Master’s Degree in Archaeology and

Digital Archaeology Careers

1 - General presentation

> The University of Tours is one of the only places in France and Europe to offer an integrated

course in archaeometry (archaeology and computer science). Alongside the Laboratoire

Archéologie et Territoires (UMR 7324 CITERES, University of Tours-CNRS), it benefits from a strong

partnership in training and research with the Inrap.

> Its main objective is to train tomorrow's archaeologists to practice archaeology in line with

current problems and expected skills. Its primary goal is to meet the expectations of preventive

archaeology and innovative research based on the implementation of first-hand data.

> Students will be able to build their career according to their professional goal and interests:

spatial analysis in urban or rural environments, architecture and construction techniques,

archaeozoology, furniture studies (ceramic, glass, metal objects, etc.) and this from Protohistorical

period to Modern times.

> Beyond the Master's Degree, the goal is to develop new forms of professionalization and new

fields of research at the post-graduate and doctorate levels.

> Holders of this degree acquire a set of specific skills crucial for the acquisition and archiving of

archaeological data, but also skills in the field of scientific communication for the cultural

enhancement of research results.

Professional skills

Archaeological data acquisition and archiving (surveys, excavations, building surveys)

Handling of advanced technical equipment and associated software (topography

instruments, photogrammetry, 3D, LIDAR, scanner, etc.)

Computer and statistical processing of archaeological information through the design of

databases and geographic information systems (GIS)

Development of innovative scientific publications and mediation tools (online databases

and GIS; multimedia publications)

Communication skills:

Written and oral proficiency of at least one modern foreign language

Office automation software proficiency

Knowledge of electronic publishing techniques for scientific results

Finally, this training allows the acquisition of transversal skills preparing students for integration

into the professional world: adaptability, responsiveness and ability to lead a team.

2 - Admissions

> The course is open to all students able to pursue a Master’s Degree with a focus on research in

humanities (particularly holders of a degree in Archaeology, History or Art History). It is open to

students resuming their studies, continuing education, according to procedures on a case-by-case

basis.

Applicants must report at least four weeks of archaeological field experience at the start of the

2018 academic year (internship certificate to be provided no later than the beginning of

September 2018). Participation in an excavation site during the summer of 2018 is essential

because students will have to write a validated internship report in the first semester of Master 1.

To find a site, consult the list of planned archaeological excavations accessible to volunteers,

drawn up each year by the Ministry of Culture from April to May:

www.culture.gouv.fr/Thematiques/Archeologie/Sur-le-terrain/Chantiers-de-benevoles

> The application will be open from 23 April to 15 May 2018 submitted online through the

University of Tours website.

> The application file includes the following:

A resume

Undergraduate degree transcripts (semesters 1 to 6 for Undergraduate degree

holders/semesters 1 to 5 for current Undergraduate degree students)

A cover letter including the presentation of a training project

For example, in archaeology, you will specify the period and/or research field in which you are

most interested in and in which you would like to write your Master 1. You can also specify if you

plan to write a second research thesis in Master 2 or rather to do an internship of three to six

months. The research project presented in the application will not necessarily determine which

one will actually be developed during the training following the exchanges with the management

team.

Certificate(s) of archaeological training already carried out, if this is the case

> Please note: this procedure has a specific timetable and requires C1 level in French.

FOR MORE INFORMATION

https://esipat.Univ-tours.fr/infos-Pratiques/#contact master.m2a@univ-tours.fr

Head of the Programme - Elisabeth Lorans

Head of Education - Cyrille Malapert

Administrative Manager – Marie-Christine Jossec

3 - Organization of the programme

> The full course is divided into four semesters, of which the first three have an equivalent structure, while the fourth is mainly devoted to either writing a research thesis or carrying out a

three-month internship, which is the subject of a report. In both cases, the training ends with collective support organized, in general, in the third week of June.

> Semesters 1 to 3: reinforcement modules, archaeometry modules (lectures and/or tutorials) and archaeology modules (seminars). The seminars are common in M1 and M2, the programmes change each year.

> Semester 4: multidisciplinary workshops offered by the different courses; in archaeology, the

workshops will be linked with research programmes of the LAT.

> The main language of instruction is in French.

4 - Careers

The Master’s Degree in Archaeology and Archaeometry Careers trains students likely to exercise responsibilities and carry out work in different fields of archaeological practice.

