Historical Layers Research Articles

Dangerous memories and entangled temporalities: Irish republicanism and the postcolonial politics of time

ABSTRACT In this article we develop a ‘hauntological’ reading of republicanism in postcolonial Ireland. This reading takes as its object the ways in which the politics of remembering – and remembering republican politics in particular – is equally a politics of time. Exploring the politics of republicanism through the lens of entangled temporalities, we develop an understanding of a particular mode of political desire. This republican political desire holds open the demand for a radical interrogation of the (post)colonial given. As such, it takes the form of a ‘dangerous memory’. Through the concept of a ‘dangerous memory’, we excavate a certain republican politics of refusal, that haunts the legitimacy and automatic reproduction of the postcolonial settlement and the attendant proprietary relations of inequality that it formalizes – culturally, politically, economically and legally. This theoretical interpretation of Irish republican hauntology is empirically explored through three historical layers and entangled temporalities that are organized around the ghosts of Roger Casement, a radical republican figure. The dangerous memories of Casement not only disrupt the canonical or official interpretation of Irish republicanism, but also open up the left-republican possibility to further interrogate the postcolonial present, both in Ireland and beyond.

Employing the Historic Urban Landscape Approach for Planning of Historic Places: Directions for the Preservation of Kota Lama Gorontalo, in Indonesia

There is a general concern that the development of historic urban areas can damage cultural heritage sites. Kota Lama Gorontalo located in Gorontalo City, Gorontalo Province, Indonesia is such a cultural heritage site. This area was a bustling port city in the past. Its strategic location being between two crowded shipping areas, namely the South China Sea and Tomini Bay has made Kota Lama Gorontalo grow into an important city in Sulawesi, as the center of a traditional kingdom. This study investigates the historical layers of Kota Lama Gorontalo and threats to its preservation. It is based on the premise that by applying the Historic Urban Landscape (HUL) approach, historic city areas can be developed to meet the changing functional and technical needs while maintaining their character and identity. The research obtains data related to the past context from archival data, maps, and old photographs. Data related to the present-day context is obtained from field research. The findings show that the long period of existence of Kota Lama Gorontalo has produced a variety of cultural remains that have become the identity of the region. Undeniably, it needs to be preserved because these cultural remains are deteriorating because of the developments that do not heed conservation rules and also because of natural disasters. This paper offers recommendations for the preservation of Kota Lama Gorontalo based on the Historic Urban Landscape (HUL) approach.

Cartographic Narratives of Human Settlements: The Origin and Transformations of 'Pete' in Petta Area of Bangalore, India

Bangalore Petta, also referred to as Bangalore Pete or City Market area has garnered considerable attention from urban researchers across numerous dimensions. The name "Pete" has been a recurring identifier across diverse cultures and languages, yet its origin remains enigmatic. These dimensions encompass the spectrum from morphology to perception and from visual to sensory, allowing for the exploration of diverse characteristics within this historical part of the city. Examining these settlements through various lenses is necessary to understand the significance of multiple dimensions of the city and Cartography, though a predominant tool for assessment, seldom explored in this context. Delving into the study of one of Bangalore’s oldest vernacular settlements through Cartography can unearth the visual and geographical aspects that reveals the historical layers, linguistic roots, and cultural stories woven into the fabric of the area. This method allows the tracing of the evolution of place names and uncover the narratives that have shaped the region's identity over time, offering a deeper understanding of the etymology that defines its character. Through maps, insights can be gained into how the landscape has been interpreted, inhabited, and transformed, enriching our appreciation of the area's rich and multifaceted history. Utilizing mapping tools and through analysis of these maps, the study provided visual representations of the name's dispersal, including its shifts in morphology taking into consideration the sociocultural contexts, trade routes, and historical events that have contributed to the diffusion of the name. Comparative analysis of linguistic structures reveals the relationships between different iterations of the name, “Pette”, once a prominent commercial center which has evolved significantly over time. Its transformation reflects the influence of surrounding developments and shifts in urbanism.

