BA (Hons) Archaeology

Our graduates go on to a large variety of roles, using their transferrable skills in positions and areas listed below:

• Archaeologist
• Commercial Heritage, museums, conservation trusts and tourism
• Data management and analysis
• Education, higher education, research and academia
• Historical preservation
• Commercial archaeology excavation and consultancy
• Local government services, charities, social research and policy, health and social work, development,
• Law, law enforcement, forensic science, scene of crime and police forces
• Overseas agencies and international organisations

Whilst many of our graduates are working for organisations such as English Heritage, Border Archaeology, National Trust or other local and national museums, collections and archaeology services, we also prepare our graduates for careers in a variety of other sectors, such as media, TV production, journalism, marketing, financial services, science and laboratory work, as well as chartered surveying and the construction industry.

Once you have completed an undergraduate Honours degree, you can further develop your education by studying for a postgraduate degree. Please visit our Postgraduate section for further details about our range of Master’s degrees.

There are lots of exciting careers you can embark on once you've graduated from BU. Below is a list of what some of our graduates are up to now.

Rachel Holmes

Rachael graduated from BU in 2018. She completed a BSc (Hons) Anthropology. Rachael is now a postgraduate researcher on a CENTA DTP scholarship at the University of Leicester, researching past environments by investigating biological changes in the past (such as the introduction of invasive plant species and the resilience of mangrove communities) with the aim to inform future policy decisions.

Russel Harris

Russel graduated from BU with an undergraduate degree BSc (Hons) Archaeology in 2002 and stayed at BU to complete a MSc degree in Forensic Archaeology which he graduated from in 2004. Russel then went on to be employed by Lincolnshire Police as a Crime Analyst before specialising as an Financial Investigator.

Sasha Houghton

Is a recent BA (Hons) Archaeology & Anthropology graduate who graduated in 2020. She conducted her dissertation project focussing on Zooarchaeology. Sasha now works for Oxford Archaeology which is one of the biggest Commercial archaeology companies in the UK.

Bernice Jones

Bernice is a former undergraduate obtaining a BSc (Hons) Archaeological and Forensic Sciences degree in 2019 and a recent MSc Bioarchaeology degree in 2020. Her MSc dissertation focused on Zooarchaeology. Bernice now works for Oxford Archaeology which is one of the biggest Commercial archaeology companies in the UK.

Sam Walker

Sam is a former BU Archaeology undergraduate and obtained his MSc Osteoarchaeology degree in 2014. Sam was a student member of one of our Zooarchaeology research projects in Russia. Sam also worked for Bournemouth Archaeology on commercial projects before starting his PhD in Norway (some of which he has spent as a visiting PGR here at BU). He specialises in bird bone remains.

Lawrence Shaw

Lawrence graduated from BU in 2008 with a BSc (Hons) Archaeology degree. He is currently the lead environment advisor for Forestry England and regularly collaborates with departmental staff on research projects. Lawrence works with our Deputy Head of Department Derek Pitman to present podcasts and videos about archaeology.

David Cranham

Dave graduated from BU in 2009 with a BA (Hons) Archaeology and Prehistory degree. Dave initially worked for Thames Valley Archaeological Services (TVAS) but went on to use the skills he obtained from his degree to manage and run a successful construction company ‘Pear Tree Solutions Limited’ which creates bespoke renovations. Dave runs the company which involves ultilising a wide range of skills including budgeting, communication and correspondence with clients, staffing, as well as the hands-on construction side of the business.

Lizzie Bryant

Lizzie graduated from BU in 2007 with a BSc (Hons) Heritage Conservation degree after completing an Foundation degree in Applied Architectural Stonework at Weymouth College. Previously, Lizzie had worked in the film industry in production and as script editor and producer. After her undergraduate degree at BU she worked in building conservation and heritage education, then pursued a MA in Creative Writing for Children at Winchester University. Lizzie’s career is now embedded in oral storytelling and writing and much of her work is linked with archaeology, cultural astronomy, history, museums and heritage landscapes (e.g. Avebury, Stonehenge, Cranborne Chase ANOB).

Sadie Watson

Sadie graduated from BU in 1995 and went on to work in field archaeology in the City of London for MOLA, directing large multi-phase excavations. During this time Sadie did a PhD in Applied Archaeology at the University of Lampeter and is currently a UKRI Future Leaders Fellow based at MOLA. Her four-year Fellowship is titled ‘Measuring, Maximising and transforming public benefit from UK Government infrastructure investment in archaeology’. The focus of her project is to ensure that public spending on archaeology leads to relevant research and community participation.

Gabrielle Delbarre

Gabrielle graduated from BU in 2014 with an MSc in Osteoarchaeology. While completing her MSc she worked part-time at the National History Museum in London as a Curation Assistant and Documentation Officer within the Anthropology Collections in the Earth Sciences Department. She went on to work as a Curator and Collection Manager at Hengistbury Head Visitor Centre and Kingfisher Barn Visitor Centre in Bournemouth. Gabrielle has returned to work at BU in the Archaeology & Anthropology Department as a Demonstrator where she manages the Anthropology and Zooarchaeology laboratories, one of the largest collections of human remains and faunal skeletal material in the South of England.