> Targeted sectors of activity

Public (Inrap, archaeological departments of local authorities) and private operators of preventive archaeology

Departments of the Ministry of Culture: Regional Archaeological Services (SRA) in the

Regional Directorates of Cultural Affairs (DRAC)

Scientific research, scientific research development

Cultural mediation and tourism

> Targeted careers

State public service and territorial public service: heritage conservators, assistant conservator, engineers and technicians (Ministry of Culture, university, CNRS)

Public and private operators in preventive archaeology: archaeological operations managers, specialists (furniture, GIS, 3D, etc.), study assistants

Heritage leaders, guide-lecturers, scientific development

5 - Faculty

The Master’s Degree involves teachers-researchers from the University of Tours, but also CNRS

employees from the Laboratoire Archéologie et Territoires de Tours (CITERES LAT) and members of

the Institut national de recherches archéologiques préventives (Inrap)

Régis BERNARD, Topographer at the site of Inrap Poitiers, Topography

Pascal CHAREILLE, Lecturer in Medieval History - Statistics

Frédéric EPAUD, CNRS Research Officer, Construction Archaeology

Marie-Pierre HORARD, Lecturer in the Protohistorical period - Archaeozoology

Philippe HUSI, CNRS HDR Research Engineer, Epigraphic and furniture treatment

Samuel LETURCQ, Lecturer in Medieval History - History of Landscapes

Elizabeth LORANS, Professor of Medieval Archaeology

Olivier MARLET, CNRS Design Engineer in Database Management Systems and Online 3D

Geographic Information Systems, interoperability and Semantic Web

Jean-Baptiste RIGOT, Lecturer in Geo-archaeology and Archaeometry

Xavier RODIER, CNRS HDR Research Engineer, Archaeometry and Spatial Archaeology

Corinne SCHEID, CNRS Technician, Mapping-photography, 3D (scanner and

Photogrammetry)

6 - Programme details

Master 1 - Semester 1

CORE COURSE

HISTORY CIVILIZATION HERITAGE & DIGITAL HUMANITIES

PROGRAMME

16h

General introduction to the training: research, heritage and digital 16h

CORE COURSE

HISTORY CIVILIZATION HERITAGE PROGRAMME 42h

Research methodology and technology 24h

Modern language: English (2 Level groups) 18h

REINFORCEMENT MODULE 24h

Practical classes in archaeology: photography, furniture design,

geoarchaeology, archaeozoology, ceramology

OR

A L3 refreshing course of your choice (only for students that have

not validated it in L3) or a Master in the UFR or outside-UFR: Ancient

or Medieval history, epigraphy, Medieval or modern paleography,

geology, history of art, etc.

3 classes of 8 hours

each (of your choice)

or

1 class of 24 hours

MODULE 1

ARCHAEOMETRY 1: INTRODUCTION TO THE ACQUISITION,

STRUCTURING AND PROCESSING OF ARCHAEOLOGICAL DATA

60h

This module focuses on the data acquisition process and how to

structure it in a computer recording system. This approach will be

addressed from a theoretical point of view, then hands-on from data

sets.

1.1. SIG1: introduction to the structuring and processing of space

data in archaeology

This course offers detailed archaeological information and its

modelling in GIS approach. A presentation of the spatial database of

modeling tools completes this approach, while an initial manipulation

and processing of the data is proposed on the machine.

14h of lectures/14h of

tutorials

1.2. BDD1: introduction to the acquisition and structuring of

archaeological data (stratigraphy, furniture)

The objective of this course is to present conceptual, logical and

physical data models, then computer recording systems in

archaeology and finally to manipulate data sets.

12h of lectures

1.3. ARCHI1: introduction to architectural records

This hands-on course consists of an apprenticeship in architectural

field surveys.

20h of tutorials

MODULE 2

SOCIETIES, ENVIRONMENTS, TERRITORIES 60h

This module focuses on the analysis of the relations of societies of the

past to space and the environment. They will be addressed through

the transformations of landscapes and urban spaces over the long

term.

2.1. Landscape archaeology

This class approaches the making of landscapes in a diachronic way

by combining the scales of analysis of societies/environments

relations.

20h

2.2. Urban space Archaeology

This seminar focuses on the making of urban spaces since the

protohistorical period, emphasizing the relations between the actors

and the materiality of cities. It addresses urban dynamics and city

networks using different forms of modelling.

20h

2.3. Bioarchaeology (Humans, fauna, flora)

Relations between societies, animals and plants will be examined in

the complexity of their production, their uses (food, crafts,

pharmacopoeia, energy, companionship, etc.) and their real and

symbolic presence in anthropized spaces.

20h

End of first semester: pre-research thesis including the report of the field internship carried out the previous summer.

Master 1 - Semester 2

CORE COURSE

HISTORY CIVILIZATION HERITAGE PROGRAMME 40h

Student work presentation (4 hours)

Research methodology and project management (8 hours)

Digital culture and technology: introduction to HTML and CMS (16

hours)

28h

Modern language 12h

REINFORMCENT MODULE 24h

A course of L3 or Master outside UFR or in the UFR: Ancient or

Medieval history, epigraphy, Medieval or modern paleography,

geology, history of art, etc.

MODULE 3

THEORY, MATERIALS AND SOCIETY 60h

This module combines theory and epistemology of archaeology and

material culture to better illuminate the diversity of social practices.

3.1. Theoretical archaeology and principles of scientific writing

The aim is to examine the theoretical foundations of the discipline

and their implementation in new forms of publication.

