The conservation and management of historic urban space

In practice, the care of historic urban space is dominated by planning professionals whose bias is towards the broad remit of the conservation of the built heritage; it remains the exception for other professions to take an active role in the protection of spatial elements of the historic townscape. Neither do these areas enjoy the same degree of statutory protection as their built counterpart, even though they may have played an equally important role in the evolution of our towns and are an integral part of the urban form. This study is the first stage of the author's on‐going research into the value of historic space within the modern urban environment and the level of protection afforded it by the planning system. The results of this pilot study are used to suggest a professional and statutory framework, based upon inter‐disciplinary co‐operation, from which the full value of townscapes may be safeguarded in the future.     

Designing protective structures at archaeological sites Criteria and environtnental design tnethodology for a proposed structure at Lot's Basilica,Jordan

Abstract

This paper sheds light on the need to assess the efficacy and performance of protective structures at archaeological sites according to design criteria derived from various elements in heritage management processes. The paper also focuses on the use of architectural design methodologies that essentially correspond to physical conservation requirements at archaeological sites. The paper, in effect, introduces climatic approaches to the design of protective structures at archaeological sites. It further illustrates the value of computer-based environmental simulation and modeling tools in the design phase of projects. Despite their limitations, these tools help guide design processes, and generally indicate future conservation effectiveness and performance of protective enclosed structures at archaeological sites.     

Integrated Investigation,Assessment, Intervention Design,and Implementation as a Model for Conservation Practice

Abstract

The Bibi Jawandi Monument Complex is a site of 15th-century partially collapsed glazed masonry tomb structures located in the ancient city of Uch Sharif, in Pakistan. Conservation of the striking monuments has involved an integrated approach comprising investigations of building materials, structural stability, geotechnical characteristics, as well as management capacity and infrastructural considerations of the site and surrounding city. A primary assessment of the site’s aesthetic, artistic, historical, social, and scientific significance guided the development of interventions and conservation priorities. The holistic approach to the protection of the site, in relation to the surrounding historic town, is one of the first such integrated conservation projects to be undertaken in Pakistan and posed numerous conservation challenges. Work is ongoing and continues, relying on intermittent funding, but the project and site serve as a model in the region for thorough assessment informing conservation decision-making.     

Vasilikos Valley Project: Fourth Preliminary Report, 1979–1980

Abstract

During the fourth season of the Vasilikos Valley Project in the Larnaca District of southern Cyprus, excavations were continued at the Aceramic and Ceramic Neolithic site of Kalavasos-Tenta. Excavation on the west side of the top of the site revealed more of the plan of the earliest curvilinear building that underlies the stone complex. Elsewhere on the top of the site, further mud-brick and stone structures were uncovered, and a unique wall painting was found on the central pier of one building. Excavations in the Lower South Slope area confirmed the existence of a deep ditch outside the outer settlement wall. Five Aceramic phase burials were excavated in different parts of the site. Investigation of the Ceramic phase deposits on the eastern flanks of the site revealed a series of pits, but no standing architectural remains.

Excavations at the Chalcolithic site of Kalavasos-Ayious on the east side of the valley were also continued. A series of pits of widely varying size was brought to light in several different areas of the site. The largest pits contained numerous artifacts, sometimes in situ on distinct surfaces. At the north end of the site three pits were found connected by subterranean tunnels.

Rescue excavations, lasting from July 1979 through February 1980. were also undertaken at the Late Bronze Age site of A. Dhimitrios, a short distance to the south of Tenta. An extensive architectural complex of finely built stone structures was uncovered within the line of the new Nicosia-Limassol highway. The quality of the building, and the clear degree of planning that underlies the whole architectural layout, betoken a site of considerable importance. The architectural levels on the site may be dated to a late phase of Late Cypriote II, but one of the tombs also contains material of Late Cypriote I or early Late Cypriote II date.

