Cultural Heritage Research Papers - Academia.edu (original) (raw)

This report presents a critique of established cultural heritage practices in Western Australia, focusing on the control of the process by corporate proponents and its effects on rock art and stone arrangements. The moderating roles of scholarly societies in questions of ethics are reviewed, and the report concludes with a constructive proposal to end practices that have facilitated large-scale destruction of cultural heritage sites.

- by Robert Bednarik
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- Archaeology, Prehistoric Archaeology, Cultural Heritage, Heritage Studies
- by Gernot Piccottini (1941-2018)
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- Religion, Ancient History, Cultural History, Cultural Studies

ABSTRACT Thousands of Neolithic and Bronze Age open-air rock art panels exist across the countryside in northern England. However, desecration, pollution, and other factors are threatening the survival of these iconic stone monuments. Evidence suggest that rates of panel deterioration may be increasing, although it is not clear whether this is due to local factors or wider environmental influences accelerated by environmental change. To examine this question, 18 rock art panels with varied art motifs were studied at two major panel locations at Lordenshaw and Weetwood Moor in Northumberland. A condition assessment tool was used to first quantify the level of deterioration of each panel (called “staging”). Stage estimates then were compared statistically with 27 geochemical and physical descriptors of local environments, such as soil moisture, salinity, pH, lichen coverage, soil anions and cation levels, and panel orientation, slope, and standing height. In parallel, climate modelling was performed using UKCP09 to assess how projected climatic conditions (to 2099) might affect the environmental descriptors most correlated with elevated stone deterioration. Only two descriptors significantly correlated (P < 0.05) with increased stage: the standing height of the panel and the exchangeable cation content of the local soils, although moisture conditions also were potentially influential at some panels. Climate modelling predicts warming temperatures, more seasonally variable precipitation, and increased wind speeds, which hint stone deterioration could accelerate in the future due to increased physiochemical weathering. We recommend key panels be targeted for immediate management intervention, focusing on reducing wind exposures, improving site drainage, and potentially immobilizing soil salts.

- by Beate Christgen and +1
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- Archaeology, Climate Change, Cultural Heritage, Rock Art (Archaeology)
- by rouran zhang and +1
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- Cultural Heritage, Heritage Studies, Heritage Tourism, Cultural Heritage Conservation

In this paper, a service robot solution is presented for the analysis, surveying and restoration of fresco paintings. The proposed design approach integrates robot design and restoration operation. It aims to merge them into a feasible solution that can be both practical and feasible for restorers. The simulation results are reported to show a successful design solution, which has been conceived with the constraints of a low-cost user-oriented design and the consideration of cultural heritage.

- by Michela Cigola and +1
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- Design, Cultural Heritage, Surveying, Simulation

This paper examines alternatives to top-down approaches to heritage management and development. One of the key issues facing communities around the globe today is the Authorized Heritage Discourse (AHD)--the determination of heritage values by “experts” and government officials on behalf of the people. It is all too common to find local people alienated by such practices and searching for ways in which they can take ownership of their own heritage. Community-based research that shares power and is participatory is one avenue that is quickly developing in many regions around the globe. In Africa, a number of villages and other small communities have taken the initiative to preserve and develop their heritage, free of outside control. Important lessons may be drawn from these experiences, particularly the use of discourse-based research that captures how the people define and live out their heritages through everyday practice.

- by Peter Schmidt
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- African Studies, Archaeology, Historical Archaeology, Cultural Heritage

Upon visiting the megalithic site of Ħaġar Qim in Malta, one is immediately struck by the fine workmanship of the remaining façade. However, studies on remains of a model discovered in another local megalithic site which represents a megalithic façade, indicated that today’s Ħaġar Qim façade is none other than a fraction of what should have been the original façade. A previous study showed the virtual reconstruction of the original Ħaġar Qim façade in its original setting [1]. This paper represents the visualisation of computer simulations of various lighting conditions on this construction. The façade was exposed to natural sunlight at the earliest hours of the day, followed by mid day lighting conditions leading to dusk and sunset simulations. Further to this, a hypothetical artificial fire light was also simulated and represented at various positions.
Since this is the first virtual 3D model of the Ħaġar Qim façade, it is also the first occasion to be able to view this magnificent entrance way in various situations in which the real Ħaġar Qim façade could have been visualised around 5500 years ago but cannot be experienced today.

