Bradford Papers

Papers of John Spencer Purvis BRADFORD (1918-1975), archaeologist

ten boxes of material, relating mainly to Bradford’s research on archaeology and aerial photography
the material includes correspondence, notebooks, loose notes, typescripts, offprints of articles and newspaper cuttings

Related Resources
Collections of objects, photographs, etc.: Royal Commission on the Ancient and Historical Monuments of Scotland; Pitt Rivers Museum, University of Oxford; Fototeca Unione, American Academy in Rome

Full Listing

Box 1 - Ancient Landscapes – Chapters 1-2: prints:

Passo di Corvo, Apulia: total of 21 prints (including duplicates) and 3 negatives of 7 different views (most not used in Ancient Landscapes and with no entry on the database for the Bradford photograph collection) of excavations, in 1949 and 1950, of a Neolithic village, and other ground views. Miscellaneous text, captions and annotations.

Total of 46 prints (including duplicates) of various views: 16 aerial and 30 ground photographs of Neolithic sites and artefacts, and excavations of 1949 and 1950, Foggia Plain, Apulia; 5 prints (one aerial and two ground views) of the Etruscan mound-tomb Banditaccia cemetery, Cerveteri, Lazio; miscellaneous text, captions and annotations.

Total of 36 prints (several duplicates), all bar three being aerial views, of various sites, intended as Plates for Chapter 1, with annotations and some captions.

Banditaccia Cemetery, Cerveteri, Lazio: Total of 15 prints of 8 different aerial and ground views used as Plates for Chapter 1, with annotations and captions.

Total of 10 prints showing the site and interior views of some tombs, Banditaccia Cemetery, Cerveteri, Lazio; one photograph and printed illustration of periscopic underground camera equipment; captions and annotations.

Box 2 – Ancient Landscapes – Chapters 3-5: prints:

Cerveteri (Lazio) and Monterozzi (Tarquinia, Apulia) Cemeteries: total of 25 prints of aerial and ground views for use as Plates in Chapter 3, with miscellaneous annotations and captions. Two of the prints in an envelope labelled: “TARQUINIA – one of which is PL. 37 (CH.3) in A.L. The New Scientist 2 May 1957. Figs. 2 and 3.”

Chapter 4, Centuriation: Envelope labelled: “DALMATIAN PHOTOS AND PLATES from “ANCIENT LANDSCAPES” CH. 4 PLATE 40 PLATE 45 + misc.”, containing 5 prints (some half-tone) of 4 different aerial views, 2 proofs for line-drawn maps and miscellaneous annotations. Dalmatia, Italy and North Africa: 14 prints of aerial views illustrating remaining traces of centuriation and 1other print showing the Roman street plan of Valence, France, all with annotations and captions. Paestum, Italy: 1 print of a ground view of a street and four prints of one aerial view of the site, with annotations and captions. (2 misplaced captions relating to views of the Banditaccia Cemetery.)

Chapter 5: Total of 21 aerial and ground views of various Italian, French and North African sites, for use as plates in Chapter 5, with miscellaneous captions and annotations.

Box 3 – Ancient Landscapes – Manuscripts:

Letters, a number of them with written remarks added, to and from Mr. Glanville of G. Bell and Sons Ltd., publishers of Ancient Landscapes.

Numerous prints (several duplicates) and proofs of drawn maps of Etruscan cemetery sites and areas of centuriation; 2 map extracts to illustrate the recognition of sites from aerial photographs and the arrangement of images for stereoscopic viewing.

Booklet on aerial photography interpretation by John Bradford and Peter Williams-Hunt, June 1945 and prints (some duplicates) of photographs used to illustrate it, some with captions and annotations.

Typescript of list of figures and titles and text for plates, and various annotated page proofs for Ancient Landscapes.

Box 4 – Ancient Landscapes – Chapter 4:

“Pola”: miscellaneous notes on centuriation; correspondence from Alan Wilson, Department of Classics, University of Manchester; ? (illegible signature), Universita Degli Studi di Pavia; the Air Ministry (regarding permission to use, and supplying of, prints of aerial photographs).