A systematic field survey of the southern half of the Vasilikos valley, employing a regularly spaced series of transects, revealed a number of additional sites of varying type and period. A chronological outline of prehistoric Cyprus is provided in Table 1. Specialist reports on geographical, fluvial geomorphological, faunal, and conservation studies are also included.

This material is based upon work supported by the National Science Foundation under Grant no. BNS77–07685 A02.     

Classical Temples and Industrial Stores: Survey Analysis of Historic Unreinforced Masonry (URM) Precincts to Inform Urban Seismic Risk Mitigation

ABSTRACT

Oamaru, Winton, and Invercargill feature some of New Zealand’s most intact heritage precincts that are confronted by ongoing threats of seismic activity. The 2010/2011 Canterbury earthquake sequence and Canterbury Earthquakes Royal Commission of 2012, identified a nationwide trend through the proportion of deaths that occurred in public places as a result of the prevalent historic unreinforced masonry (URM) building stock. The reported study was undertaken to address urban safety and seismic risk mitigation through the lens of heritage conservation. The range of classically designed public buildings and industrial warehouses in the South Island of New Zealand were often produced by singular architectural practices, using locally sourced materials and construction techniques. It is vital to incorporate an examination of unique architectural qualities within urban seismic risk assessment and mitigation. Historic urban layout, architectural deployment of masonry, and extent of retrofits were recorded through onsite visual surveys via Geographical Information Systems and three-dimensional representation technologies. Extending the scope of information collected for engineering seismic risk assessment by focusing on the historical architectural context informs the selection of future mitigation measures. Oamaru, Winton, and Invercargill present intriguing case studies for multidisciplinary analysis, prior to testing urban-scale survey approaches within comparable historic centers across New Zealand.     

REVISITING LITHIC SCATTERS: A CRM PERSPECTIVE

Abstract

The scope of an archaeological survey may be defined by environmental or cultural boundaries, or by arbitrarily defined boundaries, which is generally the case in cultural resource management (CRM) surveys. The most common site type encountered during the course of almost any Phase I CRM survey is the temporally nondiagnostic “lithic scatter.” The majority of surveys conducted within the United States today are compliance driven, and thus most lithic scatters are discovered and recorded by CRM firms. They are therefore investigated according to state standards, and their potential for contributing to the archaeological record is evaluated according to criteria established under the National Historic Preservation Act. Under these circumstances, the significance of the vast majority of these sites is dismissed outright during the course of initial investigation and reporting. While nondiagnostic lithic scatters may often be uninteresting as individual units of analysis, this paper argues that in aggregate they represent a vital component of the archaeological record. It further argues that their potential value as individual units of analysis is often dismissed too casually. The paper demonstrates that under currently accepted field methodology, many of these sites are not adequately investigated and are not entered into any meaningful database. Recommendations for improving the initial investigation and interpretation of these sites are offered, based on recent initiatives taken in Louisiana by the U.S. Forest Service on Kisatchie National Forest.     

Seismic vulnerability assessment methodology for slender masonry structures

ABSTRACT

Slender masonry structures such as towers, minarets, chimneys, and Pagoda temples can be characterized by their distinguished architectural characteristics, age of construction, and original function, but their comparable geometric and structural ratios yield to the definition of an autonomous structural type. These structures constitute a part of the architectural and cultural heritage. Their protection against earthquakes is of great importance. This concern arises from the strong damage or complete loss suffered by these structures during past earthquakes. Seismic vulnerability assessment is an issue of most importance at present time and is a concept widely used in works related to the protection of buildings. However, there is few research works carried out on developing the seismic vulnerability assessment tools for such structures.

This article presents a new method for assessing the seismic vulnerability of slender masonry structures based on vulnerability index evaluation method. The calculated vulnerability index can then be used to estimate structural damage after a specified intensity of a seismic event. Here, 12 parameters are defined to evaluate the vulnerability index for slender masonry structures. Implementation of this methodology is carried out in different types of slender masonry structures to develop vulnerability curves for these structure types.     

