Start date: 1st October 2026
Application Deadline: June 1st
Interviews will take place in the first two weeks of July.
Durham University and English Heritage are pleased to announce the availability of a fully funded Collaborative Doctoral Studentship from October 2026 under the AHRC’s Collaborative Doctoral Partnerships (CDP) scheme.
This project will use archival and collections research to shed light on the role of Corbridge Roman Town in the social and economic networks of the Romano-British frontier from the 3rd to 5th centuries AD.
This project will be jointly supervised by Dr Eleri Cousins (Durham) and Dr Frances McIntosh (English Heritage) as lead supervisors and Dr David Petts (Durham) and Dr Andrew Roberts (English Heritage) as second supervisors. The student will be expected to spend time at both Durham and English Heritage, as well as becoming part of the wider cohort of CDP funded students across the UK.
The studentship can be studied either full or part-time.
We encourage applications from a diverse range of people, from different backgrounds and career stages.
Students should have a Masters Degree in a relevant subject or demonstrate relevant equivalent experience.
The studentship is open to both home and international applicants.
The site of Corbridge is part of the Frontiers of the Roman Empire World Heritage Site and was the northernmost town in the Roman Empire, inhabited by men, women, and children who came from all over the Roman world. Located in the heavily militarized zone of Hadrian’s Wall, and sitting at the intersection of major roads running north-south and east-west, it played a key role in the economic networks of supply of the frontier. However, the contributions of the inhabitants of the town to the economy and society of northern Roman Britain remain poorly understood. Much work especially remains to be done analysing the artefacts from the early 20th-century excavations at Corbridge, which uncovered most of the known elements of the 3rd-early 5th-century town phase of the site. This PhD studentship will use in-depth archival and collections research to maximise the potential of this material to shed light on Corbridge’s role as an economic centre of trade and craft production. The student will begin by clarifying the extent and nature of the late Roman (3rd-early 5th centuries) artefact assemblages from the site. They will then use these assemblages to analyse large-scale patterns of supply and production at Corbridge. How does material from the site compare to the broader picture of material culture from sites across the frontier, and what can this tell us about Corbridge’s place in the economy of northern Roman Britain? Targeted case studies of locally-produced objects will use established methods of artefact analysis alongside cutting-edge scientific techniques to explore the nature of craft production and manufacturing at the site. This work will then be situated into our evidence for demographics and social identities at Corbridge, to draw a fuller picture of the dynamics of life on the edges of the Roman world.
The student’s research and public engagement work will be supported throughout the project by both English Heritage and Durham University. They will emerge from the PhD with a range of specialist skillsets, equipping them for potential careers in academia, heritage, and commercial archaeology. The project will lead to enhanced understandings of a major English Heritage collection and to new stories for an internationally-significant Roman site, making a significant contribution to our knowledge of the people and societies of Roman Britain.
1) What role did Corbridge play as a site of craft production and manufacturing on the frontier?
2) What role did Corbridge play in the economic networks of supply and trade on the frontier, and how did that shape the nature and function of the town?
3) What light do artefacts, art, and epigraphy shed on the demographics of late Roman Corbridge and the social, ethnic, and religious diversity of its inhabitants?
4) How does the role of Corbridge change in its transition from a military extramural settlement to a town in the late 2nd century AD, and as the town developed from the 3rd century into the late and potentially post-Roman era?
This research studentship is one allocated to English Heritage by the AHRC. The successful student will be expected to spend time carrying out research and gaining relevant experience with the partner, especially at the collections at Corbridge, as part of the studentship.
CDP doctoral training grants fund full-time studentships for 4 years or part-time equivalent up to a maximum of 8 years.
The award pays tuition fees up to the value of the full-time home fee. Research Councils UK Indicative Fee Level is £5,238. Students with an ‘overseas’ fee status are welcome to apply but will need to cover the difference between the UK and overseas fees rate and will be required to reside in the UK until completion of the PhD.
The award pays an annual stipend for all students, both home and international students. This stipend is tax free, and is the equivalent of an annual salary, enabling the student to pay living costs. The UKRI Minimum Doctoral Stipend is £21,805. There is also a CDP maintenance payment of £600 per year.
Further details can be found on the UKRI website.
The successful candidate is eligible to receive an additional travel and related expenses grant during the course of the project courtesy of HBMCE worth up to £1000 per year for 4 years.
The successful candidate will be encouraged to participate in professional development events and activities organised for all Collaborative Doctoral Partnership students who are registered with different universities and studying with cultural and heritage organisations across the UK. These activities are organised by a coordination team based at the V&A and are designed to provide CDP researchers with the knowledge, networks and skills to thrive in their future careers.
To apply for this project, please complete an application to the PhD in Archaeology through the main postgraduate admissions portal. Under the Funding section, please name ‘AHRC CDP: Roman Corbridge’ as the scholarship you are applying for. This is essential to ensure your application is processed correctly.
Applications must include:
Informal enquiries in advance of application are welcome and can be made to Dr Eleri Cousins: eleri.h.cousins@durham.ac.uk.
We ask all applicants to complete a voluntary EDI monitoring form here. All responses are anonymous.
All CDP projects are part of a nationwide programme called the Collaborative Doctoral Partnership consortium. The CDP consortium will host an online webinar for prospective applicants on 13 April 2026 at 11:00. These webinars will provide an overview of the CDP funding scheme.
To sign up for a webinar, please email cdp@vam.ac.uk with the subject line “Prospective Applicant Webinar” from the email address you would like to join the online meeting from. Sign up will close on 10 April 2026 at 17:00.
Please note, the webinars will not focus on individual projects.
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