20h

3.2. Construction archaeology

This class focuses on the archaeological analysis of architecture,

through the presentation of case studies

20h

3.3. Furniture and social practices

The diversity of archaeological furniture, which documents functional

and socio-economic interpretations, is addressed over the long term,

focusing on knowledge, transmissions, fashions, competition and

beliefs.

20h

MODULE 4

ARCHAEOMETRY 2: ANALYSIS OF VOLUMINOUS ARCHAEOLOGICAL

DATA

32h

This module aims to deepen the knowledge of data structuring, to

present methods and models adapted to the analysis of voluminous

archaeological data, particularly moveable. They will be addressed

from a theoretical point of view, using examples, and, if possible,

students data.

4.1. STAT: statistical analysis of archaeological data

Analysis of archaeological data based on descriptive statistics.

10h of lectures/10h of

tutorials

4.2. BDD2: analysis and modelling of archaeological data (stratigraphy and furniture)

The objective of this course is to build a database by addressing the

notion of programming in DBMS, then presenting archeo-statistics

models built for the analysis of voluminous movable data. The

purpose of the BDD1 and BDD2 courses is a progression in learning, from the archaeological object to the modelling of the mass of material data produced by the excavation.

6h of lectures/6h of

tutorials

RESEARCH FILE

FIRST YEAR COURSE THESIS

Master 2 - Semester 3

CORE COURSE

HISTORY CIVILIZATION HERITAGE PROGRAMME

Research methodology and project management

Digital culture and technological tools: introduction to XML

Digital culture and technological tools: pro XML vocabularies: TEI,

EAD, FRBR, ontologies

24h

Modern language 18h

REINFORCEMENT MODULE 24h

Practical learning in archaeology: photography, furniture design,

geoarchaeology, archaeozoology, ceramology

OR

A L3 refreshing course of your choice (only for students that have

not validated it in L3) or a Master in the UFR or outside-UFR: Ancient

or Medieval history, epigraphy, Medieval or modern paleography,

geology, history of art, etc.

3 classes of 8h

or

1 class of 24h

MODULE 5

ARCHAEOMETRY 3: PROCESSING, ANALYSIS AND MODELLING OF

ARCHAEOLOGICAL DATA

60h

This module aims to deepen knowledge in the processing, analysis

and modelling of archaeological data.

5.1. SIG2: analysis and modelling of spatial data in archaeology

In this course, we offer an approach to archaeological data through

multi-criteria analysis at the territorial scale, as well as an approach

to modelling spatial dynamics.

10h of lectures/10h of

tutorials

5.2. TOPO: topographical surveys in archaeology

This course provides an introduction to topographic surveys in

archaeology, from the field to computerized data processing.

10h of lectures/10h of

tutorials

5.3. ARCHI2: processing and analysis of architectural data

This course is intended to train students in architectural survey

methods (manual survey, lasergrammetry, photogrammetry).

10h of lectures/10h of

tutorials

MODULE 6

(cf. Module 2: two seminars of your choice)

SOCIETIES, COMMUNITIES AND TERRITORIES

40h

6.1. Landscape archaeology 20h

6.2. Urban space Archaeology 20h

6.3. Bioarchaeology (Man, fauna, flora) 20h

MODULE 7

ARCHAEOMETRY 4: INTRODUCTION TO ADVANCED TOOLS AND

METHODS FOR PROCESSING ARCHAEOLOGICAL DATA

52h

This module concludes the archaoemetry training course by

providing an introduction to advanced tools and methods for

processing and analyzing archaeological data: spatial data, LiDAR

data, online data.

7.1. SIG3: introduction to spatial statistics

This course provides an introduction to spatial analysis of

archaeological data using methods of spatial statistics, under GIS.

The analysis of sowing points, analysis of spatial dependence,

research for hot spots will be particularly addressed.

20h of lectures

7.2. Introduction to LiDAR

This course is an introduction to the processing and analysis of Light

Detection and Ranging (LiDAR) data.

6h of tutorials/ 6h of

projects

7.3. BDD3: introduction to online database design

This course will cover website design and online databases. 20h of tutorials

RESEARCH PROJECT

PRE-THESIS IN 2ND YEAR

Master 2 - Semester 4

MODULE 8

WORKSHOPS AND SEMINARS

WORKSHOPS

Multidisciplinary workshops proposed

between different specialty courses

OR

36h of tutorials

Workshops linked to LAT research

programmes 36h of tutorials

SEMINARS (one of your choice) Construction archaeology 20h of lectures

Furniture and social practices 20h of lectures

MODULE 9

PRE-PROFESSIONNALIZATION MODULE AND FINAL THESIS PUBLICLY SUPPORTED

CHOICE 1 STUDENTS Four to eight-week internship and writing

a research thesis 4 hours

CHOICE 2 Three to six-month internship and writing

an internship thesis