- by Barbara Ferriani
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- Archaeology, Cultural Heritage, Historical Studies

Al-‘Ula is a small town northwest of Saudi Arabia, extremely rich in nature, history, and traditional architecture. The breathtaking views of rock formations, sand dunes, and palm tree oases around al-‘Ula have been essential parts of its history and built environment. Along with Mada’in Saleh, a UNESCO world heritage site in close proximity to Al-‘Ula, there are ruins of ancient kingdoms such as Dedan, Lihyan, Ma’in, and the Nabatean in addition to remains dating back to early Islamic eras and modern history. Although these ruins are sufficient enough to signify the historic, geographic, and natural importance of al-‘Ula, the town’s organic urban fabric exhibited in the narrow zigzagged alleys adds more fascination and mystery to it and its cultural background.Though al-‘Ula was deserted more than 40 years ago, its street network, gates, and buildings are still intact. Strolling through the zigzagged dark alleys sided by half-stone-half mud buildings is a unique experience that only exists in al-‘Ula. This book unearths the history, nature, and architecture of al-‘Ula, and will be of interest to people in the fields of urban history, architecture, sociology, anthropology, and Saudi heritage.

El texto presenta una introduccion a los debates sobre los museos etnologicos en la ultima decada, mostrando la evolucion de los modelos aparecidos en la nueva museologia en la actualidad. Analiza la evolucion de los museos al aire libre, de los ecomuseos, de los museos de sintesis y presenta renovaciones museologicas como la museologia critica, los museos de civilizacion, los economuseos y las polemicas sostenidas a raiz de la inauguracion del Museo Quai Branly y de los proyectos de Museo de la Civilizacion de Europa y la Mediterranea y el Museo des Confluences. El autor considera que despues de una cierta crisis de los museos etnologicos, los nuevos proyectos suponen un reto importante para el relanzamiento de los nuevos museos etnologicos, que forzosamente deberan reinventarse a traves de formulas innovadoras e interdisciplinarias.

- by Xavier Roigé
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- Art, Museum Studies, Cultural Heritage, Social and Cultural Anthropology

In mining regions across the world, new topography is being built daily, layer by layer. Symbolic of the primacy of industry and economics in the past 150 years, this material is a message for future generations, recounting the history of its makers and reminding us of hundreds of thousands of workers who spent their time digging massive holes in pursuit of essential resources. The new topography is often absurdist. There are no artists, designers or community advocates involved in creating alternate shared visions. It is important to reflect on what this means for the future of these innumerable sites and, more broadly, the state of the land in a postmining future. Currently, rehabilitation of postmined land focusses on restoring the site to its original ecological (but not aesthetic) state prior to the mining intervention. With a growing disconnect between satisfying ecological needs and envisioning an appropriate response to the landscape, there is a critical need for creative intervention.
This paper investigates perceptions of mining and postmining landscapes, questioning the aesthetically driven emphasis on the “natural.” It proposes instead an opportunity to reframe the way we look at overburden and landscape impacts from mining, exploring the possibility of imagined postmine landscapes unburdened by traditional aesthetic expectations. Concepts from Land Art, and Earthworks in particular, are presented as models that merit serious consideration for reimagined space and novel place making. These mine works landscapes, conceived by regional stakeholder round tables, have the capacity to be built by regional mining consortia as a foundation for sustainable postmining economies. Postmine regeneration offers both the motivation and the basic materials to create an altogether new environment from a blank slate. Few circumstances allow the opportunity to truly explore a reenvisioning of the land on the monumental scale available in these postmined landscapes.

- by Amelia Hine and +2
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- Cultural Heritage, Landscape Architecture, Regeneration, Urban Regeneration

