This was the second part of our miniseries on Roman Britain. Whereas Oxford and INRA arranged the first talk and dinner with Professor Bowman speaking on the Vindolanda tablets, this event was arranged by Cambridge and INRA. We had a great talk by Professor Martin Millett: FBA, MAE Emeritus Laurence Professor of Classical Archaeology as we sat in the warm summer’s evening at the amazingly preserved Gallo-Roman Theatre in Dalheim. While the evening took onset in Dalheim we were soon engrossed in various archeological sites in Britain which Professor Millett, his team and colleagues had mapped, with magnetometers without any digging whatsoever! We heard about the exchange between Roman and English culture and left with a far more nuanced picture of the Roman invasion. Many of the seats of amphitheatre were filled and there was a lively Q & A after the talk.
Afterwards a good group of light and dark blues and archeologists had an excellent meal at ‘A Schmatten’. We are grateful to Cambridge for this lovely event which ended our Oxbridge miniseries on Roman Britain.
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See below for the invitation.
Venue: Gallo-Roman Theatre in Dalheim.
Organisers: Camsoc & INRA.
Please contact president@cambridgesociety.lu for more information.
It was a wonderful summer’s evening when we met Wednesday night, 18 June, for the Oxbridge Drinks at Atmos. Our small but select group – two from OUSL and the rest from Cambridge – had a really nice time in our corner of Atmos’ vast outdoor terrasse.
This was yet another of our smaller events at a landmark in our own city. We teamed up with Imperial, whose Chair, Silvia Colucci had put a great event together for us. Seated in the beautiful early 20th century room, we were given a splendid talk by Sergio Marx on the role of the bank, which prompted a lively exchange of questions and answers among our c. 30 person-strong group (Imperial, LSE, OUSL). Towards the end, we even had a surprise appearance from none other than Gaston Reinesch, the Governor of the Central Bank. Afterwards we were treated to a lovely reception, and later still, a smaller group went to Atmos to enjoy the perfect summer evening. The OUSL was well represented, both by members of the committee and other members.
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We are delighted to have been invited to team up with Imperial for this special visit to Banque Centrale du Luxembourg on Monday the 15th June at 18h00.
The evening will begin with a presentation in English outlining the institution’s activities, followed by a cocktail reception within the premises—an excellent opportunity for discussion and networking.
Please note that spaces are limited. We kindly ask you to confirm your attendance at your earliest convenience. For security and access purposes, participant names must be communicated to the bank one week in advance.We look forward to welcoming you to this insightful event.
Date and Time: Monday 15 June, 18h00. Venue: Banque Central de Luxembourg, 2, boulevard Royal L-2983 Luxembourg. Cost: the tour is free, and the reception is courtesy of the bank Sign-up by 8 June: please write chair@oxford.lu, and Silvia Collucci
Formal convocation were sent out soon, and we had a very good – and festive – Annual General Meeting.
Our member Francis Carpenter and his wife are kindly opening their lovely home for us for the event which will be followed by a glass of champagne curtesy of our hosts, and amuses bouches courtesy of OUSL.
More to come, but do sign up for this evening of Oxonians only. The AGM lasts around 45 minutes and the rest is a congenial get-together where Francis Carpenter may show us some of his rare collections of PreColumbian Artefacts, from the Pacific Coast to the Machu Pichu areas.
WHO CAN COME: All paid-up members of the OUSL! So you haven’t already done so, do hurry to pay the €40 for 2026 – otherwise, and forgive this foray into less festive legal speak – but you are only defined a member if pay the annual membership fee. Without it no membership and no right to vote a the AGM.
More info to come, but registration is now open:
Sign-up: Kindly ensure you have paid your €40 annual subscription prior to sig-up: Chair@Oxford.lu
We were delighted to present this long awaited conference with Professor Bowman, leading authority on the Roman world. Prof. Bowman spoke on his pioneering work on the administration of the Roman Empire, and most notably on the Vindolanda Tablets. The Vindolanda tablets are along Britain’s and Northern Europe’s oldest surviving handwritten documents, offering unparalleled insights into life of Roman Britain, including the earliest known birthday party invitation written by a woman. Discovered in 1973 at the Roman fort of Vindolanda, they have transformed our understanding of the early Roman occupation of Britain and (military) life in Northern Europe. Using infrared light, Professor Bowman and his team, painstakingly ploughed through hundreds of tablets until they were able to work out the texts – some were even in short-hand latin.
