Archaeology

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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

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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 50 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.

StudentResearch titleFirst supervisorSecond supervisor
Daiana Alves 'Plant management in Pre-Columbian Amazonia from an archaeobotanical approach of Tapajó culture' Professor José Iriarte Dr Marisa Lazzari
Kathryn Bonnet The Kandyan blacksmith: an assessment of repertoire and skills using archaeological fieldwork, ethnometallurgy, microstructural analysis and experimental re-enactment Dr Gillian Juleff Professor Sharada Srinivasan
Cynthia Bradley Remaking the Mazeway: a study of the mortuary and skeletal evidence from the Ancestral Pueblo site of Wallace Ruin. Professor José Iriarte Professor Alan Outram
Gabrielle Collins Communicating Climate Change: An Investigation into the Public Presentation of Climate Change at Museums and Archaeological Sites. Dr Linda Hurcombe Robert Van De Noort
Gillian Cuthbert Enriching the Neolithic: The Forgotten People of the Barrows. Dr Catriona McKenzie Dr Linda Hurcombe
Jonas De Souza Pathways to Power in the Southern Brazilian Highlands: Architectonic Diversity, Function, and Change in Taquara/Itararé Ceremonial Centres Professor José Iriarte Dr Marisa Lazzari
Hayley Foster A Zooarchaeological study of changing butchery practices and species exploitation: social and fashionable changes in dining habits in Medieval castles in England. Professor Alan Outram Professor Oliver Creighton
James Glover Chipped-stone technology and social identities in Mesolithic Cornwall: how social practices and agency of the lithic chaîne opératoire reflect identity in the micro and macro scale. Dr Linda Hurcombe Dr Marisa Lazzari
Regina Gonda Pre-Columbian Amazon-Scale Transformations. Professor José Iriarte Dunia H. Urrego
David Gould Rabbit Warrens of South West England: landscape context, socio-economic significance and symbolism Professor Oliver Creighton Stuart Prior
Ethan Greenwood Wealdon Iron Research Group Collaborative Doctoral Studentship Dr Gillian Juleff Dr Robert Morkot
Kaushalya Gunasena Cultural, Technological and Ideological Exchange: Sri Lanka – South India Interaction from a Personal Adornment Perspective during the Proto-historic to Early Historic Periods Dr Gillian Juleff Professor Sharada Srinivasan
Lautaro Hilbert past human impact on Amazonian forests Professor José Iriarte Dr Marisa Lazzari
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
Emily Johnson Domesticated animals in the LBK: butchery practices and the nature of meat and fat exploitation Professor Alan Outram Dr Linda Hurcombe
Mandy Kingdom The Past People of Exeter: Health, Social Standing and Well-being in the Middle Ages and Early Modern Period. Dr Catriona McKenzie Professor Oliver Creighton
Madeleine Knibb The Significance of field-names in a diverse historic rural landscape. Professor Stephen Rippon Professor Oliver Creighton
Matthew Knight The intentional destruction and deposition of Bronze Age metalwork in South-West England – an assessment of prehistoric personhood and the relationship between people and objects. Dr Linda Hurcombe Joanna Brück
Alice Oriana La Porta Stone Projectile Point Technology: does it exist in the Western European Middle Palaeolithic? Techno-functional analysis of Middle Palaeolithic convergent tools. Dr Linda Hurcombe Robert Hosfield
Malene Lauritsen Exeter from fort to city: a faunal perspective Professor Alan Outram Professor Stephen Rippon
Xuelei Li Fox Trails through time Professor Alan Outram Dr Linda Hurcombe
Yu Li The Formation, Development and Transmission of Southwest China's Iron Smelting Technology Dr Gillian Juleff Dr Marisa Lazzari
Carole Lomas Early Medieval Churches in Somerset Professor Stephen Rippon Professor Oliver Creighton
David Marshall Lines on a landscape – the divisions of space on the human landscape of the Isle of Wight Professor Stephen Rippon Professor Oliver Creighton
Sabine Martin Functional study of Middle Paleolithic vein-quartz industries from the European sites of Payre (France) and from Atapuerca's Grand Dolina (Spain): Elaboration of a repository for diagnostic stigmata. Dr Linda Hurcombe Professor Bruce Bradley
Debanjan Mitra Study of Cognitive Implications on Stone-tool Technology of the Belan, Son and Middle Ganga Valleys, India from circa 60kyr – 10kyr Professor Bruce Bradley Professor Anindya Sinha
Richard Nevell Castle slighting in England and Wales from the 11th to 15th centuries. Professor Oliver Creighton Professor Stephen Rippon
Claire Nicholas Enabling an indigenous population to regain access to their lost heritage and knowledge Dr Robert Morkot Dr Marisa Lazzari
Eddie Procter Topographical legacies of monasticism: evolving perceptions and realities of monastic estate landscapes in the south eastern Welsh Marches Professor Stephen Rippon Professor Oliver Creighton
Joanne Pye Place names in the Cornish landscape. Professor Stephen Rippon Professor Oliver Creighton
Bruce Rusch Cultural settlement pattern behaviour reconstruction of the Potter Paleoindian site and its relationship to the Israel River Complex sites using lithic analysis. Professor Bruce Bradley Professor José Iriarte
Leonard Sidebottom Heritage of city walls. Professor Oliver Creighton Professor Stephen Rippon
Jemma Singleton Connecting the Dots with Rock Art; A regional study of rock art sites in South India to identify the cultural interaction between humans and the landscape. Dr Linda Hurcombe Professor Sharada Srinivasan
Sarah Stainer From Tinners to Antiquarians: An archaeological analysis of the evidence for medieval and later attitudes toward prehistoric features on southern Dartmoor. Professor Stephen Rippon Dr Hajnalka Herold
David Stone Mutually Assured Construction? A study of West Saxon and Mercian political, economic and military co-operation in the ninth and tenth centuries Professor Oliver Creighton Dr Levi Roach
Belinda Tibbetts Foetal and infant skeletal palaeopathology as an indicator of maternal health and population stress. Dr Catriona McKenzie Professor Alan Outram
Philip Treveil Local and regional variation in landscape character: the significance of the Tamar Valley. Professor Stephen Rippon Professor Oliver Creighton
Robert Waterhouse The Landscape Archaeology of Islands in physically and culturally remote zones Professor Stephen Rippon Dr Hajnalka Herold

