Immovable Heritage Research Articles

Large Scale and Complex Structure Grotto Digitalization Using Photogrammetric Method: A Case Study of Cave No. 13 in Yungang Grottoes

Abstract. 3D reconstruction of cultural heritage with large volume and high precision is a technical problem in the field of photogrammetry. This paper studies a high-precision digitalization method for large-volume immovable heritage assets based on photogrammetry and laser scanning. It solves the problem of large-scale aerial triangulation and ensures overall color and geometric consistency while satisfying high-precision modeling of local details. Taking the millimeter accuracy 3D reconstruction project of Cave No. 13 in Yungang Grottoes as an example, we use more than 280,000 arbitrary images to reconstruct the entire cave and verify the effectiveness of the proposed method.

A socioeconomic framework for cultural heritage loss and rebuilding in post-war Ukraine: a case study learning from the Balkan experiences

ABSTRACT The war that has been raging in Ukraine since 24 February has claimed thousands of lives. The attacks by Russian forces on residential and public buildings have caused material damage on a scale not seen since the Second World War, in violation of existing international conventions. Military operations have also targeted Ukrainian cultural heritage. The conflict in the former Yugoslavia in the 1990s, which was to some extent similar, also resulted in the destruction of a large amount of immovable heritage. This article outlines promising approaches to solving the key problems of post-war heritage restoration in Ukraine, taking into account the relevant experiences of the Balkan countries. The Balkan case can provide scientific added value derived from the synthesis of the Balkan and Ukrainian experiences to increase the effectiveness of reconstruction assistance from international institutions. Practical recommendations for the establishment of an efficient post-war heritage management system are also provided.

Impacts of WWII bomb explosions on weathering damage of architectural heritage: Bath, England

The effects of bomb impacts, including the explosive force and combustion associated with these impacts, are preserved in only a few cities across the UK. In particular, World War Two (WWII) has left scars across a wide range of structures as a result of air raids. On immovable heritage, such as architectural structures, these impacts commonly take the form of craters, fractures and fire damage to stonework. This instantaneous damage is subsequently exposed to environmental stresses, such as moisture cycling, thermal stress and the movement of soluble elements and can thus lead to further deterioration of the stone. In this study, Rock Surface Hardness (RSH) measurements, permeametry measurements and microscopic observations were selected to capture stone deterioration data from 80-year-old bomb impacts on two walls of the Labour Exchange in Bath (UK) for spatial distribution analysis (Kriging) in Geographic Information Systems (GIS). The results show that the weathering forms that were found on the two walls can be attributed to nine different types. They can provide quantitative assessment of damage caused by bomb explosions and combustion in the war. The increase in permeability of walls and craters is shown to be primarily caused by the bomb explosion and combustion, whereas the decrease of hardness is associated with subsequent stone deterioration processes. This indicates that the interplay of initial damage likely accelerates subsequent response to environmental stress, extending the initial damage patterns from the impact crater to larger areas of stonework.

Effects of tree density variations on outdoor heritage conservation: Numerical study of an ancient brick city wall with four orientations

Trees possess the potential to safeguard outdoor cultural heritage through the regulation of microclimates in their surroundings. The Leaf Area Index (LAI), a collective measure of the foliar portion within vegetation structure, reflects the regulatory ability of trees. In this study, numerical simulations were performed to compare the hygrothermal conditions of the Nanjing City Wall facing four orientations under the influence of evergreen trees with four LAI values, while also assessing the potential risks of salt weathering and algal growth. The results were as follows: 1) under the protective canopy of trees with identical LAI, the west and east walls experienced the highest temperature fluctuations, followed by the south and north sides. Wall surface temperature fluctuation was negatively correlated with LAI; 2) except for LAI = 1.5, the north wall had the least water content fluctuation under equivalent LAI levels. Water content fluctuation generally exhibited a decreasing trend with rising LAI; 3) at the same LAI level, the south wall presented the highest risk of salt weathering (including efflorescence and subflorescence), whereas the north wall faced the lowest risk. The risk of salt weathering decreased with an increase in LAI; 4) When shielded by trees with identical LAI, the north wall exhibited the greatest risk of algal growth, while the east wall faced least the risk. Higher LAI values were associated with an increased risk of algal growth on the wall surface. These results could provide a theoretical basis for large outdoor immovable heritage conservation and plant management around heritage sites.

