Archaeology is a subject with great popular and academic appeal which sheds light on six million years of human history as well as on sites of local interest in Britain and elsewhere. Fieldwork is carried out in many parts of the world, from the Mediterranean to southern Africa, Iceland to New Guinea.

Members of the School conduct major programmes of research into human origins and dispersals, climate change, dating of sites & materials, human diet & health, the nature of the ancient city and Medieval settlement & burial. The School supports teaching in two major undergraduate degrees – Archaeology & Anthropology and Classical Archaeology & Ancient History, as well as a range of post-graduate degrees.