Emerging technologies in urban design pedagogy: augmented reality applications

In the contemporary era of urban design, the advent of big data and digital technologies has ushered in innovative approaches to exploring urban spaces. This study focuses on the application of Augmented Reality (AR) and Extended Reality (XR) technologies in the metropolitan areas of Houston and Amsterdam. These technologies create immersive 'Phygital Installations' that blend physical and digital elements, effectively capturing people's perceptions and enhancing urban design proposals. By fostering human-centered planning, AR and XR technologies make urban design more interactive and accessible to the public. Houston, with its rapid industrial growth and diverse socio-economic landscape, provides a unique setting to examine the impacts of these technologies on urban form and socio-environmental dynamics. In contrast, Amsterdam, with its rich historical layers and socio-cultural diversity, offers insights into the integration of AR/XR technologies in urban planning, particularly in the realm of historical preservation and contemporary urban development. This research contributes to the emerging field of AR/XR in urban design by highlighting the transformative potential of these technologies in enhancing the understanding and engagement in urban design and spatial planning.

Characteristics of Düzce Traditional Housing Architecture; The Case of Düzce Konuralp

The traditional Turkish house is a type of house that can be described as a cultural heritage, having developed since the moment the Turks appeared on the stage of history and has survived to the present day. Traditional houses are civil architectural works that are built according to the physical conditions and cultural characteristics of the environment they belong to, have become historical, and have become a national symbol. The main idea behind the creation of houses is directly related to the traditional construction rules and building materials of the period to which they belong. In the Western Black Sea Region, where the study was carried out, studies were made on the architecture of traditional houses in the Konuralp District of Düzce province. Konuralp District, a settlement where many historical layers from ancient times to the present day can be seen together, was built on the ancient Roman city of Prusias ad Hypium. In the study, six registered traditional houses, which have survived to the present day with many civil architectural works while preserving their historical texture, were evaluated in terms of building-street relationship, plan typology, facade features, materials, and construction techniques in order to determine their similarity with the architectural features of traditional Turkish houses. It was determined that the traditional houses examined were similar to the concept of Turkish house.

Marooned

Mr. João de Deus, an elderly Afro-Brazilian man, worked on the ground and contributed to the beginning of the modern Brazilian oil industry. His is a story of environmental hope and personal resilience with roots in the deep past and outcomes that reverberate to the present. João de Deus’s story reveals many layers of history beyond human activity, weaving together different temporalities and kinds of hope. This article layers different temporalities—geological, ecological, and human—to emphasize their interconnectedness. As a method, layering various chronological scales helps highlight how they collectively contribute to a complex and nuanced history of a particular individual, community, or place. It considers the simultaneous existence and impact of multiple historical layers, emphasizing the interplay of different historical timescales and historical actors. João de Deus, situated atop ancient geological layers potentially rich in oil, experienced life as a Black man in slavery-era Brazil. Amid the ecological presence of African oil palms and the emerging industrialization of the Maraú Peninsula, he found himself entangled in multiple concurrent histories of different chronological scales, all influencing his destiny.

Critical analysis and digital documentation of the transformations of heritage buildings

Trabzon Hagia Sophia Mosque symbolizes significant cultural heritage with its historical diversity and distinctive architectural features. Today, this building is remarkable for its cultural transformation and historical layers. The study aims to address the transformation processes of the Hagia Sophia Mosque in the light of international conservation criteria, to understand the history of the building and to reveal the digital perspectives of this historical place. The study comprises a four-stage process: (1) investigating the building’s history through a literature review, (2) obtaining visual and technical data through fieldwork, (3) conducting a transformation analysis and generating a three-dimensional measured model, and (4) providing evaluations and recommendations on the building’s transformation and digital modeling in alignment with conservation criteria. The digital model of the building as a result of the study will be part of the preservation of such an important piece of cultural heritage for future generations. The study emphasizes the need for more effective integration of digital modeling techniques in conservation and documentation studies, extending from Hagia Sophia to various cultural heritage sites.

