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Subfield · Arts and Humanities

Archeology research

Archeology is a subfield of Arts and Humanities. Science Explorer counts 328k research works in it since 1950. 20.0% of them reached the world's top 10% most cited for their field and year.

In short: study of the past via material culture.

Research works
328k
fractional, since 1950
In the world top 10%
66k
per year above
Top-10% rate
20.0%
share of its works in the world top 10%
Topics
20
Growth, 2013–17 → 2018–22
+29%
the tick is no change

What is Archeology research about, and what is growing?

By the world's output in 2019–23, its most used keywords are Urban Development, Cultural Heritage, Archaeology, Bronze Age, Mediterranean, Adaptive Reuse. Gaining share since 2009–13: Social Impact, Traditional Houses, Islamic Architecture, Urban Planning. Losing share: Settlement Patterns, Iron Age, Romanization, Iberian Peninsula.

▲ gaining share of this field◆ holding its share▼ losing share

Size is the world's fractional works in 2019–23 in the topics tagged with each word; colour compares the word's share of this field with 2009–13. Each links to the topic it comes from most.

All 40 words, with their numbers
  1. Urban Development19k◆ 1.08×3 topics
  2. Cultural Heritage15k◆ 1.13×5 topics
  3. Archaeology13k◆ 0.89×4 topics
  4. Bronze Age12k◆ 0.97×3 topics
  5. Mediterranean11k◆ 0.95×2 topics
  6. Adaptive Reuse9,066◆ 1.02×1 topic
  7. Intangible Heritage9,066◆ 1.02×1 topic
  8. Cultural Exchange8,835◆ 0.90×2 topics
  9. Iberian Peninsula8,423▼ 0.81×3 topics
  10. Arabia8,413◆ 1.14×1 topic
  11. Byzantine8,413◆ 1.14×1 topic
  12. Urban Planning6,880▲ 1.16×3 topics
  13. Age Estimation6,412◆ 1.04×1 topic
  14. Sex Determination6,412◆ 1.04×1 topic
  15. Islamic Architecture6,092▲ 1.67×2 topics
  16. Raman Spectroscopy5,677◆ 0.98×1 topic
  17. X-Ray Fluorescence5,677◆ 0.98×1 topic
  18. Settlement Patterns5,545▼ 0.76×2 topics
  19. Medieval Architecture5,461◆ 0.97×2 topics
  20. Pottery Production5,402◆ 1.02×1 topic
  21. Roman Economy5,402◆ 1.02×1 topic
  22. Social Organization5,343◆ 0.96×2 topics
  23. Maritime Archaeology5,109◆ 0.88×1 topic
  24. Sea-Level Change5,109◆ 0.88×1 topic
  25. Historical Preservation4,556◆ 1.07×2 topics
  26. Heritage4,538▼ 0.86×1 topic
  27. Identity4,538▼ 0.86×1 topic
  28. Ancient Magic4,503◆ 1.07×1 topic
  29. Gnosticism4,503◆ 1.07×1 topic
  30. Archaeological Finds4,402◆ 1.05×1 topic
  31. Corded Ware Culture4,402◆ 1.05×1 topic
  32. Social Impact4,119▲ 2.1×1 topic
  33. Traditional Houses4,119▲ 2.1×1 topic
  34. Iron Age3,434▼ 0.76×1 topic
  35. Romanization3,434▼ 0.76×1 topic
  36. Early Medieval Churches2,879◆ 0.94×1 topic
  37. Rural Landscapes2,879◆ 0.94×1 topic
  38. Babylonian2,823◆ 1.13×1 topic
  39. Mesopotamia2,823◆ 1.13×1 topic
  40. Castle Construction2,582◆ 0.99×1 topic

Which countries lead Archeology research?

On research quality in 2022–2025, China, the United States and Italy rank highest in Archeology. By volume, France and the United States publish the most (7.6k and 6k works in 2022–2025).

By research quality, 2022–2025

  1. 1 China · #7 all time 33.0% top 10% · 2.9k works
  2. 2 United States · #1 all time 16.6% top 10% · 6k works
  3. 3 Italy · #3 all time 22.7% top 10% · 3.7k works
  4. 4 United Kingdom · #2 all time 21.3% top 10% · 3.4k works
  5. 5 France · #4 all time 8.9% top 10% · 7.6k works
  6. 6 Spain · #5 all time 17.8% top 10% · 5.5k works
  7. 7 Germany · #6 all time 17.1% top 10% · 2.2k works
  8. 8 Türkiye · #19 all time 16.4% top 10% · 2.9k works
  9. 9 Australia · #8 all time 25.2% top 10% · 950 works
  10. 10 India · #12 all time 18.4% top 10% · 1.6k works

The track on each row is that row’s top-10% rate. The ranking itself is the composite score, which the rate is only one part of.

