Problematising the Historic Environment Record: Comments on Persistent Issues in England and Sweden

ABSTRACT

As a mainstay of local and national cultural heritage management, historic environment records play an effective role in the dissemination of data, particularly in the modern development control process. However, despite their functionality and sustained professional use, these inventories are not unproblematic, particularly in regards to informal usage. Based on the author’s professional experience this article will discuss some of the issues which convolute the delivery of historic environment data. These issues can be grouped thematically beneath the banners of fragmentation, interoperability, and accessibility. Underpinning these three topics is the relationship between historic environment records as institutions and digitality as both a cognitive process and a distribution mechanism. From a critical perspective, the extent to which these issues reoccur and inhibit the flow of data will be highlighted by examining the historic environment practice in England and Sweden in the hope that these insights can inform the contemporary approach.     

ARCHAEOLOGY IN A GEECHEE GRAVEYARD

Abstract

Archaeological investigations were carried out during May 2010 within Behavior Cemetery, a historic African American graveyard used for more than 120 years by the Gullah-Geechee communities of Sapelo Island, Georgia. Designed in close partnership with the local residents, this project sought to address their concerns about disturbance to unmarked graves when new graves were dug. This paper provides a historical overview of the cemetery and then discusses the methods, results, and outcomes of the field research. The success of the Behavior Cemetery Project serves as a positive example of community-oriented archaeology, a mutually beneficial partnership that simultaneously serves public, academic research, and cultural resource management needs.     

Reburial and Analyses of Archaeological Remains in the Marine Environment — Investigations into the Effects on Metals

Abstract

The treatment and long-term storage of recovered cultural material from underwater heritage sites is becoming less cost effective, and reburial of archaeological sites and the associated artefacts in the marine environment is becoming increasingly common practice in managing the submerged cultural resource. Following recent large-scale underwater archaeological excavations in Marstrand harbour, Sweden, the majority of recovered finds were reburied in defined trenches in the harbour sediment. Subsequently, the Studio of the Western Sweden Conservators in conjunction with the Bohus County Museum initiated a fifty-year research project to evaluate reburial as an appropriate method of preserving waterlogged archaeological artefacts in the long term. The research project, entitled ‘Reburial and Analyses of Archaeological Remains’, was launched in 2002 and consists of six sub-projects. The main aims of these sub-projects are to analyse the extent of deterioration of the most common material types found on underwater archaeological sites, assess the stability of packing and marking materials used in archaeological documentation, and monitor the reburial environment.

The aim of the metals sub-project is to investigate the short- to long-term corrosion behaviour of metals buried in the marine environment by examining the deterioration of reburied and exposed modern metal coupons and eventually compare these results to the analysis of actual shipwreck artefacts. The environmental monitoring sub-project is designed to complement the other sub-projects by assessing the physico-chemical changes occurring in the reburial environment over time and the effect on the deterioration of the different reburied material types. In comparing the results obtained over the past seven years from both the metals and monitoring sub-projects, it should be possible to more accurately evaluate the effectiveness of reburial as a long-term in situ preservation strategy for metallic archaeological remains.     

Establishment of conservation,design and construction criteria for protective shelters at Fort Selden State Monument,New Mexico

Abstract

Foit Selden State Monument, located in southern New Mexico, consists of the exposed adobe ruins of a military post that was occupied from 1865 to 1981. A management plan for the site is currently being developed in which an option being considered for preservation is the construction of a protective shelter.

The process of establishing conservation, design and construction criteria for a potential shelter at Fort Selden involves the assessment of technical issues and the evaluation of public support for the criteria and purpose of the monument. The conservation concerns are based upon accepted standards for conservation and construction criteria while the design and construction standards involve a higher degree of Public concern, particularly the public expectations exerted on a historic site in the United States.

The criteria for Fort Selden are currently being codified. This paper outlines the preliminary criteria as well as the process by which these criteria will be established and meshed with the public expectations of the site. The planning process is presented and the underlying philosophies of deciding to shelter, designing the shelter and constructing the shelter. Future evaluations of the shelter's success can be gauged against these original criteria and mindset.     