“Chapter 5. Misc. Papers Towns”: various notes and correspondence; panoramic photograph of Venice; newspaper photograph of Ponte Pietra, Verona; aerial photograph with copy(?) negative of Placenza.

“Centuriation and France & Germany and Spain/ Valence & Orange centuriation”: 4 related photographs (one aerial of Orange); miscellaneous notes; pamphlet on Roman centuriation at Valence, by Andre Blanc; correspondence from and to: Prof. A Grenier, Academie des Inscriptions et Belles Lettres, Paris; Prof. Andre Blanc, Valence; Felix Campos-Guereta, Instituto Geografico y Catastral, Madrid; Tom(?) Stevens.

“Chapter 4 Centuriation working copy” with miscellaneous related notes, correspondence, illustrations and maps; article, “La Centuriazione Romana dell’ Agro di Altino”, Plinio Fraccaro, Instituto Veneto di Scienze, Lettere ed Arti, 1956; reprint “Archaeology” article, “An Archaeological Enigma”, Oscar Broneer, reprint from “Archaeology”, Vol. 9, No. 2 (Summer 1956).

“General points & refs. on Centuriation”: miscellaneous notes, diagrams, correspondence (one note from O. G. S. Crawford); article(?) typescript on “Roman Centuriation at Zara and Carthage” by John Bradford; 13 published articles, various authors, on centuriation in Italy, France, England.

Box 5 – Manuscripts:

Small Memo notebook: John Bradford’s Diary for 8 – 11th August, 1956, visit to Italy; miscellaneous notes from classical authors on Italy and John Bradford’s own comments; miscellaneous personal garden, wine, recipe notes.

“Chapter 2 Misc. Papers”: letter of March 7th, 1953 to, and March 10th, 1953 from Sir Mortimer (“Rik”) Wheeler regarding the latter’s opinion on “sketch of Chapter II of… ‘Ancient Landscapes’…”; 2 copies of typescript “Fieldwork on aerial discoveries in Attica and Rhodes” by John Bradford; miscellaneous related handwritten notes.

Folder of miscellaneous handwritten notes and printed maps relating to Africa, particularly Morocco (with some specific references to RAF photographs of 14.9.1942 and 23.2.1943) and Somaliland; correspondence of 1952 - 3 with the Directorate of Colonial Surveys, and of July 22nd (no year) from Sonia Cole, Blackheath, London S.E.3.

Map of Foggia with trace overlay identifying centuriation.

“Section 3. Mediaeval Towns and Buildings.”: handmade booklet of envelopes (formerly to hold photographs of sites in Italy) and sheets, each with a caption for the images.

“Areas suitable for new air discoveries including…Helike. Volterra, etc….”: miscellaneous handwritten notes; correspondence with Prof. Marinatos of the Antiquities Department of the Ministry of Education and Culture, Athens, and Bernard Ashmole, The Mill House, Iffley, Oxford

Miscellaneous notes and correspondence relating to Etruscan cemeteries, particularly Cerveteri and Monterozzi.

Extensive miscellaneous notes, maps/diagrams, correspondence etc., relating to 1998.296.391 – 411 in the John Bradford photograph collection: field systems in the Glyphada/Mt. Hymettos area of Athens; proof sheet for figures showing this and the ancient harbour area of Rhodes.

Cyprus: related correspondence; Annual Report of the Director of Antiquities (Cyprus) for 1954; large-scale map of part of Cyprus showing modern field systems.

Etruscan Tombs: “Text of Article on Etruscans.”; article “Ricerche Geofisiche Sperimentali su Antiche Necropoli/ Ricerca di Cerveteri Ricerca di Fabriano”, E. Carabelli, Fondazione Ing. C. M. Lerici Politecnico di Milano; related correspondence and handwritten note.

Rhodes: miscellaneous typescript, handwritten notes, correspondence etc. relating to John Bradford’s Rhodes research; 4 published articles in Greek.