The Cultural Value of Immovable Heritage in Peru for the Renewal of Cultural Tourism. The Case of the Historic Center of Lima

El Centro Histórico de Lima cuenta con bienes inmuebles invaluables que a lo largo de los años han sufrido deterioro constante. Con el fin de determinar para la renovación del turismo cultural el valor del patrimonio inmueble, se examinaron, por medio de una investigación mixta que incluyó el análisis documental y una ficha estructurada de registro y encuestas, los valores culturales y el valor universal excepcional (VUE) asociados. Se identificó que el reconocimiento de aquéllos y éste por parte de los actores involucrados constituye un elemento relevante para la renovación turística, permitiendo la puesta en valor y conservación del centro histórico. ____________ The Historic Center of Lima possesses an irreplaceable immovable heritage, which has suffered constant deterioration over the years. To determine its value for the renewal of cultural tourism, the associated cultural values and outstanding universal value (OUV) were examined through a mixed investigation that included documentary analysis, and a structured record and survey file. It was identified that the recognition of the former and the latter by the actors involved constitutes a relevant element for tourism renewal, allowing the enhancement and conservation of the historic center.

Conservation and Preservation of Immovable Heritage from Below: Local Community Involvement in the Management of Shimoni Caves in the South Coast of Kenya

Conservation and Preservation of Immovable Heritage from Below: Local Community Involvement in the Management of Shimoni Caves in the South Coast of Kenya

Biomimetic super slippery surface with excellent and durable anti-icing property for immovable heritage conservation

The formation and accumulation of ice on solid surface is not only a potential threat to our daily life, but also a hazard to cultural heritages, such as murals, grottoes, monuments, ancient buildings. Inspired by slippery inner surface of Nepenthes, slippery liquid-infused porous surfaces (SLIPSs) for anti-icing attract a lot of attention recently. In this work, dip-coating approach is utilized to create a hydrophobic silica layer grafted with long-chain organic molecules. After infusing the oil phase, a three-layer Nepenthes-like structure is formed. The SLIPS shows excellent anti-icing property. It reduces the ice-surface adhesion strength to 0 kPa on non-porous surface and 6.83 kPa on porous surface (sandstone from Yungang Grottoes) respectively. After 35 icing/de-icing cycles, the SLIPS still shows good anti-icing ability. Our results show that the middle long-chain organic layer not only enhances the surface hydrophobicity but also increases its affinity with the oil phase to reduce lubricating oil loss, thus increasing its anti-icing durability. When the anti-icing ability decreases with time, simple re-infusing the oil phase can easily restore the anti-icing performance to its original level. The SLIPSs prepared in this work show outstanding hydrophobicity, ice repellency, durability and satisfying water vapor permeability on treated porous sandstones, which makes it potential to protect immovable cultural heritages from ice hazard.

Development of Guide Material for the Education of Cultural Immovable Heritage Management for Bachelor Students of Geomatics Engineering

Türkiye has a wealth of foundations and their properties, assets managed by the General Directorate of Foundations (GDF) through its geomatics engineers. This article aims to identify the misconceptions of senior undergraduate geomatics engineering students (sample group) about the relationship between foundations and land ownership registered as cultural heritage. It will develop and implement materials to eliminate these misconceptions and evaluate their effectiveness. This study consists of a preliminary, a pilot and the main application. The data collection instruments are an open-ended questionnaire, a semi-structured interview form and conceptual understanding tests. As a result of the analysis of the pre-study and the pilot study, guidance materials on information deficits and misunderstandings in the application of Article 30 of the Law on Foundations were developed. In the analysis of the quantitative data, the Wilcoxon signed-rank test is used, a non-parametric analysis methods. In the light of the data obtained from the study, it is recommended that materials be developed in other areas of land management to investigate their effectiveness.