This is not a Monument: Rhetorical Destruction and the Social Context of Cultural Resource Management

Abstract

Cultural resource management is often seen as a matter of identifying and valuing historic buildings, monuments and landscapes, and protecting their special interest through a suite of suitable heritage legislation and policy. However, unexpected damage and loss of heritage assets occur with regularity despite clear identification of their importance and the existence of suitable heritage legislation. While this problem is frequently seen as exceptional, this paper argues that it is not helpful to see these cases as such. Instead, it is argued that such cases highlight the social context within which cultural resource management takes places and, in particular, the rhetoric that is employed within the context of competing discourses.     

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.     

Coastal and marine studies in the department of geography and environment at the University of Aberdeen

ABSTRACT

The Department of Geography and Environment at the University of Aberdeen has a long history of coastal and marine teaching and research from the 1960s to the present day. Beginning with the work of Walton and latterly Ritchie, the paper traces the coastal and marine studies in the Geography degree programme, the development of the Marine and Coastal Resource Management degree, and the introduction of more recent courses such as Managing Our Coasts and Seas, Hydrography, and Land and Marine Conservation. Establishment of the Centre for Marine and Coastal Zone Management (CMCZM), and later the Aberdeen Institute for Coastal Science and Management (AICSM), provided a clear focus for continuing academic research into integrated coastal management and marine spatial planning. This complemented long-term involvement with Shell, SOTEAG (Shetland Oil Terminal Environmental Advisory Group), the Association for Geographic Information (AGI), OceanLab, the EUCC, and several Scottish coastal fora. The creation of the Unmanned Airborne Vehicle (UAV)/Unmanned Airborne System (UAS) Centre for Environmental Monitoring and Mapping (UCEMM) in 2014 brought together the role of remote sensing, GIS and photogrammetry in monitoring, mapping and modelling the coastal environment.     

Science,Politics and Fishery Management in the US Gulf of Mexico Region

Abstract

Fisheries are a major source of food for the burgeoning human population of Earth, and their management is an extremely complex process. Management of these limited resources invariably arouses emotional responses from those participating in their harvest, processing and consumption.

A review of pertinent marine fishery management literature reveals an increasing recognition of the necessity for molding the sociopolitical, economic, biological, chemical, and physical sciences into a cohesive system that will provide managers with a sound basis for making decisions. This review discusses fishery management planning in world, US, regional, and state markets. Emphasis is on the northern Gulf of Mexico fisheries, where the authors have performed most of their research. The Gulf of Mexico region accounted for 34% of US commercial landings in 1979. In the Gulf region, fishery management plans have been developed and implemented over the past several years. Regional plans for management of resources in territorial and internal waters were produced in a state–federal–university-user effort. The interdisciplinary task force included state and federal marine fishery managers and specialists, economists, cultural anthropologists, marine biologists, marine fishery industrial representatives and management specialists.

The conceptual model of the management system provided a basis for the decision-making process. The strategic plans developed in this planning process were adopted and implemented in the five Gulf States. Several fishery management models are depicted and discussed. All show either directly or by implication that both science and politics are integral parts of the management of the several fisheries. An expanded model illustrates the interdisciplinary nature of fishery management. Some recommended political structures for fishery management are also discussed.     

The Rolt Memorial Lecture 2017: Conserving the Waterways Heritage

ABSTRACT

This article describes the work of the Canal & River Trust in managing and conserving the heritage assets and the wider historic environment of the Trust's waterways in England and Wales. Various types of heritage assets are described, and the ways in which these assets are managed, including via archaeological recording, along with conservation-led repairs to historic engineering structures and other historic waterway-related buildings, are considered. New directions that offer effective and efficient ways of dealing with heritage assets are examined.     

