If you are interested in the challenge of studying the history, archaeology, and art of the classical world then this is the course for you. It’s specifically designed to make study of the Greek and Roman world more widely accessible.
In CAAH you study of the societies and cultures of the ancient Mediterranean world through material, visual, and written evidence. Although you do not have to have learnt the ancient languages and do not need to do so as part of the course, there is an option to do so in the first year onwards. There is also a strong practical element. At the end of the first year you spend two weeks on an archaeological field project. In the second or third years you write a report on an ancient site or museum, artefact of your choice. Put together, CAAH enables you to acquire a range of skills in historical, linguistic and material analysis. Students go on to pursue a mix of careers, in museums, archaeology, heritage management, as well as professions where the analytical and reasoning abilities you acquire are in demand – such as law, finance, and government.
For further information about Classical Archaeology and Ancient History at Oxford, see the Faculty of Classics website and the Classical Archaeology and Ancient History page on the Oxford University website.
Yearly Intake
At Keble: 2
At the Faculty: about 30
Past Admissions Feedback
Every year tutors prepare detailed feedback about the admissions process.
Links to the text from the last three years can be found below.
Feedback 2023 (College) (pdf)
Feedback 2023 (University) (pdf)
Feedback 2022 (pdf)
Feedback 2021 (pdf)
The Course at Keble
The course is designed to balance history and archaeology, and at Keble there is specialist teaching in both. Dr Lisa Bendall is the Tutorial Fellow and her expertise is in Aegean prehistory; she teaches the core classical archaeology. Dr Peter Haarer, a lecturer, teaches ancient history and organises tutorials for the students.
Keble has two ring-fenced places on offer each year for CAAH so that, typically, the total number of students studying the course in College across all years is six. In addition, Keble is unique in that CAAH students are part of a larger family of subjects that includes Archaeology and Anthropology as well as Human Sciences. The three subjects share tutors and hold social events together. In fact Keble has particular strengths in archaeology. The Professor of European Archaeology is based at Keble, as is the current Director of the Radiocarbon Accelerator Unit. You can find out more about them from the links below.
Keble’s library holds one of the best relevant undergraduate library collections in Oxford, although it’s not far to walk to the Sackler Library, which houses the Ashmolean research collection and the Classics Lending Library, which is exclusively for undergraduates. There is a dedicated scholarship, the Owens Travelling Scholarship, which funds undergraduate travel related to classical archaeology and history during the vacations.