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ARCH40330: RESEARCH TOPIC IN THEORY AND METHOD IN LANDSCAPE ARCHAEOLOGY

It is possible that changes to modules or programmes might need to be made during the academic year, in response to the impact of Covid-19 and/or any further changes in public health advice.

Type Open
Level 4
Credits 30
Availability Not available in 2024/2025
Module Cap
Location Durham
Department Archaeology

Prerequisites

  • None

Corequisites

  • None

Excluded Combinations of Modules

  • None.

Aims

  • Students will acquire a grounding in the theoretical principles underlying approaches to landscape archaeology from the tutorials, and a knowledge of the methodology employed in a range of specific regional applications from the lectures.

Content

  • Lectures:
  • Introduction & History of Landscape Archaeology
  • Desk-top assessment. The use of Maps, Air-photos, and satellite images
  • Historic maps and related sources
  • Documentary sources, place names, local memories etc., A) Britain B) Near East
  • Landscape geoarchaeology
  • Site survey & the continuous landscpe
  • Applied landscape archaeology (parts 1 & 2)

Learning Outcomes

Subject-specific Knowledge:

  • A knowledge of the history of landscape studies in archaeology
  • An understanding of the theoretical and methodological basis of landscape archaeology

Subject-specific Skills:

  • An understanding of the application landscape studies in Britain and other parts of the world (the Mediterranean, Eastern Europe, the Middle East)
  • The ability to plan an archaeological landscape study
  • The ability to use remotely-sensed data in the analysis of archaeological problems

Key Skills:

  • The ability to present a landscape project.

Modes of Teaching, Learning and Assessment and how these contribute to the learning outcomes of the module

  • Lectures introduce the core subject knowledge
  • Practical classes allow students to develop subject skills and theoretical approaches
  • Seminars allow student to learn how to argue a case and develop presentation skills
  • The learning outcomes are assessed by an essay of 2500 words and a practical design for landscape survey.

Teaching Methods and Learning Hours

ActivityNumberFrequencyDurationTotalMonitored
Lectures91 per term2 hours18Yes
Seminars22 per term1 hour2Yes
Practicals 22 per term2 hours4 
Preparation & Reading276 
Total300 

Summative Assessment

Component: EssayComponent Weighting: 50%
ElementLength / DurationElement WeightingResit Opportunity
An essay of not more than 2500 words giving a critical assessment of the methodologies of landscape archaeology2500 words100 
Component: Design for a landscape surveyComponent Weighting: 50%
ElementLength / DurationElement WeightingResit Opportunity
a design for a landscape surveymax. 2500 words100 

Formative Assessment

The preparation achieved in the module RSS that precedes this module is considered to be sufficient formative preparation for the summative assignment in this module.

More information

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