A sound map of Port Hope

ABSTRACT The Hamilton Perambulatory Unit (HPU) is an artist-research collective that has been holding public walking and mapping events since 2014. Our participatory mapping framework that we call the ‘strata-walk’ focuses attention on the multiplicity of sensory, material, imaginative, socio-political and historical layers that make up place, usually resulting in the creation of maps that document a particular place and time through the contribution of our workshop members. In this short essay, I focus specifically on Strata-Walking Port Hope, the HPU’s community sound-mapping project in Port Hope, Ontario, which was commissioned by Critical Mass: A Centre for Contemporary Art, and produced through conversations with over two dozen Port Hopians of all ages. The outcomes include a mobile locative media sound application that maps the resulting sound collages composed of snippets of conversation, site field recordings and found sounds. Strata-Walking Port Hope provides a glimpse into the memories, stories, histories, and sonic environments of Port Hope.

Enduring Places and Excavating Memories: Biographical Narratives of Delhi in Malvika Singh’s Perpetual City (2013)

ABSTRACT This article explores the narrative and memory patterns that underlie the evolution of city biography as a genre in the Indian literary context. The late 1970s and early 1980s witnessed a ‘spatial turn’, emphasising the ‘re-assertion of space’ across disciplines. This paradigmatic shift was characterised by a renewed focus on the concept of space in various fields of study. Besides, the publication of Nora’s lieux de mémoire marked the second wave of memory studies, and enabled the world to remember and reconstruct the national history tied to ‘sites’ of memory. However, in the Global South, especially in India, the memory lens did not affirm national history. This study delves into common thematic tropes within city biographies, contending that they offer narratives of resistance to mainstream city writings. Biographers draw on autobiographical memory, shaping narratives of reconstruction, marginality, and absence/presence as everyday forms of resistance. Furthermore, by analysing Perpetual City: A Short Biography of Delhi (2013), the article posits ‘superposition’ alongside the prevalent way of approaching the city as palimpsest. This textual exploration shifts the focus from the city’s physical or represented aspects to the city biographer’s simultaneous awareness of several historical layers, presenting Delhi in a continuum marked by both ruptures and continuities.

CONNECTING EMBEDDED HISTORY OF THE URBAN INFRASTRUCTURE TO THE CONTEMPORARY CITY: A CASE STUDY OF GWANGHWAMUN WOLDAE RESTORATION

Abstract. The captured 3D digital record of the excavation site represents a momentary state of the city, but also conveys rich evidence and stories as an urban environment created by the interaction of actors, artifacts, and institutions surrounding the place. These digital records combine multiple temporal layers of complex urban scenes and require interpretation by multiple stakeholders for comprehensive decision-making. This study revealed that in the context of Seoul, the Cultural Heritage Administration and the City of Seoul have made significant use of digital records in cultural heritage restoration from the perspective of preservation and utilization. The two organizations collaborated on the Gwanghwamun Woldae excavation survey recently. The site has been dealing with the multi-layered time and space of complex urban sites for over 40 years while carrying out urban planning and cultural heritage preservation. Through a case study of the Gwanghwamun Woldae excavation site, we articulate the nature of governance in digital documentation to extend its application. The goal is to highlight the urban cross-section and historical layers of urban infrastructure captured digitally - LiDAR and photogrammetric scanning - at the Gwanghwamun Woldae excavation site. This involves describing the chronological layers of tram lines, streets and buildings from different eras and linking them to the current urban context of Seoul through analog historical records such as maps and plan diagrams. Ultimately, we discuss the value of digital restoration of technologies, events and landscapes as a record of the process valuing modern urban heritage.

