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My research focuses on the lived experiences of non-elite Romans in relation to urban and peri-urban productive horticulture in the early Principate, with a special interest in contemporary spatial theory and material culture. In 2018, I was awarded a full scholarship from the AHRC-M3C DTP for research into the social, economic and nutritional impact of Pompeii’s urban working gardens on the local population in the first century AD. Results demonstrated the symbiotic relationship between agricultural garden development and use in Pompeii and contemporary urban social, economic, and geographical trajectories. The findings from these, including the discovery of thirty-two gardens created after the earthquakes of AD 62/3, were presented at conferences including TRAC, CELA, and the AIA Annual Meeting, and published in the New Classicists journal.

Alongside developing my thesis into a monograph for publication, with a greater focus on the environmental impact of urban gardens, I also plan to advance research on my next project through the submission of articles to international journals. This project will provide the first comprehensive exploration of small-scale agricultural gardens and animal husbandry in the early Roman Empire (31 BC - 193 AD), illuminating the lived experience of the non-elite individuals, households, and communities involved in their cultivation. While continuing my work as Editor of Vesuvian Sites on the Gardens of the Roman Empire online corpus, I will be delighted to continue engaging with specialist researchers and the general public via talks, conferences, and media opportunities, supported by a strong institutional affiliation at the ICS