Laocoön and His Sons
In about 1510, Raphael was asked by Bramante to judge contemporary copies of "Laocoön and His Sons". In 1515, he was given powers as Prefect over all antiquities unearthed within, or a mile outside the city. Anyone excavating antiquities was required to inform Raphael within three days, and stonemasons were not allowed to destroy inscriptions without permission. Raphael wrote a letter to Pope Leo suggesting ways of halting the destruction of ancient monuments, and proposed a visual survey of the city to record all antiquities in an organised fashion. The pope intended to continue to re-use ancient masonry in the building of St Peter's, also wanting to ensure that all ancient inscriptions were recorded, and sculpture preserved, before allowing the stones to be reused.