See below for pictures of the event.
This conference was organised in collaboration between Oxford Alumni, INRA and partners. It ties in with Camsoc-organised event with Professor Martin Millett 19 June, in an Oxbridge miniseries on Ancient History. Members of both societies are warmly invited to attend both events.
Venue: The Bowman Conference will take place in the large auditorium of Musée Dräi Eechelen, 5, Park Dräi Eechelen, L-1499 Luxembourg. There is no need to sign up for the talk as there is free access.
AFTER THE TALK, the OUSL is fortunate to have the opportunity to continue the evening over dinner with the speaker for a limited number of guests. See details below.
DINNER: We have secured the nearby Restaurant Feierwon, for an exclusive post-conference dinner with Professor Bowman. The dinner is limited to 20-25 seats, so if you wish to join, do not hesitate to register.
Dinner Sign-up: Apéro, three-course menu with wine at €110/pp. Please write an email to Mette Ahlefeldt-Laurvig.
ABOUT THE SPEAKER: Alan Bowman, Professor emeritus is a historian of the Roman empire with particular research interests in the documentary evidence from Egypt and northern Britain. Positions he has held include tutor in Ancient History at Christ Church, University of Oxford, Camden Professor of Ancient History and Principal of Brasenose College, President of the Society for the Promotion of Roman Studies, Vice-President (Humanities) of the British Academy (elected Fellow in 1994).
So, to sum up: Date: Wednesday 6 May 2026 Time: TALK : 18.30. Dinner: c. 20.00 Venue for talk: Musee 3 Eecheleen, hosted by the National Museum. Venue for Dinner (must be pre-booked): Restaurant de Feierwon, 6 Rue du Fort Niedergruenewald, 2226 Kirchberg, Luxembourg.
Organisers: INRA (organiser), /MNAHA(host)/OUSL (David Clark and Mette Ahlefeldt-Laurvig)/University of Luxembourg OUSL (co-host) in cooperation with INRA (Institut national de recherches archéologiques)
The day began with a private tour of the National Museum, expertly led by Curator Ralph Lange.
Looking at a fascinating face
…moulded from a wax negative
Then came Prof. emer. Alan Bowman’s great talk at the Museum Dräi Eechelen
First the Conference on green cities: Green Cities and Urbanism: Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow
We were invited to this creative conference on how we can shape our cities in order that they meet the multiple demands of city living while also improving green, sustainable living.
Venue: Bibliothèque nationale du Luxembourg, 37D avenue John F. Kennedy, L-1855 Luxembourg
Sign-up: free entrance, so feel free to come!
Organisers: the Conférence Saint-Yves and the Association luxembourgeoise pour le droit de l’environnement (ALDE), in collaboration with the BnL.
What a brilliant event we had at the European Court of Justice (ECJ) in Luxembourg on Monday, 20 April, 10:00-14.15
A full group of Oxonians and friends from our sister societies met up in the spring sun at 10am in front of the Court. We were met by a lively and experienced guide who took us through the ground floor areas and the judges gallery. We learned that the ECJ library holds 364000 books and other printed material and that it is the largest legal library in Europe, that there are 2300 people employed of who, a thousand translators and 500-600 lawyer linguists. They have 54 judges, ten chambers and around 900 cases a year. So it is a busy place! After the tour, we had a talk by the Irish judge, C. Mac Eochaidh, Judge at the General Court. He gave an insightful and personal talk which catered both for all the legal minds amongst us, and all of us who knew little of the workings of the court.
Then followed a delicious lunch hosted by Judge Elisabeth Tilly-Fisslberger at the judge’s restaurant on the 27th floor.
Thank you all for coming, for being so engaged and posing so many questions during the tour!
We had a great group for the guided nature tour organised by Louise Benjamin (Cambridge) and our member Philip Birget (Oxford).
We met in on Saturday morning 18 April, at 9am at the Munsbach football club car park and have the chance to observe at close quarters the careful work of monitoring and recording local birdlife including bird ringing.
Later, the visit continued to the nearby buffalo hide in Mensdorf (5-minute drive) and ended with lunch at Louise’s place.
Participation: the event is free of charge. However, a small donation of €25-30 to Fondatioun Hëllef fir d’Natur would be greatly appreciated. Iban: LU89 1111 0789 9941 0000 Reference: Schlammwiss 18.03.26 visit Registration: Places are limited to 30 participants.
