MA student explores Bronze Age Greece through prestigious field school opportunity

Last Month, MA Ancient Civilisations student Clare Manning took part in a unique and highly competitive field school in Greece, The Art and Archaeology of Bronze Age Greece, organised by the British School at Athens. 

The course, which was delivered for the first time this year, was open to postgraduate students and limited to just 12 participants.  The programme offered an exceptional opportunity to explore key archaeological sites across the Peloponnese, including Dendra, Tiryns and Pylos, alongside visits to major museums. Students also attended keynote lectures delivered by leading specialists in Aegean archaeology and made use of the renowned library facilities at the British School at Athens.

For Clare, the experience brought her studies vividly to life, allowing her to engage directly with sites and artefacts central to her course. The visits complemented her core module, ‘Spaces, Places and Objects in Mediterranean Religions’, providing valuable first-hand insight into locations and objects previously encountered in lectures.

Reflecting on the experience, Clare said:

“I feel incredibly fortunate to have been selected for this field school. Visiting sites such as Tiryns and Mycenae in person brought my studies to life in a way that simply isn’t possible in the classroom. Seeing objects like the Tiryns Ring in the National Museum in Athens, which I had previously studied for my coursework, was a real highlight, as was the rare opportunity to visit the Cult Centre at Mycenae.”

Clare is currently working on her dissertation, which focuses on the Bronze Age sanctuary at Ayia Irini in Cyprus.

Her dissertation supervisor, Professor Louise Steel, added:

“It is wonderful that Clare was selected as part of a small group of postgraduate students for this field school. The opportunity to engage with peers from other universities, explore significant archaeological sites and benefit from the outstanding resources at the British School at Athens is an invaluable experience that will undoubtedly enrich her research.”

Further Information

Arwel Lloyd

Principal PR and Communications Officer    
Corporate Communications and PR    
Email:  arwel.lloyd@uwtsd.ac.uk    
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