Dr Jessica Venner

Dr Jessica Venner

Leverhulme Early Career Fellow in Archaeology

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Biography

Dr Jessica Venner received her PhD in Roman Archaeology from the University of Birmingham (AHRC/Midlands3Cities DTP). Her doctoral research examined urban agricultural gardens in Pompeii and their role in the city’s economy, diet, and social organisation, with special interest in the period following the earthquake of AD 62.

Her work has been recognised through several competitive awards and fellowships, including a Rome Award at the British School at Rome and an Associate Fellowship at the Royal Historical Society. She is a Trustee of the Herculaneum Society and has excavated in Italy, including at the Roman site of Oplontis. As well as acting as Directing Editor of Vesuvian Sites for the Gardens of the Roman Empire online (September 2019 – present), Jessica is the author of the non-fiction book, The Lost Voices of Pompeii (HarperCollins).

Research Interests

Dr Venner’s research focuses on everyday life in the Roman world, particularly the social and economic roles of non-elite communities in relation to urban horticulture and agriculture. Her work examines agricultural production in urban environments, labour and identity among workers, and the ways communities adapted to crisis in the Roman world. She has a particular interest in Pompeii and the Vesuvian region, exploring how domestic space, gardens, and workshops reveal patterns of resilience, economic opportunism, and social organisation in the aftermath of disasters such as the earthquake of AD 62.

Publications

  • Venner, J. (2026) Excavating experience: methodological shifts in the study of Pompeii’s urban fabric, 100 (409). Antiquity.
  • Venner, J. (2024). The artialisation of Roman landscape in the elite villa. Review of M. Zarmakoupi (2024), Shaping Roman Landscape: Ecocritical Approaches to Architecture and Wall Painting in Early Imperial Italy. The Classical Review, 74(2), 598–600.
  • Venner, J. (2024). Planes, frames, and pictorial relief. Review of M. Koortbojian (2024), The Representation of Space in Graeco-Roman Art: Relief Sculpture, Problems of Form and Modern Historiography. The Classical Review, 74(2), 587–589.
  • Venner, J. (2021–2024). Vesuvian sites. The Gardens of the Roman Empire Project (online corpus). Available at: https://roman-gardens.github.io/