Archaeology

Research degrees

Find a supervisor
Programmes
Graduate School Office

We encourage all our students to get involved and take an active role in our academic community and there will be many opportunities for our students to become personally involved with the research being conducted in the Department.

Professor Alan Outram, Head of Archaeology

College of HumanitiesArchaeologyResearchPostgraduate

Postgraduate research

Archaeology at Exeter is currently involved in exciting research in Britain and around the world. We have active fieldwork and research projects in Britain, Europe, South America, North America, Central Asia and South Asia.

Get to know a few of our PhD students;

Research in the Archaeology Department covers human origins through to the recent past, and is characterised by theoretically informed field-based approaches and a strong commitment to methodological innovation.

Our staff and research students work in Britain, mainland Europe, Asia, Africa, and North and South America, and in the last research Assessment Exercise (2008) we were ranked second in the UK for World Leading and Internationally Excellent Research in Archaeology (based on the amount of 3* and 4* research).

Our research covers a wide range of areas, these broad headings give an indication of our special interests:

  • Archaeology of the Americas
  • Bioarchaeology
  • Experimental archaeology
  • Landscape archaeology
  • Material culture
  • Wetlands, coastal and maritime landscapes

Explore our research centres and research projects to find out more about our current research topics.

Visit our Archaeology staff profiles for details on individual staff research interests and publications.

Supervisors - all students have a primary and a secondary supervisor who provide regular, high quality advice, support and direction in their academic endeavours. You will work closely with your supervisors over three to four years (full time PhD) or six to seven (part-time PhD) to develop, investigate and write-up a project at the cutting edge of theological research.

Visit our staff profiles for more information about individual research interests or use the search box on the right of this page to find a supervisor.

Mentor - each student will also be assigned a mentor who will take on a pastoral role and mediate on any problems that arise during the period of study. Your mentor will keep in regular contact and will provide background stability and support.

Graduate School Office - the College of Humanities has a dedicated Graduate School Office that supports our postgraduate research students during their study with us. The Office promotes intellectual and social contact between research students in all our disciplines to foster a vibrant research community within the College.

Our current PhD students

We're proud of the research carried out by our PhD students. There are currently around 35 PhD students in the Department, many of whom maintain an online personal profile detailing their research activities. Follow the links below to find out more about them and their research projects.


 Student Provisional Research Title  First Supervisor  Second Supervisor
Stephen Armstrong An exploration in the cultural diversity within southwest Britain during the late Roman/early medieval period and their responses to the collapse of the Roman Empire. Professor Stephen Rippon Dr Hajnalka Herold
Sergio Ayala Toward a Model of Lithic Analysis of Prehistoric Bifacial Technologies Dr Linda Hurcombe Dr Alexander Pryor
Helene Benkert Warhorse - The zooarchaeological view on the role of horses in European medieval warfare and beyond Professor Oliver Creighton Professor Alan Outram
Henry Bishop-Wright Meroïtic connectivity: the nature and extent of material interactions across Meroë’s Northern frontier between 30 BCE and 298 CE Dr Robert Morkot Paul Nicholson
Wouter Bonhof Migrations of the Massive: The Predictability and Perils of Woolly Mammoth Hunting in the Upper Palaeolithic of Northern Eurasia Dr Alexander Pryor Professor Alan Outram
Kathryn Bonnet The Kandyan and Kerala blacksmiths: an assessment of repertoire and skills using archaeological fieldwork, ethnometallurgy, microstructural analysis and experimental re-enactment Dr Gillian Juleff Professor Sharada Srinivasan
Patricia Coletto Your House is Your Temple: Assessing the Ritualisation of Domestic Space and Agency in Ancient Egyptian Religion Dr Robert Morkot Dr Marisa Lazzari
John Cranfield The Medieval Iron Industry of the Weald Dr Gillian Juleff Professor Levi Roach
Jonathan Crockett Human evolution, fire transportation and the earliest evidence of hominin pyrotechnology. Dr Alexander Pryor Dr Linda Hurcombe
Felipe Do Nascimento Rodrigues Many Rocks, Many Functions? Investigating Stone Raw Material Selection, Use and its Socio-Economic Implications for Southern Jê prehistory in South Brazil. Dr Linda Hurcombe Professor José Iriarte
Tara Draper-Stumm Statues of the goddess Sekhmet Dr Robert Morkot Dr Marisa Lazzari
Alan Endacott The Prehistoric Ritual Landscapes of Northern Dartmoor Professor Alan Outram Dr Linda Hurcombe
Carlotta Farci Technological change and innovation: Ausewell Wood, Dartmoor – an early industrial metallurgical ‘laboratory’. Dr Gillian Juleff Fiona Brock
Clara Freer A study into the type, use and social function of pottery from late Bronze Age assemblages. Dr Linda Hurcombe Dr Hajnalka Herold
James Glover Chipped-stone technology and social diversity within Mesolithic communities: building a methodology to establish how the lithic chaîne opératoire is a technical performance of identity. Dr Marisa Lazzari Dr Linda Hurcombe
Ethan Greenwood Wealdon Iron Research Group Collaborative Doctoral Studentship Dr Gillian Juleff Dr Robert Morkot
Hayley Jayne Hayes Critical examination of the taphonomic effects archaeological and forensic mass graves have on the subsoil and surrounding landscape Dr Laura Evis Dr Linda Hurcombe
Crystal Hollis Interpreting Historic Graffiti in the Risbridge Hundred of Suffolk England Professor Oliver Creighton Professor Sarah Hamilton
Emmet Jackson The Irish contribution to the study of Egyptology in the nineteenth century: with specific reference to Lady Harriet Kavanagh. Dr Robert Morkot Dr Marisa Lazzari
Philip Kiberd Investigating Middle Stone Age behaviour and environment in the Karoo, South Africa. Professor Alan Outram Dr Alexander Pryor
Chun Ho Kim The exploration of Japanese Ma (, horse) culture and the relationship between ancient Japan and Korea, from the 2nd century BC to 6th century AD, from the zooarchaeological perspectives of the Northeast Asia Professor Alan Outram Professor Naomi Sykes
Barbara Klessig

