Module manager: Dr Giacomo Savani
Email: g.savani@leeds.ac.uk
Taught: Semesters 1 & 2 (Sep to Jun) View Timetable
Year running 2026/27
| CLAS2926 | A Water History of the Ancient World |
This module is not approved as a discovery module
Water was a powerful resource in antiquity, with a complex set of symbolic and ritual associations perhaps even more important than its many practical purposes. This interdisciplinary module explores how different social and cultural groups interacted with water from prehistoric times to Late Antiquity, from the Near East to Britain. This module assesses how water played a key role in ancient imperialism; it looks at the sensory implications of water and water infrastructures; it engages with the pervasive role of water in ancient religions. This module will also equip you with the analytical tools to engage with diverse interpretative approaches and methodologies, learning to integrate a variety of evidence (archaeological, literary, epigraphic, and iconographic) into historical arguments and reconstructions. Please note this is an optional module and runs subject to enrolments. If a low number of students choose this module, then the module may not run and you may be asked to choose another module.
This module aims to equip you with an appreciation of the crucial role played by water in ancient societies. You will consider how different social and cultural groups in the ancient world interpreted and used water in complex and sometimes conflicting ways. You will also explore the use of water resources in the ancient world, providing valuable perspectives and key lessons applicable to modern issues. At the same time, you will evaluate a wide variety of primary sources (archaeological, literary, epigraphic, and iconographic) and will engage critically with secondary scholarship and main theoretical frameworks dealing with water in antiquity. The knowledge and critical skills acquired in this module will thus provide a basis for your further study of the Greco-Roman past by developing new questions about the role of the environment in shaping ancient history.
On successful completion of the module students will have demonstrated the following learning outcomes relevant to the subject:
1. Examine and discuss how individuals and states managed water resources in the ancient world.
2. Engage with perspectives and insights from antiquity that can inspire and inform solutions to contemporary water management challenges.
3. Critically assess how environmental factors influenced the structure of ancient settlements and shaped past human behaviours.
4. Incorporate a wide range of diverse types of evidence—literary, archaeological, epigraphic, and iconographic—into historical analyses and reconstructions.
On successful completion of the module students will have demonstrated the following skills learning outcomes:
5. Select and apply relevant strategies of enquiry to primary evidence.
6. Critically assess the appropriateness of different approaches and methods in the study of literature and history.
7. Communicate the results of your work effectively.
8. Produce creative outcomes based on research, applying the conventions and expectations of the medium
| Delivery type | Number | Length hours | Student hours |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lecture | 10 | 1 | 10 |
| Seminar | 5 | 1 | 5 |
| Private study hours | 185 | ||
| Total Contact hours | 15 | ||
| Total hours (100hr per 10 credits) | 200 | ||
The module includes a non-compulsory formative assessment and a summative assessment. The formative assessment will be an opportunity for students to present their plans for the summative assessment and receive feedback. Further formative feedback is provided through contributions in the seminars, one of which will be explicitly focused on practice for the podcast and one on the blog post. During these seminars, the students will be encouraged to discuss their ideas for the coursework with the seminar tutor and group
| Assessment type | Notes | % of formal assessment |
|---|---|---|
| Coursework | Podcast | 40 |
| Coursework | Blogpost | 60 |
| Total percentage (Assessment Coursework) | 100 | |
Normally resits will be assessed by the same methodology as the first attempt, unless otherwise stated
Check the module area in Minerva for your reading list
Last updated: 30/04/2026
Errors, omissions, failed links etc should be notified to the Catalogue Team