John Bryan Ward-Perkins, (3 February 1912 – 28 May 1981) was a British Classical
architectural historian
An architectural historian is a person who studies and writes about the history of architecture, and is regarded as an authority on it.
Professional requirements
As many architectural historians are employed at universities and other facilities ...
and
archaeologist
Archaeology or archeology is the scientific study of human activity through the recovery and analysis of material culture. The archaeological record consists of artifacts, architecture, biofacts or ecofacts, sites, and cultural landscap ...
, and director of the
British School at Rome
The British School at Rome (BSR) is an interdisciplinary research centre supporting the arts, humanities and architecture.
History
The British School at Rome (BSR) was established in 1901 and granted a UK Royal Charter in 1912. Its mission is " ...
.
Family and early life
John Bryan Ward-Perkins was born on 3 February 1912 in
Bromley
Bromley is a large town in Greater London, England, within the London Borough of Bromley. It is south-east of Charing Cross, and had an estimated population of 87,889 as of 2011.
Originally part of Kent, Bromley became a market town, char ...
, Kent, the eldest son of Bryan Ward-Perkins, a British civil servant in India, and Winifred Mary Hickman. He attended
Winchester College
Winchester College is a public school (fee-charging independent day and boarding school) in Winchester, Hampshire, England. It was founded by William of Wykeham in 1382 and has existed in its present location ever since. It is the oldest of the ...
and
New College, Oxford, graduating in 1934. He was awarded the Craven travelling fellowship at
Magdalen College
Magdalen College (, ) is a constituent college of the University of Oxford. It was founded in 1458 by William of Waynflete. Today, it is the fourth wealthiest college, with a financial endowment of £332.1 million as of 2019 and one of the st ...
, which he used to study archaeology in Great Britain and France.
Career
Ward-Perkins served as assistant under Sir
R. E. Mortimer Wheeler (1890–1976) from 1936 to 1939 at the
London Museum. There he wrote a catalogue of the museum's collection. During these years he was also involved in the excavation of a Roman villa near Welwyn Garden City. In 1939 he became chair of archaeology at the
Royal University of Malta
The University of Malta (, UM, formerly UOM) is a higher education institution in Malta. It offers undergraduate bachelor's degrees, postgraduate master's degrees and postgraduate doctorates. It is a member of the European University Associatio ...
.
During the
Second World War
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
, Ward-Perkins saw military service in the British
Royal Artillery
The Royal Regiment of Artillery, commonly referred to as the Royal Artillery (RA) and colloquially known as "The Gunners", is one of two regiments that make up the artillery arm of the British Army. The Royal Regiment of Artillery comprises t ...
in North Africa. He was assigned to protect the sites of
Leptis Magna
Leptis or Lepcis Magna, also known by other names
Other often refers to:
* Other (philosophy), a concept in psychology and philosophy
Other or The Other may also refer to:
Film and television
* ''The Other'' (1913 film), a German silent fil ...
and
Sabratha
Sabratha ( ar, صبراتة, Ṣabrāta; also ''Sabratah'', ''Siburata''), in the Zawiya District[Tripolitania
Tripolitania ( ar, طرابلس '; ber, Ṭrables, script=Latn; from Vulgar Latin: , from la, Regio Tripolitana, from grc-gre, Τριπολιτάνια), historically known as the Tripoli region, is a historic region and former province o ...](_blank)
and its Roman ruins. After the war he was appointed as director of the
Allied sub-commission for monuments and fine arts in Italy.
In 1946 he accepted the position of Director of the British School at Rome. He maintained a scholarly interest in North Africa, largely because excavation work in Italy remained impossible. When peninsular excavations in Italy did resume, Ward-Perkins obtained aerial photographs from RAF reconnaissance of Italy, to map out excavations. He remained at the British School in Rome until his retirement in 1974.
In the 1950s his interest focused on the technical aspects of Roman construction and resulted in ''The Shrine of St Peter and the Vatican Excavations'' (1956) and David Talbot Rice's ''The Great Palace of the Byzantine Emperors'' (1958). In 1963 Ward-Perkins revived the stalled publication project of the ''Corpus signorum imperii Romani'', a body of Roman sculpture held in collections throughout the world. He served as visiting professor in numerous institutions, including
New York University
New York University (NYU) is a private research university in New York City. Chartered in 1831 by the New York State Legislature, NYU was founded by a group of New Yorkers led by then-Secretary of the Treasury Albert Gallatin.
In 1832, the ...
(1957) and as
Rhind Lecturer in Edinburgh in 1960. In 1970 he wrote the Roman section of the prestigious ''Pelican History of Art'' volume on Etruscan and Roman architecture, co-authored with
Axel Boëthius. His students included the art historian
Roger Ling
Roger is a given name, usually masculine, and a surname. The given name is derived from the Old French personal names ' and '. These names are of Germanic origin, derived from the elements ', ''χrōþi'' ("fame", "renown", "honour") and ', ' ( ...
, archaeologist
Timothy W. Potter, and ancient historian
Barri Jones
Geraint Dyfed Barri Jones (4 April 1936 – 16 July 1999) was a classical scholar and archaeologist.