The Role of Textiles in Island Material Culture: Migration and Vendel Period Textile Tools, Production and Structures in Gotland, Sweden and Its Regions

 Dr Linda Hurcombe Dr Hajnalka Herold
Rosalind Le Quesne Digital Dental Imaging in Human Sex Determination Dr Catriona McKenzie Professor Alan Outram
Carole Lomas Reconstructing the development of the early medieval Church, with Somerset as a case study Professor Oliver Creighton Professor Sarah Hamilton
Sabine Martin Investigating the function of vein quartz in the Middle Paleolithic stone tool assemblages of Western Europe: Case studies from the sites of Payre (France) and Gran Dolina at Atapuerca (Spain) Dr Linda Hurcombe Dr Alexander Pryor
Dragos Mitrofan Hybridisation and inequality in Late Antiquity. A meta-analysis of the lime, gypsum and chalk deposits in Roman burial contexts. Dr Ioana Oltean Dr Catriona McKenzie
Peter Northover Enclosure in the Bride Valley, Dorset, from the 12th to the 17th centuries Professor Stephen Rippon Professor Oliver Creighton
Francesco Orlandi Barbano Heritage Cosmopolitics: Archaeology, Indigeneity and Rights in Bolivia and Argentina. Dr Marisa Lazzari Dr Linda Hurcombe
Adrián Mauricio Prehispanic landscape of Camarones River Valley: The study of a long-term human occupation Dr Marisa Lazzari Dr Ioana Oltean
Dóra Szabó Household Archaeology of 5th- to 6th-Century Settlements in Central Europe Dr Hajnalka Herold Ben Jervis
Philip Treveil Local and regional variation in landscape character: the significance of the Tamar Valley. Professor Stephen Rippon Professor Oliver Creighton
Bastiaan Van Dalen Sustainability across the Neotropics: an archaeological perspective from the pre-Columbian Maya lowlands to the Amazon basin Professor José Iriarte Professor Naomi Sykes
Charlotte Vendome-Gardner Depictions of Fluteplayers in Rock Art: Placing the Image back into its Original Context Professor Oliver Creighton Professor Alan Outram
Nikola Vousden Churches in the Landscape: the Cultural, Historical and Social impact of Early Christianity in south-west Britain Professor Stephen Rippon Gabor Thomas

Funding opportunities available to students on our research degree programmes in Archaeology:*