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

AwardValueApplication deadlineDescription
The predictability and perils of woolly mammoth hunting during the European Gravettian, NERC GW4+ DTP , PhD in Archaeology £14,777 per annum for 2018-19 Mon 29th Apr 2019 NERC GW4+ funded studentship available for September 2019 entry. For eligible students, the studentship will provide funding of fees and a stipend which is currently £14,777 per annum for 2018-19.
Becas Chile (Conicyt) Fully funded Wed 8th May 2019 Postgraduate scholarships offered for studies in the UK, available for Chilean nationals (and others with permanent residence in Chile) in all areas except Management/MBA/Commercial Law and where the recipient will be expected to return to Chile on completion of their studies.
Sanctuary Scholarship Full tuition fee waiver plus annual living cost grant Fri 17th May 2019 The Sanctuary Scholarship scheme enables individuals seeking asylum and refugees who are not able access student finance to study at the University of Exeter.
Cost-effectiveness of decision tools for early diagnosis: further exploration of the factors influencing smarter referrals, Medical School – PhD (Funded) Tuition fees and an annual stipend of £15,009 Sat 18th May 2019 The University of Exeter’s College of Medicine and Health, in partnership with Dennis and Mireille Gillings Foundation, is inviting applications for a fully-funded PhD studentship to commence in September 2019 or as soon as possible thereafter. For eligible students the studentship will cover UK/EU tuition fees plus an annual tax-free stipend of at least £15,009 for 3 years full-time, or pro rata for part-time study. The student would be based in the Medical School in the College of Medicine and Health
Sports Scholarship and High Performance Programme up to £2000 plus additional support services & coaching Fri 31st May 2019 Sports scholarships are awarded to students of outstanding sporting ability who show evidence of achievement at international level in their chosen sport. We also encourage applications from students who have achieved at national or regional level for consideration onto our High Performance Programme.
Cornwall Heritage Trust Scholarship £1000 Thu 15th Aug 2019 A one year award of up to £1000 for one or more postgraduate students producing dissertations/theses centred on an aspect of Cornwall's heritage who will be registered for the coming academic year.
Alumni scholarships for Doctoral-level study £750-£3,000 dependent on programme and fee status Sun 15th Sep 2019 A tuition fee discount is available to suitably qualified University of Exeter alumni starting a postgraduate research degree in the 2019/20 academic year.
University of Exeter Alumni Scholarship £750 - £3000 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 September 2019.
Fulbright Scholarships: Postgraduate Student Awards Full tuition waiver for one year of Masters / PhD & living stipend Tue 1st Oct 2019 Our UK Partnership award with Fulbright is available for master's or doctoral students 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 (of £13,200 in 2019/20). We also accept scholars in receipt of Fulbright 'Open Awards' (also referred to as the All Disciplines Award).
US Department of Education - Federal Student Loan Variable Tue 30th Jun 2020 The federal government offers a number of financial aid programs, including these loans, to help pay for your education.
Marshall Scholarships for graduate study Varies Deadline passed
(Mon 1st Oct 2018)		 Marshall Scholarships finance young Americans of high ability to study for a graduate degree in the United Kingdom.
Forests, peat, and fires: understanding the drivers of past fire in Amazonian forests. Self funded PhD - Geography This project is self-funded Deadline passed
(Mon 7th Jan 2019)		 This self-funded Geography PhD is a 3-4 year project. The project will evaluate the timing and source of fire and pyrogenic carbon in old-growth forests through analysis of a combination of peat, vegetation, soil, and/or charcoal data from Amazonia
FashionForest Scholarship 10,000 DKK (approx. £1,175 GBP) Deadline passed
(Fri 1st Mar 2019)		 The FashionForest scholarship is awarded yearly to one or more researchers, students and former students at Danish and foreign educational institutions who are in need of support for a theoretical or practical project in connection to an educational purpose.
*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

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