The degrees at Cardiff are wide-ranging, but concentrate geographically on Britain and Ireland, Europe and the Mediterranean. Their main span is from the period after the Ice Age to the early Medieval period, but attention is also given to the Palaeolithic and later Medieval periods. Many specialist modules are offered, in particular areas, themes or problems, and including environmental archaeology, archaeological science and computing. Such diversity is the basis of the general intellectual training described above. It is also the foundation for vocational knowledge for those seeking to go on in the field of archaeology as a career, as well as broad and rigorous discipline of study for those taking up careers in other fields.
Conservation involves the investigation and preservation of cultural material.
To do this, conservators employ a blend of science and art, which translates academic study into practical work. In archaeological conservation, emphasis is on co-ordinating the scientific investigation of artefacts undergoing preservation, in order to understand more about the past. This is made possible via a thorough understanding of the structure and decay of artefactual materials, linked to an awareness of the cultural context of artefacts. The fact that conservation is a vocational subject, with a high academic and practical input, is reflected in the nature of the modules offered. These range from museology, through laboratory practicals on archaeological and historical objects, to modules studying ethics and the development of existing and new conservation techniques.