Historical Layers of Refugee Reception in Border Areas of Italy: Crossroads of Transit and Temporalities of (Im)mobility

In border areas, time and space are constantly suspended from the usual rules along a liminal pathway transforming status and identity. In order to understand how different regimes of mobility and reception influence the experience of time and the subjective actions of both asylum seekers arriving via the so-called Balkan route and Ukrainian refugees fleeing from the war, the paper puts forward an analysis of the multiple scales of migration and reception policies as historically situated practices. How and to what extent has the increasing role of the humanitarian regime contributed to improving or worsening the lives of asylum seekers in borderland places where the memory of wars, civil conflicts, and experiences of refoulement is very much alive? Building on a multilocal ethnography of the temporalities of migrants’ reception, the paper aims at disentangling the historical layers of hospitality in the northeastern Italian border areas of Trieste and Bolzano and the intersecting forms of (im)mobility at play. By addressing “reception” as an entanglement of spatial and temporal practices carried out by migrants, institutional, and humanitarian actors, we discuss not only how time reduces the existence of asylum seekers and Ukrainian refugees to an empty and meaningless human condition by exerting control over the subjective experiences, but also how the migrants’ experience of waiting translates into an active state of being with the creative potential to trigger new forms of sociality, solidarity, and senses of belonging.

Mapping the Bencao

Abstract This article uses GIS mapping to plot the historical locations known for producing Chinese material medica recorded in a text with three historical layers. On the basis of these plots, it argues that: early Chinese pharmacology emerged not from the central plains but along the Yellow River Corridor, from the Bohai Sea through to Chang’an and then beyond, into the Sichuan Plain, and that the drug exchange network may have emerged through stepwise local trading between these sites, as along the Silk Road; these sites are not necessarily biotopes specific to where the drugs grow, but sites of “drug production,” which enter these natural products into circulation; the activity at these sites consists of sociotechnical operations that translate these materials across diverse technical domains, facilitated by drug names as a key marker; and, finally, that comparing these geolocated drug names to terms within excavated recipe literature may indicate a likelihood of the regional origin of certain texts. The Tianhui recipes from Laoguanshan appear to be representative of local drug cultures from northeast China.

Analysis of causes of damage to masonry walls in the historic barrack No. B-115 in the former KL Auschwitz II – Birkenau camp

The brick barracks in the former German Nazi Concentration and Extermination camp KL Auschwitz II-Birkenau hold historical importance and are protected by law through their inclusion in the register of historical monuments. They are also inscribed on the World Heritage List. One of these barracks is known as B-115. It was originally constructed as a temporary building during the autumn and winter of 1941 and 1942. The materials used for its construction were obtained from dismantled houses in nearby villages. The walls of barrack B-115 have sustained damage in several areas. The exterior walls have experienced corrosion due to exposure to environmental factors. Inside the barrack, there are cracks and areas where the walls are breaking apart. The most severe damage is seen in the gable walls, which have become deformed and detached from the lateral walls. Additionally, there are extensive damages in the connections between the lateral walls and external longitudinal walls. The partition walls have also cracked, and concentrated forces have caused further cracks in certain areas. By analysing the documented types of damage and their causes, the repair plans aim to address and eliminate the identified sources of damage. The renovation is designed to minimize intervention in the historical layers of the barrack while preserving its documentary value. It will also ensure that visitors have safe access to the site.

ULUS’TA ROMA AKSLARINI YENIDEN TANIMLAMAK

Ankara is one of the oldest settlement in Anatolia for different civilizations. Ulus city center and its surroundings were a significant settlement during the Roman, Seljuk and Ottoman periods as well as today. However, despite the cultural and historical background of the city, historical structures before 20th century are not legible in the urban pattern. Today, Roman structures in Ulus are disconnected from each other due to dense buildings and vehicle roads within the developing urban pattern. The traces of Roman which is a significant historical and cultural value of the city cannot be perceived holistically in today's urban pattern. The starting point of study is necessity of reconsidering the historical environment in today's city in order to contribute to the urban identity and maintain the historical-cultural heritage. In this context, traces of Roman era in Ulus are handled. By using maps, photographs, qualitative observations and literature sources, it is aimed to identify the problems in current situation and to integrate and redefine the historical environment with today's urban fabric. Hence, the two main roads of ancient Roman city; cardo maximus and decumanus maximus that were typical elements of Roman urban planning need to be reemerged and redefined in the modern urban fabric. While redefining them, an uninterrupted circulation of pedestrians between the Roman bath, Agustus Temple, Julien Column and amphi theater is aimed. It is suggested to make a cultural and touristic pedestrian route by connecting the Roman structures and this pedestrian route is suggested as a route that can continue to Ankara Castle after the theater and is followed within the different historical layers of the city. The suggested route is starting from Roman places and it connects other historical places from Turks. Historical urban landscapes and ancient roads are passages and thresholds that connects history and present. Thus, walking on these roads different experiences can be gained both while walking and when making a stop. There is also time, space and culture transitions and experiences, with pauses in the monuments and open areas at certain points on the route.

