chris Knüsel

• Associate Professor of Bioarchaeology– Physical Anthropology– Bioarchaeology

Human Osteology and Palaeopathology

Intra-osseous, benign cranial

tumour in Bronze Age

Male, 2,100 B.C.,

Yorkshire, UK

Bilateral Asymmetry: Right-Handedness in FCS No. 7 from the Mary Rose, sank 1545 A.D.

Right and Left Humeri

Anterior view

Posterior view

Violence and WarfareWars of the Roses Battle of Towton,

1461 A.D., 10 cranial injuries

Dr Marisa Lazzari

• Senior Lecturer in Archaeology– Archaeology of Americas– Material Culture Studies

Identities as socio-material networks: perspectives form South America and beyond.

The project seeks to create an international network of researchers working on issues of heritage, material culture an re-emergent indigenous identities, and to discuss potential collaborative projects with local indigenous communities in Argentina.

Long-distance exchange networks in the pre-Columbian Andes and the role of obsidian and

other materials in creating and sustaining social landscapes.

Professor Bruce Bradley• Professor of Experimental Archaeology

- Archaeology and Anthropology of the Americas

- Experimental Archaeology

- Human Evolution and Cognition

- Material Culture Studies• Flaked stone• Pottery• Antler, bone and ivory

Flaking Assessment Scores - Jan 2011

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Flaking Connaisance

Flaking Savoir-faire

Learning to be Human: Tool-making and the development of the Hominin brain

Funded by the Leverhulme Trust

Nada Khreisheh PhD student

Coauthored book documenting evidence that Upper Palaeolithic peoples of south western Europe expanded across the North Atlantic along the Last Glacial Maximum ice front, settling the eastern seaboard of North America and eventually expanding throughout the continent.

Professor Alan Outram

• Head of Archaeology and Associate Professor of Archaeological Science– Bioarchaeology– Central Asian Prehistory– Archaeology of Americas– Experimental archaeology

Horse Domestication in the Botai Culture of Kazakhstan

Prehistoric Pastoralism in Central Asia

Exeter students excavating at the Bronze Age site of Temirkash

Big Game Hunters and First Farmers on the Great Plains: Excavations at Mitchell, S. Dakota, USA

Dr Robert Morkot

• Senior Lecturer in Archaeology– Archaeology of Egypt and North Africa– Material Culture Studies

Shell-tempered Wares – typical of whole coast from Alexandria westwards

Imported possibly Egyptian Late Bronze age painted pottery;

Imported Cnidian pottery with moulded decoration, Hellenistic;

Islamic glazed wares C9-11 CE and slag in one of many Islamic kiln sites

Dr Ioana Oltean

• Senior Lecturer in Archaeology– Roman Archaeology– Aerial Survey– Landscape Archaeology

Excavation of the Ipplepen Roman settlement, Newton Abbot, Devon

Lower Danube ancient landscape around Lake Oltina (Romania)

Enclosure of possible pre-

Roman / Roman date on the Black

Sea coast,

Romania

Professor Oliver Creighton

• Associate Professor of Archaeology– Medieval Archaeology– Landscape Archaeology

Loches: one of Europe's earliest donjons, or great towers. The emergence of early castles is the

focus of a current research project.

University of Exeter students excavating the Anglo-Saxon and medieval town of Wallingford.

• Professor of Archaeology– European Prehistory– Landscape Archaeology– Material Culture Studies

Professor Anthony Harding FBA

Geophysical survey of the Early Iron Age site of Sobiejuchy, central Poland, relating to a project investigating the date and internal organisation of sites of Biskupin type.  This remarkable image shows streets, individual buildings, and also clear areas with no building, indicating a particular type of internal organisation not known elsewhere.

Excavations at Baile Figa, Romania, and shows wooden constructions for the extraction of salt.  This site has shed entirely

new light on salt production methods in the Bronze Age.

Dr Linda Hurcombe

• Senior Lecturer in Archaeology– Experimental Archaeology– Material Culture Studies– Intangible histories

Archaeological Artefacts as

Material Culture

Touching the untouchable by virtual artefact handling

Computer interfaces that provide information to the

sense of touch offer exciting possibilities for interactive

museum displays in which the visitor can handle virtual

replicas of museum objects.

Dr Jose Iriarte

• Senior Lecturer in Archaeology– Archaeo-botany– Environmental reconstruction– Archaeology of Americas– Plant domestication

Archaeologist/archaeobotanist with a specialism in phytolith analysis

• What was the past human impact on tropical ecosystems?

• What is the modern legacy of this impact?

• How resilient are tropical ecosystems to human impact?

• What lessons can be learned from the past to build a sustainable future?

• Plant domestication and the dispersal of agriculture across the Americas.