Box 6 – Manuscripts:

'“Fitch Fund”: envelope containing correspondence and miscellaneous handwritten notes relating to an application for “financial support, to deal with some of the vast quantity of decorated sherds from the Apulia excavations.”

'“Tribal Life in Britain in 1st Millenium B.C.”: folder of miscellaneous handwritten notes.

Miscellaneous Italian correspondence (Lerici Foundation etc.); article, “Tracing Buried Remains Plastic Bottle ‘Detector’ Aids Archaeology”, “Oxford Mail”, July 26th, 1958; Leaflet N. 133 “Take a Look…Inside Foster Introscopes”, Foster Instrument Co. Ltd.

Sheet of related handwritten notes by John Bradford and correspondence with Hobby Das Magazin der Technik, Stuttgart.

12” LP record inner sleeve containing “VERY MISC. NO APULIA NO ETRURIA”: miscellaneous material, newspaper cuttings, rough notes and correspondence – sites in various countries.

Italy: military material: illustrations of enemy defence installations; maps, some with map analysis data.

Italy, Etruscan cemeteries: (found in envelope addressed “Miss Gaunt, 34, Little Clarendon Street, Oxford”) miscellaneous handwritten rough notes; trace overlay for map of a cemetery near Cerveteri; correspondence with Sir Mortimer (“Rik”) Wheeler and The Pilgrims’ Trust regarding applications for funding for excavation work in Etruria, 1956/7; (anomalous) wax-paper sleeve with 5 small photograph prints, 2 annotated on the reverse, possibly in P.W.D. Williams-Hunt’s(?) handwriting, of the “Museum of the Royal Batavia Society of Arts & Sciences. DJAKARTA. JAVA.” etc. (not transferred as accessioned prints because they seem more like “tourist snaps” and do not throw light on the Asian material in the print collection).

"Miscellaneous Papers”: Africa: typescript publication – “Guide to Ancient Monuments in the “Northern Sub Area” of the “Territories in the East Africa Command”, East Africa Army Education Corps, 1944; Sardinia: published illustrations, maps and text dealing with topography, geology and general geography of the island.

Publications by John Bradford and others, from various sources, including: summary of Bradford’s publications; reprints from “Antiquity”: “Irregular Earthworks in Eastern Siam”, P.D.R. Williams-Hunt, vol. XXIV, pp. 30-6, March 1950; “Etruria from the Air”, John Bradford, vol. XXI, pp. 74-83, June 1947; The Ancient City of Arpi in Apulia (Plates vii and viii), John Bradford, vol. XXXI, pp. 167-9; “Report on…archaeological field-work on foot in Italy…[etc.].”, John Bradford, October 1956.

Miscellaneous correspondence, conference/lecture details, ethnology booklist; typescripts of 2 reviews by John Bradford: (i) “Atlas des centuriations romaines de Tunisie”, Paris: Institut Geographique National, 1954; (ii) For The Burlington Magazine: “Excavations at Gozlu Kule Tarsus from the Neolithic through the Bronze Age”, Vol.II, Hetty Goldman, Princeton (Princeton U.P.), London (O.U.P.), 1957(?).

Box 7 – Manuscripts:

"VEGETATION AND TERRAIN in SOUTH EAST ASIA.” Parts 1 & 2, C.P.I.C/PUBS./65/1244. C.P.I.C., S.E.A. (Covering 01.01.1943 – 31.12.1944. C.I.P.C. = Central Pacific Intelligence Centre.)

Large scale (1:12,500) street plan of Bangkok, Thailand (HIND 1074 SHEET BANGKOK (SOUTH SHEET) THIRD EDITION), A.C.I.U. and War Office, 1945.

Growth of Urban Civilisation in the Near and Far East: folder of finished notes for lectures 1,2,4,5,7,8 of a series; related booklists; miscellaneous background rough notes etc.