Transformation of the historical heritage and spatial perception of Ilūkste

The development plan of the Upper Daugava Region (2022-2027) identifies Ilūkste as a potentially strong development centre of regional importance. The plan is designed to improve the quality of roads of regional importance infrastructure development and tourism in the Ilūkste area. This document encourages the initiation of serious cultural landscape research for Ilūkste. The scale of the existing Daugavpils development, the visibility and proximity of the city do not weaken and create strong competition for Ilūkste, but on the contrary - strengthen the revival of Ilūkste as a historic centre alongside a large-scale settlement. That means that on opposite banks of the Daugava there are two different urban spaces with different cultural and historical layers and scales. The preservation of cultural heritage is increasingly being discussed in the forums of the European Union, highlighting the values that are being lost in warfare and in the wastefulness of national economic policies. The problem of heritage conservation is also present in areas where there is no war, but where mistakes have been made due to the ineptitude of the political authorities. This is also true of the Latvian Awakening in the 1990s, when, after the occupation, "business as usual" still continued. With the collapse of collectivisation and the development of private enterprise, no attention was paid to the concepts of landscape, viewpoints, silhouettes, landmarks, climaxes, etc. The smaller the scale of the cultural landscape, the deeper the cracks of neglect that are left in the cultural landscape. The small town of Ilūkste is one example in Latvia. The loss of the intrinsic spatiality of a historic small town risks transforming not only the perception of place and people at a local level, but also at a regional and national level, thereby changing the character and uniqueness of a nation's living space. Natural and man-made elements are constantly changing, seeking to adapt. Biological processes, economic and political power, generational change, rapid technological development can all influence the development of an area. As one changes, another is subjected to change, resulting in a complete or partial transformation. This is most evident in small towns, which have long been subject to political change and the outflow of the younger generation to the metropolises. Historical space is thus also surrounded by indifference and neglect. The current municipality of Ilūkste has energetically set to work to recover the historic identity of the settlement, conscious of both the revival of the former Jesuit church and convent and the dismantling or renovation of aesthetically poor-quality buildings.

Interview with Giuliana Bruno

Giuliana Bruno is Emmet Blakeney Gleason Professor of Visual and Environmental Studies at Harvard University, situated in the Carpenter Center for Visual Arts. For over three decades, her critical thinking has been characterized by sophistication, rigor and originality, placing her among the leading world academics exploring intersections between visual arts, art history, architecture, film, and visual culture studies. Bruno's interdisciplinary approach has fostered connections between these fields, enriching our understanding of visual culture. Her work anticipated the field of ‘media archaeology’, uncovering and analyzing historical layers and traces embedded in visual artifacts for deeper contextual insights. She has also contributed significantly to spatial theory, particularly in relation to the intersection of architecture, art, and film, exploring how spaces and places shape our experiences and perceptions. In anticipation of her visit to São Paulo in December 2023, Significação: Revista de Cultura Audiovisual conducted a two-hour online interview with Bruno, focusing on Atmospheres of Projection and her other groundbreaking contributions.