Of 51 countries ranked in Archeology. Composite of field-normalised excellence (50%), output (30%) and citations (20%); the bracket is the all-time rank.

All countries ranked in Archeology

By volume, 2022–2025

  1. 1 France 7.6k works
  2. 2 United States 6k works
  3. 3 Spain 5.5k works
  4. 4 Italy 3.7k works
  5. 5 United Kingdom 3.4k works
  6. 6 China 2.9k works
  7. 7 Türkiye 2.9k works
  8. 8 Germany 2.2k works
  9. 9 Poland 2.1k works
  10. 10 Russia 1.9k works

How concentrated that is

The same countries as shares of everything the list above accounts for. A node where two countries do two thirds of the work and one spread evenly across twelve read alike as a ranking and not at all alike here.

France: 20.0%United States: 15.7%Spain: 14.4%Italy: 9.6%6 others listed: 40.3%20%largest
France7,615 · 20.0%United States5,986 · 15.7%Spain5,482 · 14.4%Italy3,661 · 9.6%6 others listed15k · 40.3%

Shares of the rows listed above, not of the whole node.

Which institutions lead Archeology research?

Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (France) ranks first in Archeology on research quality in 2022–2025, followed by University of Cambridge and Sapienza University of Rome.

By research quality, 2022–2025

  1. 1 Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique France · Paris · #2 all time 19.4% top 10% · 380 works
  2. 2 University of Cambridge United Kingdom · Cambridge · #3 all time 20.5% top 10% · 280 works
  3. 3 Sapienza University of Rome Italy · Rome · #7 all time 19.7% top 10% · 270 works
  4. 4 University of Bologna Italy · Bologna · #9 all time 23.8% top 10% · 179 works
  5. 5 Israel Antiquities Authority Israel · Jerusalem · #57 all time 11.4% top 10% · 630 works
  6. 6 University of Milan Italy · Milan · #20 all time 25.8% top 10% · 135 works
  7. 7 Politecnico di Milano Italy · Milan · #59 all time 27.8% top 10% · 122 works
  8. 8 University College London United Kingdom · London · #1 all time 27.5% top 10% · 146 works
  9. 9 University of Oxford United Kingdom · Oxford · #4 all time 18.8% top 10% · 219 works
  10. 10 Tel Aviv University Israel · Tel Aviv · #5 all time 31.8% top 10% · 130 works

The track on each row is that row’s top-10% rate. The ranking itself is the composite score, which the rate is only one part of.

Of 139 institutions above the floor of 40 fractional works in Archeology.

Top 100 Archeology institutions

By volume, 2022–2025

  1. 1 Israel Antiquities Authority Israel 630 works
  2. 2 Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique France 380 works
  3. 3 Universidad Complutense de Madrid Spain 374 works
  4. 4 Universidad de Granada Spain 332 works
  5. 5 University of Cambridge United Kingdom 280 works
  6. 6 Universidad de Sevilla Spain 274 works
  7. 7 Sapienza University of Rome Italy 270 works
  8. 8 Institut National de Recherches Archéologiques Préventives France 258 works
  9. 9 Ausonius Institut de Recherche sur l'Antiquité et le Moyen age France 225 works
  10. 10 University of Oxford United Kingdom 219 works

Who are the leading researchers in Archeology?

Among the most productive authors in Archeology, J. van der Plicht, Christopher Bronk Ramsey and W. F. Albright rank highest on the composite score.

  1. 1 J. van der Plicht Netherlands · #1,632 worldwide 1.8k citations · 110 works
  2. 2 Christopher Bronk Ramsey United Kingdom · #2,257 worldwide 2.4k citations · 79 works
  3. 3 W. F. Albright United States · #4,325 worldwide 560 citations · 195 works
  4. 4 J. A. Emerton United States · #5,198 worldwide 285 citations · 99 works
  5. 5 Martín Krause Switzerland · #5,394 worldwide 640 citations · 133 works
  6. 6 Israel Finkelstein Israel · #5,842 worldwide 403 citations · 98 works
  7. 7 İra M. Lapıdus United States · #6,468 worldwide 312 citations · 91 works
  8. 8 Franz Rosenthal United States · #6,963 worldwide 292 citations · 77 works
  9. 9 Sahra Talamo Germany · #7,637 worldwide 1.5k citations · 53 works
  10. 10 T. D. Barnes Canada · #7,704 worldwide 344 citations · 64 works

Re-ranked on the composite score from the 4,183 highest-output authors in Archeology. Identities come from OpenAlex author disambiguation, which occasionally merges or splits people.

Top 100 Archeology researchers

Where is Archeology research done?

The largest centres of Archeology research in 2022–2025 are Paris (France), Madrid (Spain), Jerusalem (Israel) and London (United Kingdom). Among places with at least 20 works in it, it is an unusually large share of all research in Metz, Xinhui District and Ivry-sur-Seine.