TO THE PROBLEM OF USING OF MODERN METHODS IN THE RESEARCH OF ARCHITECTURAL AND ARCHAEOLOGICAL URBAN COMPLEXES (ON THE EXAMPLE OF THE NATIONAL RESERVE "ANCIENT HALYCH" TERRITORY)

There are several dozen historical-architectural or historical-cultural reserves in Ukraine, which were created to preserve the valuable historical environment. As a rule, on the territory of such nature reserves, we have a combination of objects of architectural and archaeological heritage. In the past, these objects could be significant complexes with fortifications, and several auxiliary buildings, some of which were objects of wooden architecture. Today, a large part of such objects is lost. We can give a list of the most famous ones – the reserve "Sofia Kyivska", "Davnii Halych", "Knyazhy Belz", the historical and archaeological reserve "Plisnesko", the historical and architectural reserve in the city of Zhovkva or the reserve in the city of Lutsk, and many others. As a rule, the planning of research and restoration-conservation works in such nature reserves takes place by successive selection of individual objects and efforts to bring them to a proper state and museumization. With this method of planning, the most important scientific component is lost – the study and assessment of the entire complex with its preserved and unpreserved objects (including archaeological and landscape elements). The recording of all the wealth of movable and immovable heritage on the territory of the reserve is also relevant. Such a selective method is due to the weak instrumental base of reserves and limited opportunities to attract relevant specialists. We believe that scientific activity and conservation and restoration work in such nature reserves should be based on a primary survey of the entire territory. A thorough and complete inventory of all archaeological sites on the territory must be carried out. In the article, we reveal the possibilities of research and inventory of the territory of historical and cultural reserves using modern instrumental non-invasive methods. The most problematic are the tasks of detection, inventory, and identification of objects of archaeological heritage. This task can be solved with the use of modern equipment and appropriate methods – ground-penetrating radar surveys, thermal imaging, exploratory drilling, the use of micro video cameras, aerial photography of the territory using a quadcopter, laser 3D scanning, etc. We present specific recommendations and proposals for the formation of a scientific research program for the territory of the "Davnii Halych" national reserve.

Analysis of two-decade meteorological and air quality trends in Rome (Italy)

This study presents a trend analysis of a two-decade (2000–2020) series of surface meteorological and air quality data measured in Rome (Italy). Data series are collected at three sites in Rome downtown and its coastal surroundings. This paper fills the gap due to missing or incomplete recent information about the meteorological and atmospheric composition tendencies in the Rome area. Datasets are subjected to in-depth quality control and to statistical analysis to verify the data homogeneity, whilst trend analysis is performed using the Seasonal Kendall test. The results show a statistically significant positive trend for average air temperature (0.07 °C year−1 in urban and coastal sites), whilst maximum and minimum temperatures increase more in urban (0.10 °C year−1) than in coastal (0.01 °C year−1) environment. The water vapour mixing ratio trend is higher in the city (0.10 g kg−1 year−1) than along the coast (0.03 g kg−1 year−1). The heat index tendency is more pronounced in the Rome centre (0.11 °C year−1) than in the coast (0.06 °C year−1). The monthly cumulative precipitations do not show statistically significant trends. On the other hand, air quality generally improved: surface pollutant concentrations show a significant decrease thanks to the reduction of local emissions (C6H6, − 0.12 µg m−3 year−1; SO2, − 0.09 µg m−3 year−1; CO, − 0.02 mg m−3 year−1; NOx, − 1.28 µg m−3 year−1; NO, − 0.38 µg m−3 year−1; NO2, − 0.60 µg m−3 year−1, PM10, − 0.35 µg m−3 year−1). Only O3 shows a statistically significant positive trend (0.15 µg m−3 year−1), in agreement with wider scale studies. The outcomes suggest that whilst local and national policies contribute to the improvement of air quality, the rising of temperature—as likely consequence of climate change—may be an emerging cause of concern for human thermal discomfort and potential effect on the conservation of tangible immovable heritage.

Acquisition of High Spectral Resolution Diffuse Reflectance Image Cubes (350-2500 nm) from Archaeological Wall Paintings and Other Immovable Heritage Using a Field-Deployable Spatial Scanning Reflectance Spectrometry Hyperspectral System.