Editorial

Abstract

In April 1996, a single gunman killed 35 people at Port Arthur, Tasmania. A majority of these murders occurred inside the Broad Arrow Cafe, a structure related to commercial and tourist operations at this historic site. This paper considers the politics of heritage management for a place of recent human tragedy. How do Australians cope with this tragic site as survivors, as witnesses, as heritage managers, as local residents, as sympathetic nationals? Current debates on the future of the Broad Arrow Cafe provide some significant insight into the heritage of mourning: should such buildings be retained as monuments, should they be ceremonially removed to encourage a healing process, or should they be left to decay naturally? Through these debates, questions about the local, national and international nature of cultural heritage management have emerged. Whose interests are served by preserving sites of human suffering? What are the roles of artefacts, architecture and cultural landscapes in the memorialization of tragedy? Finally, there is discussion of some innovative suggestions from local and federal heritage authorities for preserving some physical testimony of the tragedy, while honouring the national and personal mourning process.     

Integrating Archaeological Heritage into Towns and Settlements

ABSTRACT

This article explores factors concerning the urban integration of archaeological heritage in towns and settlements. Archaeological heritage refers to visible, immovable archaeological remains (such as the remains of buildings or structures), sites, and areas (larger complexes). As part of the multidisciplinary process of archaeological heritage management, based on understanding the significance of a site and the goal of enhancing and preserving archaeological heritage in situ, urban integration and its determining factors have not been the subject of systematic research. The present study is derived from the application of deductive research based on theoretical assumptions validated by a qualitative survey. Research has identified 17 factors as the basis for the urban integration of archaeological heritage in towns and settlements. These factors represent a theoretical and practical contribution not only to urban planning but also to archaeological heritage management.     

A Conservation Management Plan for Gordion and its Environs

Abstract

A Conservation Management Plan for Gordion and its Environs has been developed by a multidisciplinary team within a partnership between the University of Pennsylvania (both the School of Design and Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology) and Middle East Technical University (Faculty of Architecture) in Ankara. The project has involved a new approach to the protection of cultural material at the site itself, as well as the survey and documentation of a 140 km² area, with Gordion as its centre, to include the village of Yass?höyük and five nearby villages, historic sites, höyüks, or settlement mounds, and tumuli, or burial mounds. The project utilized photographs and standardized forms in the documentation of public and private buildings and areas. Based on this survey, the values of the site and its environs were reassessed, and an action plan presented for all project stakeholders. One of the primary stakeholders is the local population, who must be made aware of the damaging effects of deep ploughing to the tumuli.     

Mediæval Military Architecture in England

Recent survey of the late twelfth- to early thirteenth-century chancel of St Mary's church, New Shoreham (Grade I listed) has revealed traces of two consecutive medieval paint schemes on the architecture, dating from c. 1210. No previous research or publication has taken account of these remains, which indicate the original interior appearance of this large and historic parish church. Samples of the paint have been scientifically analysed, revealing the pigments used and their stratigraphic relationship across the survey area; the identification of carbon black on architectural features is particularly important. Comparison with other ecclesiastical buildings in England and on the Continent indicates that St Mary's chancel is a key example of a widespread decorative scheme of red-and-black architectural polychromy, reinforcing its significance as an exemplar of early Gothic style in medieval England.     

Measuring subsistence specialization: Comparing historic and prehistoric abalone middens on San Miguel Island,California

Red abalone middens, common on the Northern Channel Islands during the Middle Holocene, have often been interpreted as relatively specialized foraging camps. To test the degree of subsistence specialization of one such site, we compared faunal data from a 6400-year-old red abalone midden (CA-SMI-557) and an historic “Chinese” black abalone midden (CA-SMI-558) located along the same drainage on San Miguel Island. The historic assemblage, resulting from highly specialized abalone harvest, drying, and export activities, provides a baseline for evaluating the degree of subsistence specialization at the red abalone midden, where a wider range of economic and subsistence activities is represented. We illustrate how detailed comparative study of faunal remains, artifacts, site structure, and archival sources can help elucidate the economic function of both historic and prehistoric sites.     

