| CODE | ARC1012 | ||||||||||||
| TITLE | The Archaeology of Ancient Mediterranean Civilisations | ||||||||||||
| UM LEVEL | 01 - Year 1 in Modular Undergraduate Course | ||||||||||||
| MQF LEVEL | 5 | ||||||||||||
| ECTS CREDITS | 6 | ||||||||||||
| DEPARTMENT | Classics and Archaeology | ||||||||||||
| DESCRIPTION | Why do we bother studying the ancient Mediterranean? The ancient Mediterranean region saw the rise and fall of some of the world’s most influential civilizations, which each contributed in many ways to the physical, political, technological and social landscape we live in today. It is the scope of this study-unit to understand this past by exploring the development of the main civilizations that define the ancient Mediterranean; namely ancient Mesopotamia, ancient Egypt, the Phoenicians and Greeks and the Roman Empire. The unit traces the main chronological events that led to the rise and fall of these major Mediterranean cultures through an examination of the archaeological and written evidence left by these cultures. Each lecture will focus on a particular culture, examining the main social, political and technological events that define the period. Each lecture is designed to follow on from the previous one, ensuring that the continuity between the major historical and/or technological events illustrates the gradual evolution of ancient Mediterranean history, and will include various topics such as the role of the sea in obtaining naval supremacy, architecture, technology, production, trade, settlements, and the evolving expression of social, political and religious identity throughout the periods. This study-unit will be delivered to follow on from a study-unit on "Human Evolution and Prehistory". Study-unit Aims: 1. Introduce students to the general chronological and cultural frameworks used when researching ancient Mediterranean history and archaeology; 2. Introduce students to the variety of material evidence (including artefacts, imagery, epigraphic and settlement data) that allows archaeologists to complement the historical and textual classical sources; 3. Introduce students to the historiography and development of classical archaeology in the Mediterranean region and how it influenced the discipline; 4. Provide a general overview of the pre-Classical and Classical periods in the Mediterranean region, which will provide a broad context for later, more specialized study-units; 5. Highlight generalities and variability of ancient literate cultures in the Mediterranean. Learning Outcomes: 1. Knowledge & Understanding By the end of the study-unit the student will be able to: 1. Recall the major chronological periods that took place with the Mediterranean region when conducting research; 2. Define the main historical and technological events characteristic of the main ancient Mediterranean cultures; 3. Demonstrate a broad understanding of how the geo-political and technological contexts influenced the development of successive Mediterranean civilizations by presenting key researched topics to your peers. 2. Skills By the end of the study-unit the student will be able to: 1. Recognize, identify and describe key cultural artefacts, monuments and archaeological evidence for ancient Mediterranean civilizations; 2. Recognize how textual and archaeological evidence work in conjunction with one another in understanding the ancient world; 3. Carry out independent research using peer-reviewed articles and reports on key topics and present your findings to your peers. Main Text/s and any supplementary readings: Main Texts Gates, C. 2011. "Ancient Cities: The Archaeology of Urban Life in the Ancient Near East and Egypt, Greece and Rome". 2nd edn. Oxford: Routledge. Mathisen, R. 2012. "Ancient Mediterranean Civilizations". Oxford. Supplementary Readings Cunliffe, B. 2014. "Europe Between the Oceans 9000 BC-AD1000". Yale University Press. Haywood, J. 2005. "Penguin Historical Atlas of Ancient Civilizations". Penguin. Lists of further supplementary readings will be provided before each lecture. |
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| STUDY-UNIT TYPE | Lecture | ||||||||||||
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| LECTURER/S | Maxine Anastasi |
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The University makes every effort to ensure that the published Courses Plans, Programmes of Study and Study-Unit information are complete and up-to-date at the time of publication. The University reserves the right to make changes in case errors are detected after publication.
The availability of optional units may be subject to timetabling constraints. Units not attracting a sufficient number of registrations may be withdrawn without notice. It should be noted that all the information in the description above applies to study-units available during the academic year 2024/5. It may be subject to change in subsequent years. |
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