Presenting Past Landscapes: An Approach to Visual Landscape Integrity as a Tool for Archeological Heritage Management

Abstract

Archaeological sites are composed of unique, complex landscape settings including architectural remains, visually and spatially interrelated spaces, and ecologies with topographical features and landforms framing them. Today, they are subject to many pressures caused by developmental changes as well as improper conservation and planning strategies. One reason is that heritage conservation is still heavily focused on architectural features and less on the landscape setting. Wider landscape components set an authentic backdrop for cultural heritage and make the setting vivid and legible. Concentrating on this trend, this article explores the visual values of archaeological sites from the tripartite conceptualization view of visual landscape integrity, namely considering the archaeological landscape setting as an artifact, three-dimensional space, and scenery. Using the archaeological site complex of Bergama in Western Turkey as a case study, I propose a visual landscape–oriented approach as a tool for the sustainable conservation and presentation of heritage sites in the process of cultural resource management.