Our research
Bridging the sciences and humanities through archaeological research.
Our vision is that by combining the richness and rigour of innovative cultural approaches and science-based analysis, York will be regarded as one of the best places in the world to conduct archaeological research.
We are recognised internationally as a leading institution for archaeological research tackling global issues that are both important and challenging.
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The Research Excellence Framework 2021
- We’re ranked 6th overall for our research according to the Times Higher Education’s ranking of the latest REF results (2021). And 100% of our research environment, the support we give to our researchers, is rated 4* - REF’s highest rating. We’re also rated 5th for the quality of our research outputs.
Research strengths
Our core strengths in human evolution and prehistory, Roman, medieval, historical and field archaeology are complemented by our specialisms in bioarchaeology, digital archaeology, African archaeology, buildings conservation and heritage, and experimental archaeology and artefact studies.

Impact and engagement
As well as making an impact within national and international research communities, our research makes a difference to policymakers, practitioners and the public.
Highlights

The Centre for Digital Heritage is an international, interdisciplinary research centre exploring data management, analysis and visualisation.
Centres
We're home to several international research centres that bring together colleagues from across Europe to collaborate:
University research themes
Interdisciplinary research is one of our strengths. We collaborate across the University's research themes – areas of research excellence that cross departmental boundaries. We have particularly strong partnerships within three themes:
Archaeology Data Service
We’re developing groundbreaking digital methods for storing and disseminating archaeological data to ensure it's accessible and sustainable.
The Archaeology Data Service is a non-profit organisation hosted by the University. A world-leading digital repository for heritage data, ADS is the only accredited repository in the UK.
We also host Internet Archaeology - an open access, independent journal which has been awarded the Directory of Open Access Journals Seal.
