I am currently in Oxford for my semester abroad, kindly hosted by Professor Bryan Ward-Perkins. The weather here has been very un-British, meaning that it has been excellent, warm, and sunny for the most part. The focus of my stay is to write and finish my PhD dissertation. Still, I have also spent some time attending the seminars offered by the OCLA (Oxford Centre for Late Antiquity), gaining access to the libraries, and meeting the exciting and capable scholars here at Oxford University.

Last week (Thursday 28 October), I had the great pleasure and opportunity to present my work at the OCLA’s Late Roman Seminar, hosted by Mattias Gassman and Conrad Leysner at Corpus Christ College. In my presentation “Caesar’s Forum in Late Antiquity”, I presented my thesis in the context of Centre for Urban Network Evolutions (UrbNet) and The Caesar’s Forum Project, and my research of Caesar’s Forum and Rome’s urban development from the fourth to the sixth centuries AD. The following discussion touched upon privatisation in Rome during Late Antiquity, placement of honorary statues and general use of the forum space, the evidence of destruction, and the Caesar’s Forum area becoming a quagmire during the 11^th century, amongst other topics. It was a great experience and a fruitful discussion. 

During my last time here in this term, Michaelmas, I will focus on my research and writing, putting the beautiful libraries to use, and enjoying the environment.