First of two talks by J. B. Ward Perkins
Director of the British School at Rome
The speaker has recently visited the excavations that have been carried out since 1940 underneath St. Peter's in Rome on and around the traditional site of St. Peter's tomb. In this talk he describes the Roman cemetery found underneath the Basilica of Constantine (the building that preceded the present church), and he examines such evidence as has come to light on the question of whether St. Peter was buried there.
On Thursday at 10.5 Mr. Ward Perkins considers the influence of the early Christian basilicas of Rome on' tater Western architecture and comments on the way in which the history of architecture reflects contemporary events and aspirations.