• Current research includes:

– the Bolivian Amazon,

– the coastal savannas of French Guiana and Amapá,

– the terra firme forests of SW Amazonia in Acre

– southern highlands of Brazil.

• The multi-proxy, cross-disciplinary nature of these projects, which integrate archaeology, palaeoecology, soil science, and biology allows for the exploration human-environmental interactions in depth and have provided clearer evidence on the timing and nature of human impact across tropical and subtropical ecosystems.

Exeter Students digging in Argentina

Dr Gill Juleff

• Senior Lecturer in Archaeology– Archaeo-metallurgy– Experimental Archaeology– Material Culture Studies

Monsoon Steel

Archaeological survey and excavation in southern Sri Lanka in 1990’s identified a previously unknown smelting technology that produced steel in linear furnaces driven by powerful monsoon winds

Experimental reconstruction of thefurnaces in the field demonstratedhow the technology functioned

Night-time experiments revealed complex airflows and aerodynamic design

Experiments conducted in 1994 and 2007 with Exeter student team

Pioneering Metallurgy - iron and steel-making in southern India- survey fieldwork in Andhra Pradesh

UKIERI funded NIAS-Exeter project

Exeter, NIAS and local students7 week field surveyobservation, recording and sampling

Dr. Hajnalka Herold

• Fortified Settlements of the 9th-10th centuries AD in Central Europe

• The Avar Period settlements of Zillingtal and Brunn am Gebirge

• Early and high Medieval settlements in Hungary• Technological traditions of the early Middle Ages in Lower

Austria• Deposition of grave goods in early Medieval cemeteries

Archaeology of the early Middle Ages

Organization of crafts and trade • Middle Ages• Prehhistoric and Roman Period• Experimental Archaeology• Ceramic technologies

Professor Stephen Rippon

• Dean of Graduate Research and Professor of Landscape Archaeology– Landscape Archaeology

The origins and development of regional variation

in landscape character

Fields of Britannia

Excavations at Calstock Roman fort, Cornwall

Research postgraduates

• 53 students currently registered on research degrees

• About half are full-time, and half part-time

• Many are off campus/distance-based

• About a third are international (from N. America, S. America, India and Europe)

Teaching • 12 members of staff• Teaching always informed by research

What do we teach?

• Range of periods – Prehistory – Classical World– Middle Ages

• Range of areas– Britain and Europe– Mediterranean and Egypt– Americas– Asia

• Range of subjects– Themes and debates– Methods and techniques

Facilities and courses in forensic archaeology•Bioarchaeology lab•Modules in forensic anthopology

Semester abroad scheme•Exchange with Augustana, Sioux Falls, South Dakota

Archaeology/Anthropologyprogramme

How do we teach?Teaching styles• Lectures• Seminars• Practical Classes• Tutorials• Fieldtrips• Guild teaching awards

Assessment • Most courses have a

mixture of assessment methods

• Year 2 weighted one-third; Year 3 two-thirds

• Students complete fieldwork placement (usually in the summer)

• Excavation, survey or museum work

• Places on Departmental Projects

• Fieldwork reports assessed in Year 2

• Also opportunities for advanced fieldwork

Fieldwork

Field schools:

Careers - Archaeology• University of Exeter Archaeology students have an excellent

reputation with employers across a range of sectors

• We are currently 1st in the Russell Group for Archaeology Graduate Prospects (Times & Sunday Times Good University Guide 2014)

• 6 months after graduation 95.1% were in work or further study (DLHE 2011/12)

• Our students help co-ordinate the Archaeology Careers Fair every year. Guests include: National Trust; Wessex Archaeology; The Institute for Archaeologists; Historic Environment Record; The Royal Albert Memorial Museum; South West Archaeology

Graduate Destinations Our graduates progress to a broad range of job roles as well as postgraduate study. Here are just a few ideas of what our recent graduates are doing now:

• Human Resources Officer • Development Officer (Heritage Charity) • Archives Assistant • Associate (Management Consultancy)• Trainee Field Archaeologist• Negotiator (Real Estate)• Site Assistant • Strategic Commissioning Project

Manager• Campaign Manager • Press Executive

• MA Archaeology• MSc International Marketing • MA Medieval History • MA Maritime Archaeology• PGCE Primary Humanities • MA Experimental Archaeology • MA Galleries & Museums in

Education • MSc Hydrography• MSc Bioarchaeology • Graduate Diploma in Law

YourExeterYourExeter is a website specifically for you – our College of Humanities offer-holder.

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humanities.exeter.ac.uk/undergraduate/yourexeter

To Sum Up….

• Friendly and informal department• Among highest ratings for teaching &

research• An amazing range of courses and

opportunities• Good general degrees with wide range

of transferable skills

Questions????

Questions?

Questions?