A NNUAL R EPORT <strong>2007</strong>–2008<strong>Report</strong>sChairman’s Foreword 3Director’s <strong>Report</strong> 4Herculaneum Conserv<strong>at</strong>ion Project 11Development 14Humanities Awards 15Humanities Activities 16Events 19Archaeology 21Faculty of Archaeology, History and Letters 26Fine Arts Awards 27Fine Arts Scholars’ Activities 27Faculty of the Fine Arts 31Contemporary Arts Programme 32Public<strong>at</strong>ions 34Library and Archive 35AppendicesPublic<strong>at</strong>ions and Exhibitions by Staff 37Staff 39Trustees’ <strong>Report</strong> 40Financial St<strong>at</strong>ements 42Subcommittees and Honorary Fellows 51BSR Public<strong>at</strong>ions in Print 52Subscribers 54How to Support the <strong>British</strong> <strong>School</strong> <strong>at</strong> <strong>Rome</strong> 562
C HAIRMAN’ S F OREWORDIt’s a particular pleasure to re-engage with the <strong>British</strong><strong>School</strong> <strong>at</strong> <strong>Rome</strong> as the incoming Chairman. It feelsalmost like an institutional tradition, as one of mypredecessors as President of Trinity College, Oxford —Henry Pelham, Professor of Ancient History — was notonly the first Chairman of the BSR, just over a hundredyears ago, but the prime mover behind its launch. My timeas Ambassador in <strong>Rome</strong> gave me a very comprehensiveand pleasurable introduction to the BSR’s work but seeingit from the other side, as it were, has been equallyrewarding, if challenging. I was constantly struck whileAmbassador by the breadth of the BSR’s activities. I<strong>at</strong>tended lectures on Renaissance art, a present<strong>at</strong>ion ofPompeii by its author, Robert Harris, concerts, site visits toHerculaneum and Pompeii, and art exhibitions. But th<strong>at</strong>was a mere taster. This report illumin<strong>at</strong>es and illustr<strong>at</strong>esthe quite remarkable range of activity from theHerculaneum Conserv<strong>at</strong>ion Project to Portus, fromItalian film to contemporary art, from work on the PunicMediterranean to the Viva Roma project. And all thisagainst a background of very real financial pressureexerted on the <strong>School</strong>’s activities by the vagaries of thesterling/euro exchange r<strong>at</strong>e. It is a signal mark of theBSR’s achievements and of the confidence ourstakeholders have in us th<strong>at</strong> we continue to <strong>at</strong>tractgenerous grants. It will be one of my priorities to try toencourage our core grant provider, the <strong>British</strong> Academy,to look <strong>at</strong> some overseas price mechanism, as used by theForeign and Commonwealth Office and the <strong>British</strong>Council, to mitig<strong>at</strong>e the effects of the fall in the value ofsterling. Without some such system in place, any financialplanning becomes a lottery.I have stepped into big shoes in taking over from mydistinguished predecessor, Peter Wiseman. <strong>The</strong> BSR isgre<strong>at</strong>ly in his debt for five remarkable years of dedic<strong>at</strong>ionand leadership. Peter and I had a han-over ceremony inBuckingham Palace with our President, HRH PrincessAlexandra, whose visit to the BSR in October <strong>2007</strong> wasone of the highlights of the year. Besides a memorablevisit to Portus, our Royal visitor presented honoraryfellowships and <strong>at</strong>tended a poignant lecture by PeterWiseman. But there are other debts beyond those toPeter. I am very gr<strong>at</strong>eful to my fellow members ofCouncil and its subcommittees, whose wise counsel oftenguides my steps. I think it right to recognise in particularthe hard work of those who chair the committees. Specialthanks this year are due to Jenni Lomax and RickyBurdett, whose tireless work for the BSR is nearing itsterm. We shall be pressed indeed to find replacements forsuch vigorous and hard-working colleagues.As Ambassador, I was particularly well placed to seehow the Director’s high standing intern<strong>at</strong>ionally raised theBSR’s profile and lent breadth to its activities. WithoutAndrew Wallace-Hadrill’s unique blend of scholarship andvision, for instance, it is doubtful th<strong>at</strong> the PackardHumanities Institute would have chosen the <strong>School</strong> as apartner in the Herculaneum Conserv<strong>at</strong>ion Project. We arevery lucky to have such an inspiring leader of the teamand fortun<strong>at</strong>e, too, th<strong>at</strong> he is supported by such able anddedic<strong>at</strong>ed colleagues in London and <strong>Rome</strong>. My personalthanks to Elly Murkett, the Director’s PA, for being <strong>at</strong>remendous source of support and for being so p<strong>at</strong>ient asI learn on the job.Sir Ivor RobertsChairman of Council3