Ancient History

This course covers the full range of ancient history, literature, language, archaeology, art and culture in an established Department of Classics with an international reputation.

The University of Reading is an ideal place to extend and deepen your knowledge of the ancient world, with wide-ranging expertise covering the ancient Mediterranean world (and its reception) from the Bronze Age to Late Antiquity, from Greece and Rome to Egypt and the Near East. In the latest Research Excellence Framework (REF) 2021, 95% of the University of Reading's research in Classics is rated of international standing (REF 2021, combining 4*, 3* and 2* submissions).

We have research and teaching strength in a wide range of aspects of ancient history, society, literature and art. Particular clusters of expertise in the Department include: ancient religions; Late Antiquity; ancient traditions of historiography; connections between Greece and the Near and Middle East and with Egypt; ancient material culture and the development of Classical collections; and the reception of antiquity in the modern age.

Our expertise in ancient languages includes papyrology, epigraphy and ancient linguistics. Our ancient language offerings in Latin, Greek, and Egyptian will complement your studies.

Postgraduate students are fully integrated into our thriving research culture, which includes weekly research seminars, reading groups and workshops featuring scholars from around the world. Our postgraduates organise their own conferences, work-in-progress seminars and annual research colloquia. You will benefit from facilities including the Department’s Ure Museum, which holds the fourth-largest collection of Greek ceramics in the UK, and a dedicated postgraduate room. Additionally, we are only a short distance from the major research libraries and classical archaeology collections of Oxford and London.

Looking for postgraduate research opportunities?

Come to Reading for your PhD or professional doctorate and join a talented and diverse community of fellow researchers working to improve lives across the globe.