PREFACE.

The contents of this second volume of the Payers of the British
School at Rome afford a further illustration of the variety and extent of
the work which such an institution can do, even though like the other
foreign schools in Rome it is precluded, by circumstances, from the actual
excavation of ancient sites.
The history of the monuments of Rome, whether classical or
mediaeval, whether still existing or not, is difficult to write: to a very
large extent the materials must be sought for elsewhere than in the
soil of Rome, in the libraries and museums of Europe. Of especial
importance are the drawings of these monuments made by architects,
artists, and antiquaries during the period of the Renaissance.
The value of this kind of evidence is now fully appreciated by all
students of the subject. But to render it available for study and criticism
accurate reproduction of the originals is necessary, and a good deal has
been already done in this direction, notably by Professors Lanciani
and Huelsen.
The drawings now published are not only of great importance in
themselves, but the fact that they were discovered by British scholars in
the Soane Museum in London seemed to make it the clear duty of the
British School at Rome to place this new material as promptly as possible
in the hands of students.
H. F. Pelham.
(Chairman of the Committee.)