“COSA I HISTORY AND TOPOGRAPHY”, Frank Edward Brown, Memoirs of the American Academy in Rome, vol. xx, 1951, American Academy in Rome, 1951.

The Illustrated London News, January 7, 1956, annotated on cover by John Bradford, “See p. 12. Air ph. Of Tunisia”. Ref. whole article on pp. 12-13 by Cyril Falls, “A Window on the World…” about “Archaeology from the Air”.

MEMORANDUM on the suggested acquisition, by the University [i.e. Oxford], of a library of Air photographs for research. Accompanying catalogue of contents: c. 100,000 prints organised in cardboard boxes divided between 35 wooden crates which could double up as storage shelves. This is presumably the collection eventually transferred to the University of Keele, who subsequently transferred it to the photo archive of the R.C.A.H.M. (Scotland) in Edinburgh.

World War II mainly aerial military photos from a secondary publication. Originally most of them in a folder labelled “…magazine photos misc.”

Cosa: folder of miscellaneous material: drafts for pp. 227-31 of Ancient Landscapes; handwritten background notes; map, “ITALY 1:50,000 ORBOTELLO FIRST EDITIOIN SHEET 135 11, Geographical Section, General Staff. No. 4229. War Office. 1942. Copied from an Italian map dated 1883.” [See prints collection 1998.296.910 - .11.]

“LA VIA POSTUMIA NELLA VENEZIA”, monograph by Plinio Fraccaro, cover signed by him with dedication to John Bradford.

Metapontum, Arpi, Sybaris and Croton: folder of miscellaneous handwritten rough notes; letters regarding possible publication in Antiquity, from O.G.S. Crawford regarding material on discoveries at Sybaris and Glyn Daniel regarding Metapontum; copy of CORRIERE DELLA SERA, Feb. 20th, 1958, open at article on p. 3 about Lerici Foundation excavations at Vulci.

Box 8 – Manuscripts:

Tunisia: Roman centuriation (El Djem, S Tunisia, Carthage – Cap Bon): diverse range of papers including correspondence with: M. Charles Saumagne (plus his monograph on the use of aerial photography for studying the archaeology of Tunisia, signed and dedicated to John Bradford); M. Maurice Horlaville, l’Ingenieur en Chef Geographe de l’Institut Geographique National, Paris; various maps of Tunisia, some showing centuriation alignments; miscellaneous handwritten rough notes.

Paestum (Campania, Italy): folder of miscellaneous papers: map, “ITALY 1:50,000 ROCCA D’ASPIDE FIRST EDITION SHEET 198 111”, showing the site and location of Paestum; acetate and paper tracings of the site; tourist guidebook to Paestum in English; handwritten rough notes; letter from Professor of Archaeology, Axel Boethius, University of Gotteborg; correspondence with Prof. Sestieri, Soprintendente alle Antichita delle Province di Salerno e Potenza; “Discussion of Ancient Town Planning” (brief typescript re’ Paestum, John Bradford); typescript of Chapter V, Ancient Landscapes.

Verona: folder containing correspondence with Prof. Ian A. Richmond, University of Durham; miscellaneous handwritten rough notes.

Carnuntum (nr. Vienna): publications in German/Austrian about the Roman site: typescript description of the town; Museum leaflet; Museum guidebook; “Das Zweite Ampitheater von Carnuntum”, Franz Miltner, Osterreichisches Archaologisches Institut, Wien 1949.

Ostia Town, Portus and Mouth of the Tiber: “Pavia and its Province” - guidebook in English; “OSTIA: Report on the zone south of the Autostrada. Based on (a) Air Photographs dated Sept. and Oct. 1943. (b) Field-work in Sept. 1953.”, John Bradford (typescript); trace plans of the ancient city; typescript (2 copies) of parts of the Ostia section of Chap. V of Ancient Landscapes; Monograph, “L’Importanza del Rilievo Aereo Negli Studi di Topographia Archeologica”, Guiseppe Lugli, Instituto di Studi Romani – Editore, 1939 – XVIII; part of an exercise book with details of the subject etc. of various RAF aerial photographs of towns, 1943-44; miscellaneous related correspondence and handwritten rough notes.