AwardValueApplication deadlineDescription
2021/22 PhD Global Excellence Studentship - College of Humanities International tuition fees and an annual maintenance allowance at current Research Council rate of £15,009 per year (2019/20 rate) Wed 3rd Mar 2021 Exeter’s College of Humanities is offering one fully-funded PhD Global Excellence Studentship (open to International candidates only) for study commencing in September 2021, across any of its areas of research expertise.
Al-Qasimi PhD Studentship in Arab and Islamic Studies, Islamic Studies, Middle East Politics, Ethno-Political Studies, Kurdish Studies or Palestine Studies. International tuition fees and an annual maintenance allowance at current Research Council rate of £15,285 (for 2020/21 entry) per year Mon 8th Mar 2021 We are looking for PhD proposals in humanities and social sciences with reference to the Middle East and the Islamicate world.
The David Higgins PhD Studentship in Islamic Archaeology. Pearl Fishing, Commerce, and Identities in Muharraq Town, Bahrain. UK tuition fees and an annual maintenance allowance at current Research Council rate of £15,285 (for 2020/21 entry) per year Mon 8th Mar 2021 Starting in Sept.2021 for 3 years, & generously funded by Mr David Higgins, alumni of the University of Exeter, seeks to explore the dynamic activity which led to the flourishing of Muharraq Town, the main settlement on Muharraq Island, Kingdom of Bahrain. Your research, based on analysing the material from the excavations, will be completed both in the dedicated facilities of the Centre for Islamic Archaeology within the Institute of Arab and Islamic Studies, University of Exeter, and in the project labora
Wellcome Trust and University funded PhD Studentship: Following Animal Feed: knowledge, governance and industrial food production UK tuition fees and an annual maintenance allowance at current Wellcome Trust rate of £ 19,919 per year, rising to £21,542 for year 2 and £23,298 for year 3, and a research allowance of £5,000 for the three years. Mon 22nd Mar 2021 A fully funded PHD studentship is available on the Wellcome Trust funded project, 'Feed the Birds' to 'Do Not Feed the Animals' (https://animalfeeding.org/). Do Not Feed The Animals (DNFTA) is a transdisciplinary research programme led by the University of Exeter, investigating how, when and why humans feed other animals – alongside the consequences of these habits for human-animal relations, shared health and wider environments.
University of Exeter Global Commitment Scholarship 2020/21 £2,000 reduction in the first year tuition fee There is no application for this award. You will be automatically considered. A tuition fee discount for students starting a postgraduate taught Masters or research degree with us in 2020/21
Sanctuary Scholarship Full tuition fee waiver plus annual living cost grant Fri 21st May 2021 The Sanctuary Scholarship scheme enables individuals seeking asylum and refugees who are not able access student finance to study at the University of Exeter.
Sports Scholarship Scheme up to £3,000 plus additional support services worth £3,500 Mon 31st May 2021 Sports scholarships are awarded to students of outstanding sporting ability who show evidence of achievement at international level in their chosen sport.
University of Exeter Alumni Scholarship 2021/22 10% reduction in the first year tuition fee There is no application for this award. You will be automatically considered. A tuition fee discount for University of Exeter alumni who start a postgraduate degree with us in 2021/22
University of Exeter Class of 2021 Progression Scholarship 10% reduction in the first year tuition fee There is no application for this award. You will be automatically considered. A tuition fee discount for current University of Exeter students completing a degree in 2021 and progressing directly to a standalone postgraduate programme with us in 2021/22
Fulbright Scholarships: Postgraduate Student Awards - 2021/22 competition Full tuition fee waiver for one year of Masters / PhD & living stipend Deadline passed
(Tue 13th Oct 2020)		 Our UK Partnership award with Fulbright is available for Masters or Doctoral students who are USA or dual USA:UK citizens wishing to study at the University. The award takes the form of a tuition fee waiver for the first year of graduate study (either Masters or PhD) and a living stipend. We also accept scholars in receipt of Fulbright 'Open Awards' (also referred to as the All Disciplines Award).
From ‘Feed The Birds’ to ‘Do Not Feed the Animals’ Department of Sociology, Philosophy and Anthropology PhD: Wellcome Trust/SSIS studentship. [UK/EU and international] tuition fees and an annual maintenance allowance at current Wellcome Trust rate of £19,919 per year Deadline passed
(Mon 30th Nov 2020)		 From 'Feed the Birds' to 'Do Not Feed the Animals' (DNFTA) is a transdisciplinary research programme, investigating how, when and why humans feed other animals - and the consequences of these habits for human-animal relations, health and the environment.
University of Exeter Alumni Scholarship with the Global Commitment uplift 2020/21 20% reduction in the first year tuition fee There is no application for this award. You will be automatically considered. A tuition fee discount for all University of Exeter alumni who start a postgraduate degree with us in 2020/21
University of Exeter Class of 2020 Progression Award with the Global Commitment uplift 20% reduction in the first year tuition fee There is no application for this award. You will be automatically considered. A tuition fee discount for current University of Exeter students completing a full degree in 2020 and progressing directly to a standalone postgraduate programme with us in 2020/21
South West and Wales Doctoral Training Partnership AHRC PhD Studentship UK tuition fees for eligible students and a maintenance grant of £15,285 (2020/21) Deadline passed
(Mon 25th Jan 2021)		 UK tuition fees for eligible students and a maintenance grant of £15,285 (2020/21)
*Please note that if you have submitted an application to one of our MPhil/PhD programmes you will not automatically be considered for funding. You must submit a separate funding application, including all required supporting documents, via the link provided in each award to be considered for that award.

The College of Humanities works closely with the University’s Career Zone to help you gain the skills, experience and expertise employers are looking for. There are a wide range of opportunities to enhance your employability, along with the support you need to make important career decisions.

We have our own Employability Officer who works to develop close links with employers and arranges careers events. 

Employers

Fyssen Foundation
Heritage Lottery Fund
Isle of Wight Council
National Trust
Pendle Borough Council
UCL Institute of Neurology
University of Exeter

Occupations

Conservation Assistant
Development Officer
Director
DNA Technician
Fyssen Postdoctoral Fellow
Honorary Research Fellow
Research Officer
Researcher
Senior Archaeologist
Service Support Officer

*Employment destination information sourced from the DLHE surveys 2013/14 and 2012/13

From our blog