Early modern Amsterdam was an ultra-modern city, laid out conforming to the triple demand of functionality, beauty and profit; a city that takes a unique place in European urban history because of its location, design, and impressive scale. 'Metropolis in the Making' tells the story of Amsterdam becoming one of the largest cities in Europe in the seventeenth century. Amsterdam was one of the cradles of capitalism, but at the same time one of the most meticulously planned cities in the world.
After the Fall of Antwerp in 1585, Amsterdam took over its position as the main trade hub in northwestern Europe. The city grew rapidly to become the central harbour town – and one of the largest European cities. The boom in harbours and industry went hand in hand with an explosive population growth. This resulted in two huge city extensions in 1613 and 1663, multiplying the territory of Amsterdam by five. Around the old town, the now famous ring of canals was constructed. Beyond this residential zone mixed-use and industrial districts were laid out, with a series of harbour islands along the borders of the IJ. This book deals with the question how Amsterdam’s administration managed to realize these immense projects from the viewpoints of urban design, infrastructure, logistics, and finance.
The first part of this book is dedicated to the extension projects. A thorough analysis of all remaining administrative archives and a great many cartographic documents has enabled the author to reconstruct the decision process about the scale, design, and realization of the extensions. The second part contains chapters concerning land use, public space and water management. 'Metropolis in the Making' tells the story of one of the cradles of early modern capitalism and at the same time one of the most meticulously planned cities in the world.

- by Jaap Evert Abrahamse
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- History, Art History, Early Modern History, Cultural Heritage

Circular Economy (CE) is currently promoted through policy, urban and regional strategies as well as emerging as a relevant research sector. Within this context, circularity in the built environment is attracting attention with applications in many design and urban projects. The general principles of CE are applied to existing and new buildings, focusing on the "end-of-life" stage and developing sustainable innovative solutions to optimize dismantling and reuse of materials and technological parts of buildings. However, in historic urban areas the principles of dismantling and reuse of materials remain barely applicable (end-of-life), as well as the application of standard renewable energy systems (usage), due to cultural heritage unique characteristics and heritage regulations oriented to its preservation, conservation and transmission to future generations. As a consequence, adaptive reuse of cultural heritage seems to be the one of the most viable solution to apply CE in the historic built environment. In this article, we aim to identify CE solutions and to lay the foundation for the future development of a system of indicators able to support circular adaptive reuse choices in the historic built environment. The starting point is the Horizon 2020 "CLIC" project (Circular models Leveraging Investments in Cultural heritage adaptive reuse), which focuses on adaptive reuse as a key strategy for CE implementation in historic cities and regions. The concepts of Circular Economy, Circular Built Environment and Circular Urban Metabolism are explored. Under these perspectives, three representative case studies are described: the first is "De Ceuvel" project in Amsterdam, a second application at a different scale is referred to "Rehafutur Engineer's House project" (France), and finally, the circular adaptive reuse of a rural village in Spain, within the "ReDock project" in the Altiplano region in Spain, is explored. Conclusions highlight the need of suitable indicators synthesizing theory and practice of CE in historic built environment, starting from the recognition of multiple impacts of cultural heritage adaptive reuse practices.

- by Silvia Iodice
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- Cultural Heritage, Adaptive Reuse, Circular Economy

The 1978-1979 revolution in Iran saw the country move from a monarchy to an Islamic Republic. This gave rise to political, economic and social changes, but also a series of cultural shifts, most heavily effecting Iran’s pre-Islamic and Pahlavi Era inheritance. While some sites seamlessly transferred from one cultural context to the next, others were ignored or even defaced. Even within the positive recasting of pre-Islamic heritage during the reformist movements of the late 1990s, the concept of Iranian identity has remained complicated, an unstable foundation upon which to construct a uniform heritage policy. Finding a way to reconcile the various political movements has become central to the successful management and preservation of Iran’s heritage as a sustainable resource that can serve a complex nation with a long and rich history. This paper will examine three specific examples of heritage sites that were affected by the changes in Iranian identity politics: the tomb of Cyrus the Great at Pasargadae, Sa’dabad palace and the Azadi Tower. An exploration of the similarities and differences between these sites before and after the revolution will then highlight the surprising creativity with which such heritage has been treated within the Islamic Republic.

- by Annelies Van de Ven
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- Cultural Heritage, Iranian Studies

During WWII, cultural objects were in constant danger of being looted or destroyed. One of the most common solutions for securing goods was to transfer them to museums that would then hold them “in trust.” Nowadays, cultural property restitution includes the case when heirs turn to museums to restore their heritage – however, in the case of pre-war ownership, the issue becomes inevitably ambiguous. In the case of state collections, objects at public display begin to constitute a common cultural good in time. The case of restitution when a national cultural heritage item is involved seems to touch upon not only the issue of rightful ownership but also the case of common cultural identity – it is, therefore, much more complex. In the case of post-war Poland, many restitution cases fall within that category, either directly or indirectly. Museums tend to base their arguments on the fact that their collections have somewhat gained the status of a common good, therefore need to be held at public display. Museum workers, as very few other people, had the possibility to secure a good in the given period. However, the difficulty to track the provenance of property looted or directly transferred to museums during, before, and after the war provides an additional context to be discussed. The following paper aims at researching the rights of both parties and presents case studies reflecting the perspectives in question.