Образ духа-хозяйки земли в эпосе олонхо. Часть 2: Мифологические истоки

This article is a logical continuation of a previous study, “The image of the spirit-mistress of the earth in the Olonkho epic. Part 1: Static and dynamic characteristics,” which identified the composition of stable features of the image. The current study aims to verify the ancient roots of the anthropomorphic representation of the mistress of the earth in the context of the archaic worldview. To achieve this, the author utilized structural-semiotic and functionalsemantic types of analysis, as well as empathy and hermeneutics methods. The analysis reveals various historical layers in the image, reflecting the features of archaic strata of consciousness, specifically magism, totemism, fetishism, and animism. Additionally, the study uncovers the prerequisites for the formation of the image, represented by the elements of ancient cosmogony. The prototype of the image features a fused binary opposition of the feminine and masculine principles, with phytomorphic, ornithomorphic, and zoomorphic hypostases of the early layers of the image. The connection between the prototype and the goddess of childbirth and the patron saint of cattle breed-ing is identified. The development of the concept of the human kut ‘soul’ of the traditional worldview was found to have contributed significantly to the animistic worldview prototype design. Overall, the findings set the vector of further research towards determining the historical formation of the anthropomorphic image of Aan Alakhchyn Khotun, the Earth spirit mistress.

Regions, History, and Identity in Medieval Liturgics: The Outlines of a Methodology

Apropos of Spanish or Languedocien elements manifest in the late 13th-century Durandus Pontifical, this study explores the relationship between high medieval ritual and identity formation. It introduces the notion of liturgical use, an inclusive term for the body of customs that determined the way ceremonies were performed by lasting communities with a sense of belonging together. The primary challenge of comparing uses lies in selecting and systematizing the relevant information and interpreting the results. The authors argue that this challenge can be met by reducing the evidence to textual items and positions that lend themselves to large-scale comparative analysis in both time and space. As the main methodological contribution, they introduce the principle of mapping and drawing historical and cultural conclusions from their patterns. By summarizing a decade of careful research into thousands of sources accomplished by the team of the Usuarium database, they present four historical layers of medieval liturgical history, termed formative periods, and outline convergent geographical areas that they call liturgical landscapes. Since data on a lower level rarely correspond to smaller contiguous areas, they interpret the phenomenon called artificial diversity through medieval concepts of regionality and cultural transfer, formulating some thought experiments to understand the ways in which a Europe of uses once functioned.

Identification of Traditional Village Aggregation Areas from the Perspective of Historic Layering: Evidence from Hilly Regions in Zhejiang Province, China

The conservation of traditional village clusters, especially those within traditional village aggregation areas, is an important part of historical cultural landscape preservation. With the hilly regions of Zhejiang province as the study area, this study innovatively proposed a traditional village aggregation area identification method from the perspective of historical layering. Because the influence of social economics on the spatial development of villages would gradually lead to spatially geographical features in the village evolution process, this study evaluated eight spatial characteristic indicators from natural geography, socioeconomics, and historical culture to identify ordinary traditional villages based on the threshold value extracted from protective traditional villages. In order to avoid the spatial identification deviation caused by only taking protective traditional villages as samples, we chose them together with ordinary traditional villages to identify 14 traditional village aggregation areas, which were categorized into four types based on regional protection conditions and development potential. This study expands the perspective for understanding the formation of the traditional villages’ spatial characteristics and provides development guidance for traditional village aggregation areas in hilly regions of Zhejiang province.

Urban free spaces: possibilities and potentialities along the Biriguizinho Stream in Birigui-SP

Free public spaces are elements of vital importance in the social and spatial constitution of the urban landscape. This theme has been addressed by several publications on the construction of the urban environment, especially regarding the design and use of spaces. With factors such as gentrification and real estate speculation driven by the prioritization of the economy, social segregation and the so-called urban voids have become increasingly visible. Every city needs a relationship between full and empty spaces, but the so-called urban voids are places of no use and eventually become devalued, unused, and neglected. The history of the city of Birigui, located in the state of São Paulo, was marked by the passage of the Noroeste do Brasil Railroad. The town expanded into the valley of the Biriguizinho stream, presenting an improper occupation of its banks, especially in the second half of the 20th century. Without adequate planning, the city was divided into regions with well-defined uses (without multifunctionality), which culminated in the so-called urban voids, spaces with potential but without value. This paper aims to identify the free spaces on the banks of the Biriguizinho Stream that lies in the city of Birigui-SP, looking for traces of historical layers that overlap and compose the city, and verifying the possibilities and potentialities to form a system.