- W. F. Grimes
Professor William Francis Grimes (
31 October ,1905 –25 December ,1988 ) was a Welsharchaeologist who devoted his career to the archaeology ofLondon and the prehistory of Wales. Born inPembrokeshire , Wales, he received his education at theUniversity of Wales . He held a number of prominent posts in Wales, including Chairman of the Royal Commission for Ancient Monuments in Wales. He published two influential volumes on the prehistory of Wales, with a particular interest in theNeolithic .During the 1950s and 60s Grimes carried out dozens of excavations in the city of London in his capacity as director of both the
Museum of London and theInstitute of Archaeology , the institution within theUniversity of London founded by SirMortimer Wheeler in 1937.Grimes' most famous discovery was the London Mithraeum in 1954, a
Roman temple to the godMithras , uncovered during rebuilding work on a central London bomb site offWalbrook . Although the site was built over, Grimes succeeded in salvaging many of its finds and features including marble statuary attesting to the wealth of its congregation.As a result of public pressure a replica temple was rebuilt elsewhere.
Published works
* Grimes, W. F., "The Megalithic Monuments of Wales" (1936)
* ——, "The Prehistory of Wales" (1951)
* ——, 'Excavations in the City of London', in Bruce-Mitford R.L.S. (ed.) "Recent Archaeological Excavations in Britain", London:Routledge & Kegan Paul , 1956.External links
*
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