Abstract
The rock-cut city of Vardzia is an example of the extraordinary rupestrian cultural heritage of Georgia. The site, Byzantine in age, was carved in the steep tuff slopes of the Erusheti mountains, and due to its peculiar geological characteristics, it is particularly vulnerable to weathering and degradation, as well as frequent instability phenomena. These problems determine serious constraints on the future conservation of the site, as well as the safety of the visitors. This paper focuses on the implementation of a site-specific methodology, based on the integration of advanced remote sensing techniques, such as InfraRed Thermography (IRT) and Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV)-based Digital Photogrammetry (DP), with traditional field surveys and laboratory analyses, with the aim of mapping the potential criticality of the rupestrian complex on a slope scale. The adopted methodology proved to be a useful tool for the detection of areas of weathering and degradation on the tuff cliffs, such as moisture and seepage sectors related to the ephemeral drainage network of the slope. These insights provided valuable support for the design and implementation of sustainable mitigation works, to be profitably used in the management plan of the site of Vardzia, and can be used for the protection and conservation of rupestrian cultural heritage sites characterized by similar geological contexts.
Highlights
Tangible Cultural Heritage (TCH), such as archaeological and historical sites, plays a key role in building the memory and roots of human society, its protection and conservation are pressing issues, for the conservators’/scientists’ community but for the whole society
This paper focuses on the implementation of a site-specific methodology, based on the integration of advanced remote sensing techniques, such as InfraRed Thermography (IRT) and Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV)-based Digital Photogrammetry (DP), with traditional field surveys and laboratory analyses, with the aim of mapping the potential criticality of the rupestrian complex on a slope scale
In this context, advanced remote sensing (RS) techniques, such as Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV)-based Digital Photogrammetry (DP) and InfraRed Thermography (IRT), can play an important role in the management of TCH subject to landslide risk, as they allow the representation of large surfaces with dense spatial sampling, systematic and updatable acquisitions over wide areas for the surveying and monitoring of critical parameters connected to protection, and conservation issues granting the safety of the operators, offering clear advantages with respect to traditional systems [11,12,13,14]
Summary
Tangible Cultural Heritage (TCH), such as archaeological and historical sites, plays a key role in building the memory and roots of human society, its protection and conservation are pressing issues, for the conservators’/scientists’ community but for the whole society. The peculiar lithological and geotechnical characteristics of this material (highly heterogeneous fabric with abundant ash matrix, transformable into alteration minerals, such as clays and zeolites), causes weathering and deterioration issues due to moisture and humidity, which in rock masses exposed to rainfall-runoff and infiltration, can create slope instability and the structural collapse of rock-hewn structures (e.g., caves, chapels), representing serious constraints to the future conservation of the sites and the safety of the visitors [6,7,8,9,10] For these reasons, it is fundamental to gather on a slope-scale all the possible information regarding the rock mineralogy and geotechnical properties, the rock mass morpho-structural setting and the location of the areas of water runoff and concentration. In this context, advanced remote sensing (RS) techniques, such as Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV)-based Digital Photogrammetry (DP) and InfraRed Thermography (IRT), can play an important role in the management of TCH subject to landslide risk, as they allow the representation of large surfaces with dense spatial sampling, systematic and updatable acquisitions over wide areas for the surveying and monitoring of critical parameters connected to protection, and conservation issues granting the safety of the operators, offering clear advantages with respect to traditional systems [11,12,13,14]
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