Protecting a ‘Homeric landscape’: The making of the Butrint National Park,Albania

Abstract

This paper will present research on the vulnerability mapping of coastal archaeological sites currently being undertaken in Northern Ireland. The ultimate aim of this research is improve current predictions of where archaeological sites and landscapes will be at risk in the future from coastal erosion. The initial stage of this approach uses a suite of oblique aerial photographs to construct a baseline of eroding locations and coastal geomorphology. The erosion baseline can then be integrated with existing historic environment records to obtain a coarse first-pass archaeological vulnerability assessment. Subsequent stages can then use this assessment to prioritize future mitigation such as field surveys or monitoring exercises, or conduct further refinements of vulnerability classifications by incorporating information on site type and positioning on a local scale.     

ARCHAEOGEOPHYSICAL INVESTIGATIONS AT AN EIGHTEENTH-CENTURY CADDO SITE IN NACOGDOCHES COUNTY,EAST TEXAS

Abstract

The J. T. King site (41NA15) is an early-eighteenth-century Caddo habitation site in East Texas. Recent archaeogeophysical work (covering 2.5 ha) at the site has obtained unique data on the spatial organization of a Caddo settlement that was occupied at the time of the Spanish colonization of East Texas. Our interpretation of the magnetometer data is that there are 10 possible Caddo structures in the archaeogeophysical survey area. A few magnetic anomalies have been successfully ground truthed at the J. T. King site. These test excavations have demonstrated a positive correlation between magnetometer anomalies and the occurrence of Caddo architectural features.     

Determining the settlement history of Hellenistic,Roman, and Byzantine sites in the Galilee,Israel: Comparing surface,subsurface, and stratified artifact assemblages

Abstract

Archaeological field survey is the basic method for determining the history of settlement on the regional level. The backbone of survey is locating and surveying individual sites, estimating their size, and uncovering their settlement histories. Various biases place doubt on the reliability of surface data and the conclusions drawn from them. This study presents three methods for investigating multiperiod sites in eastern Galilee, Israel: advanced surface survey, shovel test sampling, and large-scale stratigraphic excavations. Advanced surface survey was carried out at 46 sites settled during the Hellenistic through Byzantine periods (ca. 300 b.c.–a.d. 650). Three of these sites were later sampled using shovel test pits. Large-scale excavations were conducted at two of these sites, Khirbet Wadi ?amam and Nasr ed-Din enabling the comparison of the three methods. Applying these three methods to the same sites allowed us to evaluate the advantages and disadvantages of each method for determining settlement history. The results indicate that a thorough surface survey of a site in an area where local pottery is well documented can provide a clear picture of its occupation history. However, these data are not sufficient to determine variations in the size of the site over time. Shovel test sampling presents no advantage over surface survey with regard to documenting periods of activity at a given site, but it is preferable for tracing changes in the intensity of occupation during different periods. Excavation is the most informative method, but because it is costly and time consuming, it often sheds light only on small portions of selected sites.     

From appropriation to conservation: Mughal monuments,colonial tourism and the Dak Bungalow

ABSTRACT

The rise in colonial tourism in the post-uprising decades propelled the need for tourist infrastructure in the Indian Subcontinent. This need was met by appropriating historic monuments and reusing them as tourist rest houses, called Dak Bungalows – a common occurrence in Agra and Delhi, former Mughal capitals and popular tourist destinations. Even as the state established the Archaeological Survey of India to safeguard the Subcontinent’s monuments, the transformation carried out by colonial engineers undermined their historic worth in the absence of guidelines. Critical of the engineers’ undertaking, Viceroy Curzon, took up the challenge of ridding monuments, particularly Mughal monuments, of modern interventions. While being instrumental in providing monuments with statutory protection, Curzon appropriated these monuments to legitimize the colonial state’s authority. This paper examines the seventeenth century Mughal city, Fatehpur Sikri, a popular tourist destination in the nineteenth century, where three historic buildings were appropriated and transformed into Dak Bungalows prior to the building of a new Dak Buangalow at Curzon’s behest. Examining these developments against the backdrop of the colonial state’s post-uprising political dispensation, through the prism of monument conservation and colonial tourism, it argues that all forms of engagement with monuments operated within the colonial framework.     