Urbanism in Classical Europe: (a) Greece: paper in English, printed in 4 sections, pp. 1-16, 17-32, 33-48, 49-60: “The Classical Pattern of Modern Western Civilisation Urbanism/ Urbanism in Greece”, Anthony Kriesis (no date, likely early 1950s). (b) Italy: (i) lengthy monograph in German: “Archaologische Grabungen und Funde im Bereich der Unteritalischen Soprintedenzen von Tarent, Reggio di Calabria und Salerno (1949-1955)”, Bernhard Neutsch, Deutschen Archaologischen Instituts, Rom 1956; (ii) article in English: “Early Roman Towns in Italy”, by J.B. Ward-Perkins, Reprint from The Town Planning Review, Vol. xxvi No. 3 October 1955, Liverpool University Press, with some handwritten John Bradford notes clipped to it.

Box 9 – Manuscripts:

Salona (Dalmatia) Roman centuriation: folder of miscellaneous handwritten rough notes and trace maps by John Bradford, with proofs for plans to be used as figures in Ancient Landscapes; related correspondence, 1951-58, from Plinio Fraccaro, Universita di Pavia, Alan Wilson, University College, Leicester, Reginald(?) (illegible surname), School of architecture, University of Manchester, Ejnar Dyggve, Carlsberg Foundation, Copenhagen, H.J. Savory, Borough Road College, Middlesex.

Carthage (Tunisia): folder of John Bradford’s handwritten rough notes with a letter of Dec. 10th, 1955, from Ian A. Richmond, Professor of Romano-British History and Archaeology, University of Durham.

Kazan, Balkans (?): folder with 3 items, one referring to RAF Sortie 683/A Aug 14, 45 (plus several print nos.).

Iraq, N Africa, India: folder containing: handwritten rough notes of John Bradford; miscellaneous correspondence of 1952-3 with official bodies and individuals regarding aerial photograph and map copyright permissions and the content of photographs; correspondence seeking John Bradford’s expertise in the interpretation of some material.

“Chapter 4 [i.e. Ancient Landscapes] Roman fields”: folder with very small number of scrappy handwritten notes by John Bradford.

3 scraps with brief references to Volterra, Arpi, Marzabotto.

Zara: folder of miscellaneous John Bradford handwritten rough notes and traces for maps.

Cuneo, Italy: folder containing a map , printed 1951 by the Italian Military Geographical Institute, of the region around Cuneo, scale 1:100,000, with a few scraps of handwritten notes.

Various town sites, Italy: folder with small selection of rough notes.

Po valley centuriation: folder containing part of an official map at 1:25,000 showing centuriation in modern roads; miscellaneous related rough notes, typescript and correspondence.

N Tunisia centuriation and the Colonia at Carthage: miscellaneous handwritten rough notes, typescript and a sketchmap.

Folder labelled “Palmanova” containing miscellaneous rough notes, including on Gergovia.

(Air Phs. [trans. to Prints Collection]) Celtic Fields and Mediaeval Villages: very few rough notes regarding English sites; various related correspondence from the Air Ministry and Leslie Grinsell, City Museum, Bristol.

“Chapter 7 Far East”: folder containing another which formerly contained (now trans. to Prints Collection) “W-H. Siam (various interesting phs. (arch. not 6th [= 6th U.S.A.F.?].), with acetate overlay for one print(?); some rough notes; correspondence of 1953 from M. Bernard Philippe Groslier, Ecole Francaise d’Extreme Orient; off-print of P.D.R. Williams-Hunt’s article, “Irregular earthworks in eastern Siam: an air survey”, Antiquity, March 1953 with related map and aerial photographs; Iraq: anomalous set of handwritten notes, mainly identifying content of various RAF aerial photographs.

Box 10

Folder of notes relating to aerial photographs.

Enquiries: ms-photo.colls@prm.ox.ac.uk

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