There is growing interest in bringing non-invasive laboratory-based analytical imaging tools to field sites to study wall paintings in order to collect molecular information on the macroscale. Analytical imaging tools, such as reflectance imaging spectrometry, have provided a wealth of information about artist materials and working methods, as well as painting conditions. Currently, scientific analyses of wall paintings have been limited to point-measurement techniques such as reflectance spectroscopy (near-ultraviolet, visible, near-infrared, and mid-infrared), X-ray fluorescence, and Raman spectroscopy. Macroscale data collection methods have been limited to multispectral imaging in reflectance and luminescence modes, which lacks sufficient spectral bands to allow for the mapping and identification of artist materials of interest. The development of laboratory-based reflectance and elemental imaging spectrometers and scanning systems has sparked interest in developing truly portable versions, which can be brought to field sites to study wall paintings where there is insufficient space or electrical power for laboratory instruments. This paper presents the design and testing of a simple hyperspectral system consisting of a 2D spatial spot scanning spectrometer, which provides high spectral resolution diffuse reflectance spectra from 350 to 2500 nm with high signal to noise and moderate spatial resolution (few mm). This spectral range at high spectral resolution was found to provide robust chemical specificity sufficient to identify and map many artists’ materials, as well as the byproducts of weathering and conservation coatings across the surface of ancient and Byzantine Cypriot wall paintings. Here, we present a detailed description of the hyperspectral system, its performance, and examples of its use to study wall paintings from Roman tombs in Cyprus. The spectral/spatial image processing workflow to make maps of pigments and constituent painting materials is also discussed. This type of configurable hyperspectral system and the imaging processing workflow offer a new tool for the field study of wall paintings and other immovable heritage.

ЗНАМЕНСКИЙ ЖЕНСКИЙ МОНАСТЫРЬ ГОРОДА ИРКУТСК КАК ОБЪЕКТ КУЛЬТУРНОГО НАСЛЕДИЯ

The article is devoted to the study of history and current condition of the Znamensky convent in Irkutsk city. The main historical stages in the life of the monastery have been described here, the objects of immovable heritage located on its territory as well as its current condition and museumification have been studied.

APPLICATION OF CULTURAL HERITAGE HEALTH CHECK IN THE IMMOVABLE CULTURAL HERITAGE CONSERVATION PRACTICE IN BEIJING

Abstract. Taking the immovable heritage in Daxing, Changping and Fangshan Districts in Beijing as case studies, starting from direct needs of the basic level, this paper aims to explore and establish a rapid, effective, promotional and regionalized risk screening and preventive conservation methodology for immovable cultural heritage by establishing work indicators and “cultural heritage health check”. Digital technologies and cloud database are used as recording and analysis tools.

Similarity Index Based Approach for Identifying Similar Grotto Statues to Support Virtual Restoration

Grottoes, with caves and statues, are an important part of immovable heritage. Statues in a particular grotto setting are often similar in geometric form and artistic style, and identifying the similarity between these statues can help provide important references for value recognition, condition assessment, repair, and the virtual restoration of statues. Traditionally, such reference information mainly depended on expert empirical judgment, which is highly subjective, lacks quantitative analysis, and cannot provide effective scientific support for the virtual restoration of grotto statues. This paper presents a similarity index based approach for identifying similarities between grotto statues by studying 11 small Buddhist statues carved on the 18th cave in the Yungang Grottoes, located in Datong, China. The similarity index is determined according to the hash values calculated based on the pHash method using the orthophoto images of Buddhist statues to identify similar statues. Similar feature points between the identified statues are then matched using the Scale Invariant Feature Transform (SIFT) operator to support the repair and reconstruction of damaged statues. The experimental results show that the variation of similarity index values confirms the visual inspection of the statues’ appearance in the orthophotos. The additional analysis of three-dimensional (3D) point clouds also confirms that the similarity index based approach is accurate in the initial screening of similar grotto statues.