- by Julia Stepnowska and +1
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- Cultural Heritage, Art Law, Cultural Property Law, Return and Restitution of Cultural Properties

Romania has signed the World Heritage Convention in 1990. Its process of implementation was carried out along two decades, but the resulting legal framework does not grant at present the appropriate protection and management of the sites inscribed on the World Heritage List. Moreover, even if steps have been taken towards the implementation of the Convention, the compliance with it is far from being a reality. This study brings forth the fact that in the case of the serial World Heritage Site "Dacian Fortresses of the Orăștie Mountains", there is a twofold non-compliance with the Convention. First, there is a substantive non-compliance, resulting from the almost complete dereliction of the site: in the last 20 years, there was no management system and 5 of its 6 component parts have been abandoned. Secondly, there is a procedural non-compliance, resulting from the fake reporting to the World Heritage Centre, as well as from the omission of some reports. The real situation has recently surfaced, due to the intervention of the civil society, and the World Heritage Centre triggered the reactive monitoring process for this site. At the same time, the possible causes of this non-compliance have been analysed in view of identifying urgent solutions meant to re-establish the balance with respect to the Convention. The main directions of action proposed are the improvement of the legal framework and the adoption of appropriate heritage policies.

The thesis is divided into two parts and it aims to explain the historical events related to the bibliographical collection of the ancient Jesuit College of Perugia. The first part focuses on the Jesuit librarian history and on the reconstruction of the historical events related to the library of the Perugian college. The institute, founded in 1552, was endowed with a library a few years after its foundation, enriching its collection through different books acquisition channels. The analysis, conducted on unpublished archival documents and published material, reconstructs the events of the library by entering the special case of Perugia in the broader spectrum of the Jesuit librarian history . In this way I tried to provide a model of historical research adaptable to the different librarian realities of the ancient Society of Jesus. The second part of the dissertation consists of the partial reconstruction of the library catalog.

- by Natale Vacalebre
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- Cultural History, Library Science, Early Modern History, Cultural Heritage

FOR LIJIANG OLD TOWN 丽江古城, 1 June 2016 was not a happy day. More than 800 hostels, guesthouses, and shops refused to open their doors. They had made a collective decision to protest against the local government’s insistence that they collect an eighty-yuan ‘conservation fee’ 维护费 from foreign and domestic tourists. The shop owners, mainly migrants from other parts of China, complained that the seemingly arbitrary nature of the request was hurting business. The three-day protest resulted in a dramatic decrease in tourist numbers —transforming this popular vacation spot into a ghost town.Places like Lijiang easily become stereotyped ‘theme parks’ in which local communities play a marginal role, entangled in the battle between local bureaucracies and business. It is in this struggle that old towns lose the very core of their cultural value.

- by Yujie Zhu
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- Tourism Studies, Development Studies, Cultural Heritage, Conservation

After the industrial revolution, many of visionaries deal with technology in underdeveloped communities, but dealing with technology did not lead to preserving identity and culture in cities and caused unconsidered deployment of technology for response to construction needs and made environmental damages. Today, the lack of attention to the cultural aspects of the architecture in developing countries becomes a common issue. This despite the fact that many of these countries, such as Iran, have rich culture and glorious history in art, engineering and architecture. So, extensive study on Iranian Traditional architecture and its technologic solutions to solve ecological issues in a cultural context have been carried out. This paper aims to find how technology and ecology were influenced by Iranian culture and how come together in contemporary architecture. This investigation was carried out based on library and field studies. Here, the concept of sustainability and position of ecology, technology and culture in it, Relationship between culture and eco-tech architecture in developing countries will be explained. Then, Iranian traditional architecture and its eco-technologic solutions in a cultural context will be discussed.

