Securing the Future of Cultural Heritage Sites, Utilizing Smart Monitoring Technologies: From the Laboratory Applications to the Acropolis of Athens

Abstract

Archaeological sites comprise fundamental elements of the national and international cultural heritage, and their structural safety is an issue of paramount importance. The archaeological sites usually include various sensitive engineering structures and monuments such as temples, buildings and masonry retaining walls that may be threatened by a range of natural hazards, leading to structural failures. The current paper is involved with the investigation of real-time measuring systems utilized for the transformation of archaeological sites into “smart”, from a structural safety point of view. More specifically the application of advanced monitoring technologies is presented and discussed, from the laboratory (small scale) to the archaeological site of the Acropolis of Athens (large scale), aiming to generate new knowledge towards structural risk reduction of archaeological sites. The research presented includes two sections, one presenting the monitoring tools utilized, and the examination of their operation at the laboratory and another focusing on their application at the archaeological site of Acropolis of Athens. The monitoring tools are Fibre Bragg Grating sensors, capable of recording strain, acceleration and temperature levels in real-time. Characteristic recordings of the monitoring scheme are shown and conclusions after the exploitation of the real-time data are presented and discussed.