Administration of parks with rack art: A symposium and workshop in Jujuy Argentina,December 2003

Abstract

Visits to archaeological sites, within school, a history or archaeology club, or a family group, are the main means for young people to engage with the archaeological historic environment. The majority of archaeological sites easily accessible for such groups are those that have been 'sanitized' for public consumption. These are often devoid of explanation of the archaeological process which made them accessible. This paper looks at the contribution that working archaeological sites can make to young people's understanding of archaeology, with particular reference to visits made by branches of the Young Archaeologists' Club, based in the UK.     

The spatial dimension of the woodland period

ABSTRACT

State archaeological site files are a critical component of cultural resource management and information management toolkits. Yet, engagement with these datasets for research purposes can be difficult, at best. We address some of the challenges to a synthesis of spatial data from state site files by examining the Woodland period components of Deptford/Cartersville, Swift Creek, and Weeden Island. We also examine time slices of a large set of radiocarbon dates from contexts reported to be associated with Deptford and Swift Creek. Dates are plotted on a map at the same spatial scale as our site files dataset to evaluate time and space simultaneously. This study reveals important gaps in the radiocarbon dataset that can be rectified with strategic sampling. It also supports some long-held ideas about the spatial distribution of Deptford, Swift Creek, and Weeden Island. For example, Weeden Island is demonstrated to be strongly centered on the Alabama and Florida Gulf Coast, whereas Deptford is concentrated on both the Gulf and the Atlantic Coastal Plains.     

Book reviews

Abstract

This paper explores not just a framework for the protection of cultural heritage relating to a certain place, but also its use as a tool for the enhancement and survival of an identity, based on tradition, common history, and respect for the surrounding environment and identities. The aim is to secure the communities' identities within a common economic framework based on the sustainable development of tourism.

After considering the social complexity of interpreting Spanish twentieth-century history (especially the Civil War and dictatorship), the paper considers the management and interpretation of a Civil War complex at Villargord o del Cabriel, in the Valencia region, which includes the concerns and desires for both resource conservation and economic development. It is proposed that this can be achieved by short-term strategies for community involvement, combined with long-term concerns for conservation of the architecture and the environment, educational and interpretive strategies for the park and surrounding landscape, monitoring, and review, and sustainable tourism in the area.     

Engagement and Management: Developing a Monitoring System for Open-air Rock Art in the UK and Ireland

ABSTRACT

Neolithic and Early Bronze Age rock carvings in the United Kingdom and Ireland represent an internationally unique rock art tradition as it is, to the best of our knowledge, the only wholly abstract global rock art tradition. This heritage resource is, however, under threat from an array of factors, such as increasing population densities and agricultural intensity. In this paper, we report on the Condition Assessment Risk Evaluation (CARE) project that had as one of its primary objectives the co-production of a user-friendly, non-invasive condition assessment risk evaluation Toolkit for gathering and organising information essential for the long-term conservation of open-air rock art. We describe the public involvement CARE process through co-experience participatory focus groups, which evaluated the Toolkit, concluding that we can have confidence in the results obtained from the public. Furthermore, the variables that form part of the Toolkit and related management recommendations are presented.     

Towards more inclusive,vital models of heritage: An Australian perspective

Abstract

This paper's review of relevant Australian writing critical of theory and practice concludes that official protection of the nation's heritage is a prejudicial, narrowly conceived system in the sense that it is not readily embraced by the public at large, and does not relate well to vigorous public concerns for the environment. Heritage remains too securely tied to the historic artefact. Much broader, vital concepts are needed. A ‘social and environmental relations’ model is proposed. Ideas related to such a concept are explored, including examples where heritage is integrated with aspects of community development. Practice in some communities is argued to be blazing paths well in advance of some of the heritage professionals. In support of such initiatives, research directions for historically‐based disciplines that are in accord with the proposed model are outlined.     

Modelling the heritage world: Economic,legal and political considerations

Abstract

The economic literature on heritage has primarily analysed the impact of building preservation on real‐estate values and community redevelopment. Recently, economists have expanded their study on heritage to include everything from historic buildings and antiques to museums and monuments. However, this research ignores the political and legal characteristics of heritage and is used primarily to justify government expenditures on heritage. The economic study of heritage should include a conceptual framework to explain the process through which certain artefacts acquire historic significance and value. This framework would provide guidance to establish which economic agents form part of the heritage world and what incentives guide them to join it. With this framework in place., we can evaluate how the tools used by these agents to obtain their own goals affect the provision of historic resources.     