This project involves a critical review of current knowledge and understanding of social value in the context of heritage management. Encompassing the significance of the historic environment to contemporary communities, social value relates to people’s sense of identity, distinctiveness, belonging, and place, as well as forms of memory and spiritual association. The project considers the thorny issue of how to deal with the dynamic, iterative, and embodied nature of these relationships and the values created through them. Particular attention is focused on the modes of experience, engagement and practice that inform people’s relationships with the historic environment and the creation of value. The project also explores increasing evidence that points of crisis and conflict, including those associated with difficult and traumatic forms of memory, are particularly potent contexts for the creation of value. The range of methodologies used in existing research and surveys is critically analysed, along with their application in the spheres of heritage conservation and public policy. Finally, the appropriateness of a conceptual apparatus that tends to quantify and fix values is examined. The possibilities for capturing more fluid processes of valuing the historic environment are considered, along with the implications for other spheres of arts and culture

- by Sian Jones and +1
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- Cultural Heritage, Cultural Heritage Management, Intangible Cultural Heritage (Culture), Cultural value

The paper gives a brief overview of the annihilation of Mosul‘s historical architecture, whether deliberately perpetrated by ISIS (Daesh) or caused by terrestrial combats and bombardment during the liberation of the city. The situation of the architectural heritage in the city is monitored, among others, by the Monuments of Mosul in Danger Project since 2014. In addition to the main results of the documentation part of the project, the paper also introduces more conceptual questions regarding the ideological context of the violence on monuments, an ex post analysis of destroyed sites and future outlooks of the local heritage management.

This study examined the effects of participation in a community service-learning experience on Spanish heritage language learners’ attitudes toward their heritage language and culture. Quantitative and qualitative data from heritage language learners demonstrated that engagement in community service-learning activities as part of the Spanish heritage language program afforded students transformative experiences that enhanced the work done within the classroom walls.

- by Diego Pascual y Cabo and +2
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- Cultural Heritage, Service Learning, Heritage language studies, Teaching Heritage Languages

Un recente cambio di proprietà della Fattoria di Bibbiani ha dato impulso al restauro di un’ampia parte del complesso, formato dalla villa padronale e numerose pertinenze. Il cantiere è ancora in corso e s’intende qui fornire un primo resoconto. Il progetto di restauro, improntato su un approccio conservativo, si è arricchito nel corso dei lavori per due significativi momenti: il ritrovamento di alcuni resti archeologici nella limonaia e il restauro del teatrino settecentesco. Questo episodio ribadisce quanto sia fondamentale operare sui beni culturali nella cura delle loro stratificate valenze: archeologiche, architettoniche, storico artistiche e paesaggistiche.

- by Paola Ricco and +1
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- Cultural Heritage, Cultural Heritage and Preservation

Culturally modified trees, or CMTs, are a phenomenon of forest-dwelling peoples worldwide, from North America to Scandinavia, to Turkey, to Australia. Living trees from which materials are harvested (edible inner bark, pitch and resin, bark, branches), or which are modified through coppicing and pollarding to produce wood of a certain size and quality, or which are marked in some way for purposes of art, ceremony, or to indicate boundary lines or trails, all represent the potential of sustainable use and management of trees and forested regions. Often their use is associated with particular belief systems or approaches to other life forms that result in conservation of standing trees and forests, and preserving or enhancing their habitat value and productivity, even while they serve as resources for people.

- by Füsun ERTUG
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- Ethnobotany, Cultural Heritage, Traditional Knowledge and Ethnobiology

This paper presents the preliminary findings of pH and colour measurements carried out on artworks on paper and on wood that had been treated with a poly(vinyl acetate) (PVAC) based adhesive in the 1980s. In both cases, areas treated with PVAC proved to be less acidic than untreated areas. Contrary to expectations, the conservation treatments have not, as yet, increased acidity levels in the objects under study. Colour measurements of the works on paper showed that those that had been backed with a cotton fabric using a mixture of methylcellulose and PVAC were less yellow than those from the same print run that had not been backed. This finding suggests that the backing somehow prevented the natural degradation of the support. In view of these preliminary results, further research is clearly needed. This study forms part of a broader ongoing project to assess the role of PVAC in the conservation of a range of cultural assets.

