Facilities

Many of the courses in Classical & Archaeological Studies at Kent give you the opportunity to develop practical skills alongside your knowledge and understanding of theory.

We offer our students lots of opportunities to learn new skills and to use resources both on and off campus.

Archaeology Laboratory

Undertaking practical work adds another dimension to your studies. Guided by our technician and working closely with academic staff, you develop the technical expertise to look beneath the surface and analyse what you find there. Our Laboratory houses the latest equipment which helps you to analyse finds and date objects.

Fieldwork experience

Where possible, we give students the chance to volunteer on ‘live’ projects. Recent examples include the following.

Lees Court Estate, North Downs, south of Faversham

Working in partnership with the Kent Archaeological Society, we are investigating the archaeology of this prehistoric landscape with features, hoards, burials and finds.

Recent activities have included:

sample excavation of a Bronze Age barrow
fieldwalking
finds processing
soil and environmental studies.

Lincolnshire Wold project

We are currently conducting summer seasons of excavations and surveying at this high-status Roman rural complex, the size of four football pitches. Discoveries so far include buildings with underfloor heating, painted wall plaster together with numerous artefact finds. We even know the likely name of the Roman owner.

Volunteering to work on projects such as these gives you the thrill of discovering the past for yourself. You learn about methods of survey and excavation and can also be involved as the finds are processed in our Archaeology Laboratory.