W. F. Grimes

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Professor William Francis Grimes (31 October 1905 – 25 December 1988) was a British archaeologist who devoted his career to the archaeology of London. During the 1950s and 60s Grimes carried out dozens of excavations in the city in his capacity as director of both the Museum of London and Mortimer Wheeler's Institute of Archaeology.

Grimes' most famous discovery was the London Mithraeum in 1954, a Roman temple to the god Mithras, uncovered during rebuilding work on a central London bomb site off Walbrook. 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.

• Bibliography

Grimes, W.F. 1956, Excavations in the City of London, in Bruce-Mitford R.L.S. (ed.) Recent Archaeological Excavations in Britain, Routledge & Kegan Paul Ltd, London