Subject–object perceptions of heritage: a framework for the study of contrasting railway heritage regeneration strategies

A railway or any other form of heritage site may be perceived as a subject or an object-orientated experience. While the former invites an emotional reaction based on personal association, the later suggests a detached response grounded in a transfer of knowledge. This paper considers the role of heritage legislation in shaping such perceptions. Using archival research and site observations, the paper specifically examines the impact of different State-based heritage legislation on the adoption of contrasting redevelopment and site management strategies at two historic railway workshop complexes in Australia. The two sites are the Eveleigh Railway Workshops in New South Wales where an object-centred approach was adopted, and the Ipswich Workshops in Queensland where a subject-centred approach was employed. Although both sites are comparable in terms of their history, scale and cultural significance, the alternative approaches to redevelopment and management have resulted in different perceptual experiences for visitors. The paper reveals the subliminal impact of heritage legislation and suggests the need to consciously manage perceptual experiences, firstly, as a strategic objective in any redevelopment process and, secondly, as a means to integrating meaningful site-specific interpretation into the longer term management of cultural significance.     

Analysing Heritage Landscapes with Historical GIS: Contributions from problem-based inquiry and constructivist pedagogy

This article examines a practical classroom experience using GIS technologies to analyse aspects of a local heritage landscape. An inventory of historic buildings comprising architectural and construction details was revised in the field and then analysed using GIS software. Elements of the geographies of these buildings were displayed using thematic mapping and students used these maps to develop explanatory hypotheses and to suggest policy options for future management of the heritage landscape. Practically, the project demonstrated the contribution GIS can make to historical geography methods, engaged students in an externally supported research partnership working with real-world data, and suggested directions for local public policy formation. Pedagogically, the project demonstrated that historical GIS can be used effectively to shape problem-based inquiry and constructivist learning.     

Restoration Interventions at the Roman Nymphaeum in Amman: Identification and Evaluation

Abstract

Over the last few decades, conservation work has been conducted by the Department of Antiquities of Jordan (DoA) on the Roman Nymphaeum in Amman. This intervention has taken the form of direct and indirect actions. In this article it will be shown that the conservation works concentrated on reinforcing the structure and reconstructing some architectural features of the building, with little consideration of the techniques and materials used. Intervention actions were mostly poor in terms of their scientific approach, and neither proper planning nor a well-defined methodology existed. This study provides a holistic approach for the evaluation of the state of the conservation of the monument in terms of quality and quantity. Thus, the results could be a valuable source for establishing comprehensive risk mitigation for future restoration work and site management. In addition, establishing practical restoration guidelines could help in developing socio-economic benefits for the community through tourism.     

Paper 5: Historic Mortars from the Coudenberg Archaeological Site: Characterization and Source of Raw Materials

Abstract

The characterization of historic mortars by means of a concise methodology of material analyses can provide crucial information with regard to the origin of the raw materials and the ancient mortar technology. For the analysis of the historic mortars of the Coudenberg archaeological site, the methodology consists of optical and scanning electron microscopy, simultaneous thermal analysis, and an acidic treatment. These analyses were carried out on a total of seventeen samples lifted from various areas in the site, in function of the building chronology resulting from a historic built investigation. The type of binder and aggregate as well as their volumetric ratio were determined.

Both binder and aggregate present distinctive features, which made it possible to identify the probable geological provenance of the raw materials. The observations are verified with available historical records regarding the construction of the main banqueting hall — the Aula Magna — and the use of raw materials such as limestone and sand for the production of lime and construction purposes.