Largest cities, 2022–2025

  1. 1 Paris France 2.1k works
  2. 2 Madrid Spain 1.4k works
  3. 3 Jerusalem Israel 833 works
  4. 4 London United Kingdom 720 works
  5. 5 Moscow Russia 719 works
  6. 6 Rome Italy 681 works
  7. 7 Beijing China 681 works
  8. 8 Warsaw Poland 667 works
  9. 9 Lyon France 576 works
  10. 10 Istanbul Türkiye 499 works

Where it is the local speciality

  1. MetzFR · 259.8 works61×
  2. Xinhui DistrictCN · 21.6 works42×
  3. Ivry-sur-SeineFR · 118.7 works38×
  4. BelfortFR · 63.6 works36×
← less than its size predicts1×more →

Location quotient: how much more of its research is in Archeology than the world average.

See Archeology on the map

Archeology research by country

The best places for Archeology research inside each country, with that country's researchers and world standing.

Where is the best place to study Archeology?

Among universities, judged by research, Institut Català d'Arqueologia Clàssica, Ca' Foscari University of Venice and University of Haifa score highest, combining excellence, specialisation, size, growth and international reach. Research strength is one signal when choosing where to study; it does not measure teaching.

0%20%40%mean 20.65%fractional works in this node (log) →share in the world top 10% →Institut Català d'Arqueologia Clàssica: 50, 37.0%Ca' Foscari University of Venice: 202, 13.4%University of Haifa: 141, 30.2%University of Évora: 48, 28.6%Universidad de Granada: 332, 16.1%Universidad de Sevilla: 274, 16.7%Fayoum University: 82, 8.8%Universidad de Valladolid: 146, 12.8%University of Naples - L'Orientale: 38, 21.0%University of Warsaw: 185, 21.9%Institut Català d'Ar…University of HaifaUniversity of ÉvoraCa' Foscari Universi…
above the meannear itbelow it

One dot per university in the table below. The upper left is the interesting corner: small places doing unusually strong work.

#UniversityScoreTop 10%SpecialisationWorksGrowth
1Institut Català d'Arqueologia Clàssica Spain 63.637.0%200.3×50 +61.9%
2Ca' Foscari University of Venice Italy 63.013.4%13.6×202 +391.0%
3University of Haifa Israel 62.630.2%10.2×141 +34.8%
4University of Évora Portugal 60.228.6%8.6×48 +172.8%
5Universidad de Granada Spain 59.816.1%10.1×332 +44.3%
6Universidad de Sevilla Spain 56.716.7%8.3×274 +82.2%
7Fayoum University Egypt 54.88.8%12.2×82 +512.4%
8Universidad de Valladolid Spain 54.512.8%9.6×146 +115.2%
9University of Naples - L'Orientale Italy 54.521.0%20.3×38 +166.5%
10University of Warsaw Poland 53.721.9%5.8×185 +138.2%

Universities only. Score blends excellence (30%), specialisation (25%), size (20%), growth (15%) and international reach (10%), 2015–2022; growth compares 2010–14 with 2015–19.

Is Archeology research growing?

Output in 2018–2022 was 29% higher than in 2013–2017, peaking in 2024. The fastest-growing topics are Architecture and Cultural Influences, Medieval European History and Architecture and Historical Studies of Medieval Iberia.

19801990200020102020
grewheldshrank

The same series as a ribbon — one cell per year, darker for more. The line above answers how much; this answers when.

Which topics inside it are moving

Growth and decline on one axis around a shared zero. Two lists side by side hide the thing that matters: whether the growth dwarfs the decline, or the other way round.

  1. Architecture and Cultural Influences+463%
  2. Medieval European History and Architecture+222%
  3. Historical Studies of Medieval Iberia+202%
  4. Cultural Heritage Management and Preservation+135%
  5. Historical, Religious, and Philosophical Studies+135%
  6. Ancient and Medieval Archaeology Studies+129%
  7. Landscape and Cultural Studies-27%
← shrinkingno changegrowing →

Growth in output from 2005–09 to 2015–19. Every topic is a page of its own.

What does Archeology include?

Archaeology and Historic…32kArchaeology and Historical Studies: 32k fractional worksCultural Heritage Manage…31kCultural Heritage Management and Preservation: 31k fractional worksForensic Anthropology and Bioarchaeology Studies: 27k fractional worksCultural Heritage Materials Analysis: 25k fractional worksMaritime and Coastal Archaeology: 24k fractional worksAncient Mediterranean Archaeology and History: 22k fractional worksHistorical, Religious, and Philosophical Studies: 18k fractional worksCultural Identity and Heritage: 18k fractional worksAncient and Medieval Archaeology Studies: 17k fractional worksArchaeological and Historical Studies: 17k fractional worksMedieval Architecture and Archaeology: 12k fractional worksHistorical and Architectural Studies: 12k fractional works

Area is fractional works in that topic. Every name below is a page of its own.