- by Anna Nualart-Torroja
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- Cultural Heritage, Adhesive, PVAc, Conservation & Restoration research

Doha, the capital city of the State of Qatar, has undergone rapid economic growth and urbanization over the past 20 years. In contrast with developed countries, where sustainable development has been implemented on a neighborhood scale, sustainable planning research has still been concentrated at the national level and less on the neighborhood level in the State of Qatar. Achieving the development of healthy cities without green and sustainable neighborhoods within them is challenging. The dynamism, livability and diversity of cities rely upon the cohesion of its neighborhoods as they make up the urban fabric from which enduring settlements are formed. Moreover, walkability and connectivity have been identified as two of the central aspects for enhancing neighborhood livability. However, the introduction of the car has transformed traditional pedestrianized street patterns into a car-dominant street network, with traditional walking Souqs replaced by destination-based strip-shopping. This study aims to examine the extent to which the heritage neighborhood site of the Souq Waqif in Doha is livable and what further implementations can be employed to increase its social sustainability (livability).

- by Heba Tannous and +1
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- Cultural Heritage, Sustainable Development, Urban Planning, Social sustainability
- by Sante Guido
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- Art History, Art, Medieval History, Cultural Heritage

The pigments used by Winslow Homer (1836-1910) in 59 watercolor paintings dating from 1874-1904 were identified using a variety of methods. The findings document Homer's change from opaque to transparent methods, noted especially by disappearance of zinc white from his palette, the adoption of a large number of different yellow pigments around 1881, the use of copper-based greens in paintings from his Caribbean trips around 1888-89. Homer widespread use of red pigments based on cochineal is notable, and the effect of the fading of these colorants is discussed.

- by Barbara Berrie
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- Art History, Cultural Heritage, Winslow Homer

This paper aims at the study and enhancement of the Greek’s historical, cultural and ekistics heritage in Turkey today, targeting on the enhancement of its image that is dependent on the architectural, morphological and social features of the built fabric. As a key study, there were chosen communities of the contemporary province of Izmir, Çeşme and Alaçati.
The methodology approach which was chosen is consisted of bibliography and in situ research and analysis, both of which have been taking place in the framework of a research program entitled “Cultural and ekistics heritage of the Greek communities in Asia Minor”.
A thorough examination is followed in the evaluation of the historic relations and ties, in order to enhance tradition and redefine the symbiosis of the dualism of greek origin ekistics heritage and tourism development in the turkish territories.
During the investigation, a question was raised, regarding the way in which a monumental housing settlement could adapt to current conditions that have brought about a kind of conversion in the current identity of the communities.
Their crucial historical and cultural role as the holdover of collective memory and architectural heritage, establish them into places of great significance, worth being preserved and enhanced throughout the years.
In this context, a series of proposals are suggested, targeting on the enhancement and protection of their cultural image, along with their historical and architectural identity.

- by Eleni Gavra
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- Cultural Heritage, Identity (Culture), History of Art and Architecture
- by Jeffrey Mark Paull
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- History, Cultural Studies, Jewish Studies, Genealogy

Following the devastation of the northern Iraqi city of Mosul by the
Islamic State (IS), UNESCO launched a project to ‘Revive the Spirit of
Mosul’. This article critically reflects on this UNESCO-led project, drawing
on 47 interviews with Syrians and Iraqis, as well as documenting the
implications of UNESCO’s efforts in earlier (post-)conflict heritage reconstruction
projects in the Balkans, Afghanistan and Mali. Specifically, this
article focuses on two sites in Mosul, both deliberately destroyed by the
IS and both nominated by UNESCO for reconstruction. The data analysed
reveal that heritage reconstruction projects, especially in complex (post-)
conflict environments such as Iraq, requires ongoing, nuanced and careful
engagement with local populations to succeed. Failure to do so
leaves both local people and their heritage sites vulnerable to renewed
attacks and therefore ultimately undermines UNESCO’s broader mission
to foster peace.

- by Lynn Meskell and +1
- •
- Anthropology, Peace and Conflict Studies, Cultural Heritage, Heritage Studies