A cohort of trees,photographs, scientists,an artist and a curator: the collaborative study of environmental change

ABSTRACT

I explore how a historic image archive can be re-worked through collaborative artistic-scientific practice, and how photography can be ‘re-performed’ as a strategy to observe an environmental change. The focus is on a project by the photographer Chrystel Lebas, who between 2011 and 2017 worked in collaboration with botanists from the Natural History Museum, London. The collaborators used historic and contemporary photographs for seasonal observations in the field. Their specific interest was in the potential for using historic visual ecological records to investigate environmental change as observed now.

The paper explores the hybridization of technical, aesthetic and embodied knowledge, the application of montage and the tacit creation of a visual framework for observation. It draws attention to the potential inflexibility in interpretation inherent in the accepted systematic practice of placing ecological records within a herbarium in a natural history collection. Secondly, it illustrates the neglected potential of photographic collections within scientific research.     

Thematic Portals: Tools for Research and Making the Archival Heritage Known

Abstract

The authors explain how the newly created thematic portals can be used to facilitate digital research in Italian state archives.     

Experiencing Authenticity at Heritage Sites: Some Implications for Heritage Management and Conservation

Abstract

This article summarizes the results from recent research focusing on the experience and negotiation of authenticity in relation to the historic environment. I argue that approaches to authenticity are still hampered by a prevailing dichotomy between materialist approaches (which see authenticity as inherent in the object) and constructivist approaches (which see it as a cultural construct). This dichotomy means that we have a relatively poor understanding of how people experience authenticity in practice at heritage sites and why they find the issue of authenticity so compelling. Drawing on ethnographic research in Scotland and Nova Scotia, I show that the experience of authenticity is bound up with the network of tangible and intangible relationships that heritage objects invoke with past people and places. I argue that it is these inalienable relationships between objects, people, and places that underpin the ineffable power of authenticity, and this also explains why people use ideas about authenticity as a means to negotiate their own place in the world. A summary of the main thesis developed out of this research is provided with short case examples. The article then highlights the implications for practices of heritage management and conservation.     

Changing the way we do things: The impact of funding changes on heritage management and site interpretation in late twentieth-century England

Abstract

There is an underlying conflict in the management of historic sites and monuments in the UK between public interest and private property. Such conflict can be recognized in the genesis of the earliest legislation (the Ancient Monuments Protection Act of 1882). This tension remains important and the relative weights given to public and private interest might be seen as a barometer of wider political and economic conditions. This paper seeks to address changes in the funding of archaeology and heritage presentation during the period of the Conservative administration of 1979–97, when the economics of the free market were espoused with vigour in the UK. Funding of fieldwork shifted from direct grants from the central purse, to the support of job creation schemes and latterly to developer funding. Meanwhile heritage presentation has become more aggressively commercial, as English Heritage, the National Trust, the museums and private entrepreneurs seek to maximize financial return to underwrite the conservation and curation of historic places.     

Partial Solutions to Partially Understood Problems — The Experience of In Situ Monitoring and Preservation in Somerset’s Peatlands

Abstract

The peat moors of lowland Somerset contain a wealth of waterlogged archaeological sites, including some of the most significant prehistoric monuments in the country. There has been a long history of attempts to preserve archaeological sites in situ and monitoring of the burial environment began in 1982. The monitoring has become more complex over time, but the results suggest the same continuing problem of a drop in the water table over the summer months across the whole landscape. With the sole exception of the portion of the Neolithic Sweet Track that benefits from an irrigation system, all the other known sites remain at risk of gradual destruction. The solutions must be found on a landscape scale using agri-environment payments to secure sustainable management of the peat resource. Unfortunately, short-term changes to these payments and long-term changes to the climate are likely to worsen the situation and eventually to require a more drastic solution to the problem. Evidence has been generated to support an ecosystems approach to sustainable peatland management.