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Semester 2

Mariners, Monks and Mobility: the archaeology of the early medieval Atlantic Archipelago (ARCA10096)

Subject

Archaeology

College

CAHSS

Credits

20

Normal Year Taken

3

Delivery Session Year

2023/2024

Pre-requisites

Visiting students must have completed at least 3 Archaeology courses at grade B or above, including courses equivalent to Archaeology 2A and 2B. We will only consider University/College level courses. **Please see Additional Restrictions below**

Course Summary

Who were the Britons, Welsh, Scots, Picts, Northumbrians, Angles, Saxons and Vikings? Are these terms useful for the people living in Britain and Ireland in the fifth to twelfth centuries AD? This course compares the regional archaeologies of the Atlantic Archipelago, looking at the diversity and commonalities of life in the region during the early medieval period using a variety of archaeo-historical evidence and recent research findings.

Course Description

This course investigates, at an advanced level, the archaeological landscapes and cross-cultural interactions of the Irish Sea zone, North Atlantic and North Seas. It introduces students to the peoples of the region, and the geographical unit of the Atlantic Archipelago (now the modern nations of Ireland, Scotland, Wales, England, and the various smaller island communities). It begins in the late-Roman/Iron Age period, covers the impact of Christianisation and the Vikings, and the impact of the Norman Conquest. We will explore core themes of religion, trade, mobility, food, and cross-cultural contact. A key aim of this course is to highlight the diversity in the archaeology of the region but also the high degree of interaction around the "inner sea" and how the different sub-regions reacted to similar external forces and events. Students will develop a strong grounding in the period and will analyse and discuss a range of archaeological evidence including (but not limited to) funerary archaeology, settlements, and bioarchaeology (including isotopic data and aDNA). In addition to lectures and seminars, students will have the opportunity to get up close with early medieval material culture and sites through a museum visit and an optional fieldtrip.

Assessment Information

Written Exam 0%, Coursework 90%, Practical Exam 10%

Additional Restrictions

Unless you are nominated on an Archaeology or HCA exchange agreement, visiting students are only permitted to enrol in one 3rd year Archaeology course each, per semester, before the start of the relevant semester’s welcome period – and spaces on each course are limited so cannot be guaranteed for any student. Enrolment in a second course from this group will depend on whether there are still spaces available in the January Welcome Period, and cannot be guaranteed. It is NOT appropriate for students to contact staff within this subject area to ask for an exception to be made; all enquiries to enrol in these courses must be made through the CAHSS Visiting Student Office. This is due to the extremely limited number of spaces available in this very popular subject area.

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