Born in St Helens to Welsh-speaking parents, he attended High Wycombe Royal Grammar School (where his father was the senior modern languages m ...
. Photographs contributed by Ward-Perkins to the Conway Library are currently being digitised by the
Courtauld Institute of Art
The Courtauld Institute of Art (), commonly referred to as The Courtauld, is a self-governing college of the University of London specialising in the study of the history of art and conservation. It is among the most prestigious specialist coll ...
, as part of the Courtauld Connects project.
Ward-Perkins was elected to the
American Philosophical Society
The American Philosophical Society (APS), founded in 1743 in Philadelphia, is a scholarly organization that promotes knowledge in the sciences and humanities through research, professional meetings, publications, library resources, and communit ...
in 1981.
Interests
Ward-Perkins' major interests were in the materials of ancient art and city topography. He wrote works on city planning in classical Greece and Rome and the historical topography of
Veii
Veii (also Veius; it, Veio) was an important ancient Etruscan city situated on the southern limits of Etruria and north-northwest of Rome, Italy. It now lies in Isola Farnese, in the comune of Rome. Many other sites associated with and in the ...
. He also reinitiated the project to map the Roman Empire, ''Tabula imperrii romani'', which had begun in 1928 but had become inactive. He was instrumental in the founding of the Association for Classical Archaeology, and the issuing of its journal, ''Fasti Archaeologici''. Perhaps one of his most important contributions was the use of field survey to assess archaeological land patterns in Italy, forever changing archaeological inquiry. One of his major survey projects, the South Etruria Survey, produced a body of evidence that remains useful to scholars. In these techniques he was a pioneer, as well as in the field of ancient marble studies.
Death
Ward-Perkins died on 28 May 1981 in
Cirencester
Cirencester (, ; see below for more variations) is a market town in Gloucestershire, England, west of London. Cirencester lies on the River Churn, a tributary of the River Thames, and is the largest town in the Cotswolds. It is the home of ...
, Gloucestershire.
Personal life
Ward-Perkins married Margaret Sheilah Long in 1943. She was a daughter of Henry William Long, a lieutenant-colonel in the
Royal Army Medical Corps
The Royal Army Medical Corps (RAMC) is a specialist corps in the British Army which provides medical services to all Army personnel and their families, in war and in peace. The RAMC, the Royal Army Veterinary Corps, the Royal Army Dental Corps a ...
.
Together the couple had three sons and a daughter. One son is the historian
Bryan Ward-Perkins
Bryan Ward-Perkins is an archaeologist and historian of the later Roman Empire and early Middle Ages, with a particular focus on the transitional period between those two eras, an historical sub-field also known as Late Antiquity. Ward-Perkins i ...
. Another, David, is a successful consultant based between London and France; and the other, Hugh, based in Italy, is a well-noted musician, specialising in ancient music.
Publications
*
* ''Roman Imperial Architecture''. New York: Penguin Books, 1981.
* David Talbot Rice, ed. ''The Great Palace of the Byzantine Emperors''. Second Report. Edinburgh: University of Edinburgh Press, 1958: 52–104.
* "The Italian Element in Late Roman and Early Medieval Architecture." ''Proceedings of the British Academy'' 23 (1947): 163–94.
* and Reynolds, Joyce Maire. ''The Inscriptions of Roman Tripolitania''. Rome: British School at Rome, 1952.
* and Toynbee, J. M. C. ''The Shrine of St. Peter and the Vatican Excavations''. New York: Longmans, Green, 1956.
* ''The Art of the Severan Age in the Light of Tripolitanian Discoveries''. Proceedings of the British Academy 37. London: British Academy, 1953.
* ''Cities of Ancient Greece and Italy: Planning in Classical Antiquity''. New York: G. Braziller, 1974.
* ''Landscape and History in Central Italy''. 2nd J.L. Myres Memorial Lecture. Oxford: B. H. Blackwell, 1965.
* ''Marble in Antiquity : Collected Papers of J.B. Ward-Perkins''. Archaeological Monographs of the British School at Rome 6. London: British School at Rome, 1992.
* ''Studies in Roman and Early Christian Architecture''. London: Pindar Press, 1994.
* "A Carved Marble Fragment at Riom (Puy-de-Dome) and the Chronology of the Aquitanian Sarcophagi." ''Antiquaries Journal'' 40 (January–April 1960): 25–34.
* "Nero's Golden House." ''Antiquity'' 30 (December 1956): 209–219.
* "The Hunting Baths at Leptis Magna." ''Archaeologia'' 93 (1949): 165–195.
References
Further reading
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External links
BSR Library and Archive digital collections. Ward-Perkins photographic collection
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ward-Perkins, John Bryan
1912 births
1981 deaths
People educated at Winchester College
Alumni of New College, Oxford
English architectural historians
British archaeologists
British Army personnel of World War II
Companions of the Order of St Michael and St George
Commanders of the Order of the British Empire
Fellows of the British Academy
Monuments men
English male non-fiction writers
20th-century archaeologists
Royal Artillery officers
Members of the American Philosophical Society