Eva Hayward (UK)

I discovered my love for Classical Archaeology as an undergraduate reading Classics at Wadham College here in Oxford. I can still remember the second-year essay on the significance of Roman concrete that sparked a now long-standing interest in the influence of emerging construction technologies on ancient city development. Selecting Cities and Settlements of the Roman Empire as one of my Finals papers allowed me to explore the massive architectural transformation of Imperial cityscapes, and I look forward to delving into this transformation (and the reasons how and why this occurred) more specifically over the next two years. I plan to focus on the impact that an increased use of Roman concrete and fired bricks had on the environment and finances of cities throughout the Empire, as well as the effect a growing city had on its ecological surroundings.

The opportunity to attend the British School at Rome’s undergraduate summer school in 2022 provided further inspiration to pursue archaeology at a postgraduate level. The two-week exploration of some of the most significant sites in the city of Rome, as well as day trips to Ostia and Tivoli, allowed me to personally experience the architectural juxtaposition of the modern and the ancient in Rome for the first time. This reinforced my belief that modern construction has its foundation (and perhaps its future) in the buildings of the past. I explored this concept in more detail though an essay I submitted to my college’s annual essay competition - Concrete in Crisis: how the use of ancient construction technology could help solve modern architectural problems. The recent discovery of the ‘self-healing’ properties of Roman concrete and its potential use in solving modern construction problems (such as the RAAC crisis in the UK) has furthered my belief that learning from the engineers of the past is vital when considering how best to build the cities of the future, a possibility I hope to explore when writing my thesis.

I am confident that I will benefit massively from the interdisciplinary and discussion-centred approach to academia favoured by Ertegun House and am very much looking forward to a variety of interesting talks and discussions over the next two years. I am so grateful for the opportunity given by Ertegun House to study a topic I love alongside a group of like-minded academics.  When not in the library, I am an avid folk musician and am a member of the Oxford University Ceilidh Band and a student band, Quest For Folk. I am excited to share my Northern Irish culture with the other Scholars through several traditional music sessions and maybe even a ceilidh or two!