The reconstruction of the Old Town in Warsaw as a residential district was preceded by many different projects, reflecting social involvement, difficult working conditions and ideological conflicts. The decision on reconstruction is never simple and unambiguous. Its legitimacy, understood as social acceptance of the place and its proper design, is verifiable only with the passage of time. Despite this, certain decisions still stir emotions and are often the subject of heated discussions, although more than 50 years have passed since the first developments under the Warsaw reconstruction project were implemented.
From this perspective, the reconstruction of the Old Town complex
in Warsaw, which was well thought through and preceded by in-depth studies, can be regarded as a summary of the most intensive period of reconstruction and a crowning of the accumulated experience.
Looking at contemporary buildings in the centre of Warsaw, based on developments constructed as part of the post-war reconstruction of the city, one can still see the old, though general, urban layout. Despite the division into smaller units, which facilitate the implementation of works, but do not correspond to administrative, urban or historical divisions, individual developments, despite stylistic differences, are in harmony with each other thanks to similar heights or subtle stylistic references to the historical forms visible e.g. in the details. It is extremely encouraging that despite the passage of time, certain spatial relations or projects
of public space are still legible and fulfil their function. Therefore, it is worth remembering the words of Alfred Lauterbach: “the desire to restore the values that we do not want to give up, if our technical capabilities and knowledge allow them to be reborn, is stronger than any theories. But you can not apply the general rule anywhere. Each monument is a specific case, an issue requiring reflection and
elaboration”

L’aumento dei canali di contatto e di comunicazione ha, per un museo, effetti anche di natura strettamente commerciale: l’aumento dell’utenza potenziale e, dunque, della domanda potenziale, può rendere il museo un ‘prodotto’ commercialmente più appetibile dal punto di vista degli investimenti o delle sponsorizzazioni, una ulteriore occasione per i finanziatori di pubblicizzare il proprio marchio o la propria azienda. Attraverso un'analisi 'empirica' dell'utenza remota di alcuni siti web museali italiani e stranieri a confronto, si analizzano criticità e potenzialità dell'uso del web per queste istituzioni museali.

- by Elisa Bonacini
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- Digital Humanities, Social Networks, Museum Studies, Digital Museum
- by Stiuca Narcisa
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- Economic History, Cultural Heritage, Ethnography, Ritual Practices
- by Michael Bourgatte
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- Cultural Heritage, Heritage Studies

Die (österreichische) archäologische Denkmalpflege befindet sich in einer schweren Krise: das ursprünglich 1923 erstmals erlassene und seither nur unwesentlich novellierte Denkmalschutzgesetz (DMSG) ist hochgradig veraltet und genügt modernen denkmalpflegerischen und wissenschaftlich-archäologischen Erfordernissen nicht mehr. Als reaktives Gesetz beruht das DMSG in erster Linie auf dem traditionellen Schutzlistenprinzip; im Bereich der archäologischen Denkmalpflege ergänzt um eine Meldepflicht für Zufallsfunde und damit verbundene, kurzfristige Arbeitseinstellungspflichten bei der zufälligen Entdeckung sogenannter "Bodendenkmale". Das war 1923, als selbst Baugruben noch mehrheitlich von Arbeitern händisch mit der Spitzhacke und Schaufel ausgehoben wurden, durchaus adäquat, weil allfällig durch Bauarbeiten betroffene archäologische Denkmale dabei unweigerlich auffielen und daher - als Zufallsfunde - geschützt waren. Heute hingegen sind Bau-, Land- und Forstwirtschaft durchgehend maschinisiert und industrialisiert und Zufallsfunde archäologischer Denkmale kommen daher bei bodenverändernden Arbeiten so gut wie gar nicht mehr vor, weil allfällig vorhandene archäologische Denkmale von den Arbeitern einfach nicht bemerkt werden. Es bedarf daher heute eines präventiven archäologischen Denkmalschutzes, bei dem vorausschauend vor bodenverändernden Arbeiten nach archäologischen Überresten gesucht und diese erforderlichenfalls vor Beginn der Erdarbeiten wissenschaftlich erforscht (d.h. ausgegraben) werden. Das DMSG und insbesondere seine Auslegung durch die für seinen Vollzug verantwortliche Behörde, das Bundesdenkmalamt, behindern eine derartige, moderne präventive archäologische Denkmalpflege massiv. Stattdessen versucht die Behörde mittels des inzwischen untauglichen Gesetzes einen totalen Denkmalschutz zu erreichen, der dem explizit ausgedrückten Willen des Gesetzgebers diametral widerspricht und betreibt somit rechtswidrige Denkmalpflege.

- by Raimund Karl
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- Archaeology, Cultural Heritage, Heritage Studies, Cultural Heritage Conservation

Veranstalter: Sprengel-Museum Hannover / Hochschule Hannover

- by Dr.Martina Dlugaiczyk
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- Cultural History, Art History, Cultural Heritage, Visual Culture
- by Gregory Ramshaw and +1
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- Marketing, History, Cultural Heritage, Heritage Studies