Историко-культурное фармацевтическое наследие: концептуализация, дифференциация и содержание

Pharmaceutical heritage is a set of scientific and practical achievements of pharmaceutical activity of mankind. Historical and cultural pharmaceutical heritage is a collection of tangible and intangible evidence of the historical development of pharmaceutical science and practice, embodying a significant socio-cultural experience of humanity and preserved for transmission to future generations. Pharmaceutical and medical heritage is difficult to differentiate due to the long joint history of development and intertwining modern practices, but the separation of the professions of a doctor and a pharmacist allows us to distinguish the historical and cultural pharmaceutical heritage from the end of the XVII century. Historical and cultural pharmaceutical heritage is classified into tangible and intangible, according to functional characteristics, material historical and cultural heritage is divided into movable and immovable heritage.

ПРИРОДНА ТА КУЛЬТУРНА СПАДЩИНА УКРАЇНИ: ДОСВІД ТЕМАТИЧНОГО ВИВЧЕННЯ ТА АТЛАСНОГО ЕЛЕКТРОННОГО КАРТОГРАФУВАННЯ

The article considers the main methodological approaches to the thematic study of natural and cultural heritage (NCH) and the results of their implementation in the electronic atlas "Population of Ukraine and its natural and cultural heritage". The structure and content of the two thematic blocks of the Atlas in the composition of 37 maps is built in such a way as to cover all the variety of definitions that characterize the spheres of nature and culture heritage in Ukraine. Based on the developed methodological approaches, for the first time in Ukraine, cultural and landscape zoning of the country's territory at the macro level was performed, in the taxonomic system of which 14 cultural and landscape regions and 52 cultural and landscape macroregions were identified. For the purposes of mapping natural heritage, a no official definition of this term has been developed, the typology of objects has been determined, a database of existing and promising objects and territories with their coordinate reference has been formed, and several relevant maps have been created. The problem of a huge number of potential objects of cultural heritage mapping (over 100 thousand) in the process of forming the data base was solved by not considering necropolis historical monuments, most commemorative plaques, and some minor buildings in the complexes of monuments and by reflection, mainly monuments of national (partially, local) significance. The Atlas has significantly expanded the composition of functional categories of cultural heritage by integrating a wide range of cultural and natural, tangible and intangible, movable and immovable heritage by separate research areas. The result of this work are maps of ethnocultural, religious, scientific, and technical heritage. These are the first in Ukraine specialized maps of similar topics and scope, which constitute the scientific novelty of the Atlas, allow to significantly expand the subject field of research NCH, and can contribute to the introduction into scientific practice of new categories of heritage. For the first time in Ukraine, based on collected, systematized, thorough and comprehensive information, a holistic picture of the country's NCH is shown.

How is the paleontological heritage of Mexico and other Latin American countries protected?

The paleontological heritage of Mexico consists of the fossil specimens housed in scientific collections (movable heritage), as well as those found in fossiliferous localities throughout the country’s territory (immovable heritage). Since 1986, as stated in the Federal Law on Monuments and Archaeological, Artistic and Historical Zones, the National Institute of Anthropology and History is in charge of protecting fossils discovered in Mexico. Fossils are considered cultural heritage by law in several Latin American countries, such as Argentina, Chile, El Salvador, Peru, and Mexico. However, this classification is not the most adequate because it does not guarantee its comprehensive protection. In other countries, such as Spain, discussions have emerged as to whether paleontological heritage could be considered natural heritage, with all its legal implications. There is no law in Mexico defining the criteria for considering fossil sites as objects of protection; however, there are various instruments that allow their registration and therefore, a proposal for their long-term management and protection. Nonetheless, paleontologists working on Mexican territory must be commited to comply with the requirements already established by the law for the registration of palaeontological movable and immovable property. With this, it is possible to improve and adapt the instruments and legal processes that allow the safeguarding of Mexico’s paleontological heritage.

