Classical Archaeology and Ancient History

Somerville was instrumental in the foundation of this joint school, which seeks to bring together the study of the material culture and of the history of the ancient world.

You don’t need to have studied Classics at A level to apply, although many of our students do choose this path and find it very helpful. You also don’t need to know either Latin or ancient Greek to apply, as there is plenty of tuition on offer to give you the skills you need, whatever your starting point.

Teaching

CAAH is one of the most unique courses at Oxford. You will use a wide range of sources to investigate themes of interest. You will study the ancient Greek and Roman worlds, but you can also pursue your interests in other ancient civilisations such as ancient Egypt and Persia.

The integrated approach of the course means that, alongside tutorials and lectures in subjects relating to either Ancient History or Classical Archaeology, team-taught small classes form part of the syllabus. You will learn through a combination of technical archaeological training with study of the historical context necessary to understand the artifacts and sites. A typical week in your first year might include 4-6 lectures, one tutorial, and one class. In the second and third year you will choose six options from a wide array on offer, as well as producing a site or museum report. 

Somerville has two full-time teaching fellows in the field, our Tutor in Ancient History, Beate Dignas, and our Tutor in Classical Archaelogy, Charlotte Potts. Beate specialises in the late classical and Hellenistic periods. Her research focuses on Greek religion, the cultures and history of ancient Anatolia, and memory studies. Charlotte Potts returned to Academia after a career in content development for museums in New Zealand, Australia, Southeast Asia and the UK. Her current research focuses on evaluating the architecture of pre-Roman central Italy in light of the latest excavations and theoretical developments. Somerville also has a full-time Tutor in Classics, Associate Professor Luke Pitcher, who specialises in Greek and Roman Historiography. You can confidently expect to receive excellent and varied teaching provision within college.

Somerville’s library has a distinguished collection of Classical Archaeology volumes and is one of the best undergraduate college libraries for both subjects. The college is also located close by to the Ashmolean Museum whose special collections and adjoined Art, Archaeology and Ancient World Library are among the finest resources in the world. The Faculty’s Classics Centre is also within five minutes walking distance. 

For more information about the course and applying, go to the University’s listing for the course on their website.

Community

We aim to admit 2-3 undergraduates per year, who join our Ancient and Modern history students and our Classicists in a large and vibrant undergraduate community of scholars of antiquity.

Next Steps

While some CAAH graduates go on to further study and research or work as professional archaeologists and museum curators, others go into more diverse professional fields including education, finance, publishing, the Civil Service and Law.