Special Topic: Digital Archaeology - ARC00101H

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Module summary

This module will explore some of the cutting edge breakthroughs in the use of digital technology to investigate new questions and understand new modes of interpretation and dissemination in archaeology. For example, the use of drones in archaeological recording, artificial intelligence and machine learning, big data, virtual reality, and the sonification of heritage spaces. We will evaluate the implications for diverse audiences, potential climate impact and the ethics and politics of adopting new technologies in archaeology.

Related modules

A directed option - students must pick a Special Topic module and have a choice of which to take

Module will run

Occurrence	Teaching period
A	Semester 2 2025-26

Module aims

Special Topics focus upon the archaeology of a well defined time, space or theme and the modules seek to allow students, in small groups, to focus upon primary source material and to apply to it the theoretical and thematic perspectives learned over your first and second years. The aim is to facilitate the acquisition of deeper knowledge of one aspect of the past than has been possible in more general courses.

Specifically this module aims:

• To develop knowledge and understanding of digital methods within archaeology and the intended and unintended implications of use of these methods
• To develop a critical perspective of the theoretical underpinnings of media use in archaeology
• To raise awareness of advances in digital archaeology within the context of progressive change and future potential in computer use for interpretation and visualisation in archaeology

Module learning outcomes

By the end of the module the students should be able to:

• Demonstrate that they are familiar with the literature surrounding digital archaeology and the many sub-disciplines and methods it contains
• Exhibit a firm understanding of the theoretical, methodological and ethical issues related to the study of digital archaeology
• Critically discuss and assess the key theories, methods and debates, and their limitations
• Explore a range of case studies and the interpretations of them
• Discuss potential future directions of digital archaeology

Module content

Digital archaeology is both a pervasive practice and a unique subdiscipline within archaeology. Operating as a collective term for many kinds of practice, digital archaeology has been used to describe methods and theory that stem from the use of digital technology to investigate and communicate the past. The diverse digital methods and tools employed by archaeologists have led to a proliferation of innovative practice that has fundamentally reconfigured the discipline. Digital archaeology is at once both highly visible as a practice and increasingly invisible as archaeologists become accustomed to using digital tools. Lively arguments continue about the application of digital tools, their replacement of traditional “analogue” methods such as traditional illustration, and the potential for abuse such as surveillance or the mechanisation of what has been viewed as the craft of archaeology. Digital methods may inspire new interpretations or bring wide dissemination of archaeological data, but to what end, and for whom?

Indicative assessment

Task	% of module mark
Oral presentation/seminar/exam	100.0

Special assessment rules

None

Indicative reassessment

Task	% of module mark
Oral presentation/seminar/exam	100.0

Module feedback

Formative: oral feedback from module leaders in class

Summative: written feedback within the University's turnaround policy

Indicative reading

Huggett, J. (2022). Data Legacies, Epistemic Anxieties, and Digital Imaginaries in Archaeology. Digital, 2(2), 267–295.

Morgan, C. (2022). Current Digital Archaeology. Annual Review of Anthropology. https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev-anthro-041320-114101

Taylor, J., & Dell’Unto, N. (2021). Skeuomorphism in digital archaeological practice: A barrier to progress, or a vital cog in the wheels of change? Open Archaeology, 7(1), 482–498.