Proposals on nomenclature, functional orientation and territorial zoning of the Armenian people’s ethnographic parks

Under the influence of global, including the innovative processes in order to free land for the new objects’ construction the unique examples of immovable cultural heritage are destroyed, which radically changes the appearance of the historical environment. At the same time, against this background, interest in ethnography, the architectural monuments and the samples of folk architecture of different eras has increased. In addition to the aesthetic qualities proper, the objects of historical and cultural heritage embody interesting, specific historical and memorial events of previous centuries. Ethnographic parks are an effective form for preserving and presenting historical and cultural material heritage, as well as for demonstrating the unique natural landscapes by including their individual fragments in the ethnographic parks’ structure. Despite the huge volume of immovable heritage, architectural monuments of various eras and unique natural landscapes of various regions, in Armenia there are no ensemble and environmental ethnographic parks. The article discusses the architectural problems of creating ethnographic parks on the basis of a scientific approach to the study of their nomenclature, structure, functional orientation, territories’ zoning, placement in the planning framework of the region, city, exposition. The problem of the ethnographic parks’ architectural and spatial organization is studied taking into account the historical development specifics and the climatic features of Armenia. Based on the analysis, a number of recommendations are made.

Heritage conservation roadmap for the historic city of Medan, Indonesia

Due to the absence of guidelines or plans, conservation and protection activities were done accidentally as a reaction to the situation. Therefore, this study aims to explore and establish a roadmap for the conservation and protection of cultural heritage in Medan through a compilation of secondary data on aspects of documentation, heritage legislation and community involvement and then followed by group discussions meeting with several Medan cultural heritage experts and staffs of the Cultural Office. Through data compilation and analysis, it was found that there were three missions from 6 missions of the city that had been determined by the current Medan Municipal Government. It was the guideline in making a scenario for the development of a roadmap for the heritage conservation in Medan which was dominated by the immovable heritage, especially buildings. Therefore this roadmap of heritage conservation of is intended to be a guideline in the effort to safeguard cultural heritage in Medan, particularly for the tangible heritage, however, in its implementation, it is inseparable from the intangible heritage. This roadmap covers five aspects, namely strengthening the capacity building of Institution and HR Management Systems, developing the cultural facilities, enhancing regulations and policies on culture heritage, provision of heritage conservation plans and guidelines, and public education improvement, socialization and promotion.

Особливості регулювання правомірного використання територій об'єктів нерухомої спадщини історичного центру міста Києва

Ключовою особливістю розвитку держави на світовому рівні є збереження та охорона історичної спадщини. Державне регулювання щодо цього питання в Україні на сьогодні потребує узгодження чинного законодавства про охорону культурної спадщини з міжнародно-правовими стандартами, аналізу та впровадження світового досвіду зі збереження об'єктів нерухомої спадщини та дотримання рекомендацій міжнародних організацій щодо охорони цінних історичних територій у структурі міста. Актуальним є пошук шляхів оптимізації та раціоналізації правового забезпечення державного регулятивного впливу у сфері охорони культурної спадщини. Удосконалення нормативно-правового регулювання сприяє покращенню економічного рівня держави, що водночас, є підґрунтям для раціональної роботи та реалізації функцій державного управління щодо об'єктів історичної нерухомої культурної спадщини. Аналіз сучасного досвіду збереження історичного середовища та формування принципів ревіталізації цінного архітектурно-естетичного історичного ландшафту міста є важливою науковою проблемою, що охоплює як теоретичні, так і практичні особливості розвитку містобудування. Для сучасного стану історичних міст України характерні проблеми, пов'язані зі збереженням об'єктів нерухомої спадщини, що призводить до необхідності удосконалення історико-архітектурної композиції міст та забезпечення неповторності середовища. Об'єкти історичної спадщини періоду раннього та розвиненого Середньовіччя (V-ХХІ ст.) було сформовано в часи, що характеризуються змінами як у глобальному масштабі, так і в окремих містах України. Перетворення у Києві охоплюють політичну, економічну й соціальну сфери суспільного життя, які безперечно впливали на формування інфраструктури міста. Вивчення актуальних підходів до збереження історичних об'єктів, втілення котрих приведе у подальшому до раціонального використання територій та покращення економічного потенціалу, є важливими питаннями розвитку міста. У науковій роботі розгляду підлягають сучасні наукові підходи щодо питань охорони історичного середовища.