Archaeology MA

Welcome! Are you interested in doing an archaeology MA? Do you want to live and study in a city that lies in the middle of Central Europe along the Danube River that has always been the most important communication channel between Western and Eastern Europe? Then this is your video to watch! My name is Szilágyi Márton and I'm a research fellow at the Institute of Archaeological Sciences at the Ötvös Loránd University and I'm going to briefly present you our archaeology MA program. Our institute is one of the few European academic centers that offers a wide range of archaeological education and research into periods from the Paleolithic to the early modern age, including not only Europe but also the Near East and Central Asia. The archaeological training of the Ötvös Loránd University is the best in Hungary and it is usually ranked among the top 200 archaeology programs in the world. The aim of the archaeology MA program is to train professionals with a comprehensive knowledge of several areas in the archaeology of Central Europe and Eurasia. The program focuses on the latest methodological trends as a development of a multidisciplinary approach. Consequently, the education discusses the adaptation of new scientific methods like DNA and isotope analysis and diverse fields of humanities like history, cultural anthropology, religious studies, sociology, psychology or philosophy. The graduates will have the ability to explore, survey and evaluate archaeological sources and sites and they will be prepared to manage archaeological museum collections, perform basic tasks related to archaeological heritage and they will also be able to explore, protect, process and present the cultural heritage. They will be qualified for a career as researchers, lecturers, archaeologists, museologists of public collections or for a position in the public administration dealing with archaeological heritage. Our graduates will have the potential to apply for PhD studies either at the Ötvös Loránd University or anywhere else in the world. The archaeology MA program consists of a basic academic module and five specializations from which students must choose a main and an auxiliary one. The basic academic module focuses on fieldwork practice, museum internship, museology and heritage studies, archaeological GIS, data management and documentation practices. All of these are basic skills and knowledge of a professional archaeologist. In the following, the five specializations will be summarized. The lectures and seminars of the Prehistoric and Near Eastern Archaeology specialization present the society, economy, material and spiritual culture of the past through major topics. This combined presentation provides students the opportunity to better understand the role of religion and rituals, art and style, warfare, feasting, social network, trade, transport and mobility in prehistoric societies from the Paleolithic to the Iron Age, from Western Europe to the Near East. The contrast between literate early civilizations and non-literate societies provides a more complete picture of the past world and a solid foundation for the students' own scientific research. The research areas of the lecturers cover the whole prehistory, only a few large programs will be mentioned here. The excavation of the nearly 10,000 years old settlement of Gredit-Leh in Iraq focuses on the administrative center of the new Assyrian Age. In the frames of the Bronze Age hoards program, our students and lecturers have discovered more than 40 bronze and gold hoards in Hungary so far. The multidisciplinary research into the Copper Age of the Carpathian Basin investigates the radiocarbon chronology, mobility and the spread of the products and technologies of metallurgy. Fieldworks on and around Tell Settlement widen our knowledge about late Neolithic societies. Paleolithic research programs study the dynamics of the natural resource management, the manufacture and the use of lithics. The Classical and Roman Archaeology Department offers a wide variety of courses combining traditional topics with the most modern ones. Our coin cabinet is one of the oldest in Europe, it can be dated back to 1753. Keeping up traditions, numismatics is still an important part of the curriculum. Similarly long established and important is the teaching of ancient epigraphy. We focus on the archaeology of cults, funerary practices, military archaeology and ancient trade. One of our main research areas is the Roman Limass in Pannonia, both the military and the civil aspect. Our over 20 years long ongoing excavations at Brighezio provides hands-on experience for our students with a wide array of archaeological material. We also have a strong focus on iconographic research from the representation of tales through the symbolic meaning of the Apulian red figure vases to Roman bronzes and coins. Our research projects focus on the Roman bronze figures in Pannonia as well as the numismatic history of the province and the name Boring Barbaricum. The goal of the Early Medieval and Historical Archaeology specialization is to provide a comprehensive overview of the legacy and culture of Europe from the 1st to the 18th century in Eurasia with a special focus on the archaeological legacy of Central Europe. The courses focus on various issues. The study of mobility and migration, the archaeology of death and burials, settlement archaeology, households and lifestyles, environmental archaeology and the study of material culture receive special attention. The 1st millennium AD is characterized by a constant migration into the Carpathian Basin. Steppe communities arrive from the east and Germanic tribes from the north. The relationship between the new settlers and the local population is one of the key questions to be answered. Our ERC Synergy Grant bioarchaeological project investigates the genetic diversity and social structure of the Carpathian Basin from the 4th to the 9th century. Bioarchaeological research examines the lifestyle, health status, mobility and genetic characteristics of individuals and communities throughout the whole migration period. The architectural heritage of Hungary and Central Europe is another major focus. It includes the interpretation of structures and a survey of architectural elements. International cooperation is of particular importance for our department. We have common projects with neighboring countries. We are working on medieval and early modern sites in Slovakia and Romania. We also have excavations together with Western European universities, for example at the Medieval Castle in Beau, France. The teaching of the archaeometry specialization is carried out in the Department of Archaeometry, Archaeological Heritage and Methodology. We have decades of tradition in the field of archaeozoology. A large thematic bone collection supports the education. Within the framework of GIS laboratories we deal with GIS in archaeology and different methods of aerial archaeological interpretation. In the Microscope and Sample Preparation Laboratory, which was founded almost 10 years ago, students can practice both surface and petrographic analysing techniques. The lectures focus on the latest research trends in the fields and provide a good basis for PhD studies. Topics are discussed in a rotation. These include statistics for archaeologists, archaeology of households, bioarchaeology, pastoral husbandry, geoarchaeology, aerial archaeology, archaeological geophysics, landscape archaeology and the investigation of earthworks. The Iron Age Landscape Archaeological Project, which was launched seven years ago in Šute, assures the fieldwork practice in geophysics, geomorphological boring, field walking and trial excavations. Archaeological Heritage studies focus on the material remains of human activities in the past and their relationship between past and present. We are looking for answers to the following basic questions. How is archaeological heritage defined by international legislation? Who has the right to own and control the material remains of past societies? How should these remains be protected? How can we better interpret the archaeological heritage for people and how can they experience it for themselves? In the courses, you can get acquainted with, for example, the archaeological sites of the UNESCO World Heritage List, the different methods and practices of public archaeology and the possibilities how can the archaeological heritage be reconstructed. In seminars, you can explore the archaeological heritage sites in the immediate vicinity of the institute in the heart of Budapest and study how they fit into the living fabric of the bustling city with memories of the past, such as the Roman fortress or the medieval city wall. Most of the lecturers of the programme have international teaching experience and they regularly hold lectures at international conferences. The researchers of the institute participate in a number of international scientific collaborations. Several professors of the institute are members of international scientific committees or are honorary members of scientific organisations in Europe. The education and the research carried out in the institute are supported by the largest university library with an archaeological collection in Hungary. Here, you will find tens of thousands of volumes. Large international online library databases are available to students at the university and are accessible even from home. In our institute, the proportion of lecturers and students is outstandingly good. The teaching takes place in small courses where individual mentoring is often possible. The institute hosts the 28th annual meeting of the European Association of Archaeologists in 2022. For further information, please contact the following websites. Apply now! On the behalf of our institute, the members of our community, professors and students, lecturers and researchers, I can only say we are very much looking forward to seeing you here in Budapest!