Monumental Sites Research Articles

A methodological approach to define the state of conservation of the stone materials used in the Cairo historical heritage (Egypt)

The use of stone materials in cultural heritage and architecture represents a practice that has its roots in ancient times. Stone buildings, depending on the construction materials and their location in the urban context, are particularly vulnerable to weathering phenomena. These can be often accelerated by changes in environmental conditions linked mostly to the anthropic activities. In this way, the present work is addressed on the minero-petrographic and geochemical characterisation of samples taken from the built historical heritage in Cairo (Egypt), related to seven monumental areas. These sites have been chosen based on their historical importance, type of material, state of preservation and position in the Cairo context. The construction materials used and their degradation products were studied comparing the results obtained by means of different analytical techniques such as polarised light optical microscopy (POM), ion chromatography (IC), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR) and the carbonaceous fraction, detected by using the thermogravimetry (TG). The results achieved demonstrated that black crusts and salt crystallisation represent the most common and damaging degradation products affecting all the monumental sites. Moreover, the environmental pollution produced by industrial activities and vehicular traffic has been identified as the main cause of these processes, followed by a marginal contribution of natural sources such as the sea spray. The data collected provide useful information to plan efficient conservation strategies in the future.

Using 3D Hologram Technology (3DHT) in the Distance Learning Program to Enhance the Professional Skills of Tour Guidance Undergraduate Students

Vocational training is the cornerstone of many industries especially those that depend mainly on the human element like tourism. The tour guide is considered one of the most vital employees in tourism. Depending on his performance and interaction with the tourists, the destination image is positively or negatively formed. Accordingly, it is necessary to pay great attention to tour guides’ education and training through formal specialized institutes to enhance the professional skills of tour guides. The training of the tour guidance undergraduate students is usually carried out through field trips in the monumental sites and museums in order to gain professional experience. However, because of the recent COVID19 Pandemic that resulted in full-scale quarantine, it became necessary to search for another technological approach through distance learning educational platform to achieve the educational objectives of the training courses. The recent study’s aim is to detect the possibility of using 3DHT in distance learning programs to reinforce the professional skills of students and achieve the maximum benefits for them beside considering this innovative method as an alternative approach of education that can be adopted in similar circumstances.

Horse sacrifice and butchery in Bronze Age Mongolia

Recent research traces the origins of Mongolian horse herding and riding as far as the late Bronze Age Deer Stone-Khirigsuur Complex (DSKC), a tradition known from its standing stones, burials, and monuments. DSKC monument sites are often found with large numbers of partial (“head and hoof”) horse burials buried at the monument periphery. However, despite the ubiquity of ritual horse inhumations, key questions remain regarding the process and significance of DSKC horse ritual. Here, we present detailed taphonomic, osteological, and cut-mark analysis of 21 individual horse burials from deer stones and khirigsuur mounds across Mongolia. Our results indicate a diversity of slaughter practices among horses at DSK sites, including blunt trauma to the forehead region with small and large implements and possibly throat-slitting. While the head, cervical vertebrae, and phalanges are the most commonly recovered elements from these sites, element presence and absence indicates the occasional inclusion of the tail and limb elements, which may be explained by the presence of connecting skin and soft tissue (e.g. hide). Most significantly, cut mark analysis demonstrates that elements found in DSK features were not only disarticulated, but were often stripped of meat – including vertebral muscle and tongue removal. These results indicate that the spread of horse-based ritual practices in Mongolia was coupled with the removal (and likely consumption) of horse meat, suggesting that, beyond their role in transportation, the role of horses as livestock was both socially and economically significant during the late second millennium BCE.

Tushpa/Van Fortress Analıkız Structure: An Evaluation of Function and Chronology

On the northeast sides of the Van Fortress, an elevation nearby, stands a rock monument on the plain named Analıkız or also called Hazine Kapısı. The monument consists of a platform engraved into the rock and two monumental niches. Yet ever since the excavations conducted by Marr and Orbeli in 1916, there have been no detailed examinations or evaluations of the functions of the field, the relationship to the citadel, its importance for the kingdom, the levels of construction or architectural design. In literature, this field is generally recognized vas Open Air Sanctuary or the way Lehmann-Haupt defined in 1898. In this study, we attempted to reevaluate and redefine the literature, stories and excavation outcomes. The deductions suggesting construction activities initiating with Minua then continuing with Argishti I and Sarduri II have been made considering the construction levels of the field. The possibilities of Analıkız structure not being an open-air sanctuary but rather a monumental site for the kingdom, a field in which the steles with king’s chronicles carved onto them are gathered or a closed field with all of its surroundings have been discussed with the aid of archeological and philological proofs. 

The extended role of building information models (BIM): Mp4 Video of the monument of Gelora Bung Karno of Jakarta

The two events of the Asian Games as a four-yearly multi-sport event were held in Jakarta. Both, took place at the main stadium of Gelora Bung Karno (GBK) in 1962 and 2018. Because it the venue for historic events then main stadium became a monument site. This multidisciplinary study in architecture, and digital application source from Building Information Models (BIM) related to historical site of the first Indonesian main stadium. By concerned in combining between a mp4 video of 3D Architecture Model and a documentary film as a Life Action film was created. The “Art Insight” program of Metro TV was created to commemorate the 73nd Anniversary of Indonesia’s Independence and to celebration of The Asian Games XVIII of 2018. Due the limited of the documentary life action film then, based on the originally drawing archives of “The Mostproject” in the 1959s put together as a quite interesting TV show especially for millennial. The combining mp4 video and the Documentary Films as Life Action Film has enrich the monument site documentary and become the public information in television program.

Tài nguyên thực vật làm thuốc ở Di tích quốc gia đặc biệt Gò Tháp, huyện Tháp Mười, tỉnh Đồng Tháp

The aim of this study was to evaluate diversification of medicinal plant resources at the Go Thap Special National Monument site in Thap Muoi district, Dong Thap province. The study was carried out through field trips and plant sampling from 50 standard squares (20 m x 20 m) with typical ecosystems. As a result, 335 medicinal plant species belonging to 243 genera, 100 families, 59 orders and 3 phyla (Polypodiophyta, Cycadophyta and Magnoliophyta) were collected. Of 335 collected species, 31 highly-conserved valuable species are threatened at national and international levels. Of which, 2 species are listed in Vietnam Red Data Book (2007), 29 species in the IUCN Red List (2019), and 1 of 29 this species is recorded in the 06/2019 Decree of Vietnamese Government. Total of 10 parts of these medicinal plants are used to treat 26 disease groups. These medicinal plants are found to grow in 6 types of habitats. The life-forms of these found medicinal plants are divided into 5 main groups (Phanerophytes, Chamaephytes, Hemicryptophytes, Cryptophytes, Therophytes) according to Biological Spectrum of the vascular flora (with life-forms spectrum BS = 57,31 Ph + 8,06 Ch + 5,67 Hm + 10,75 Cr + 18,21 Th), in which the group of Phanerophytes are the most dominant. This study contribute imprtant information and bases to the management, medicinal plant resources conservation in the monument site.

Monumental Sites of Memory in Kharkiv: Modern Practices of Media Representation

The article deals with the media coverage of memorial initiatives in Kharkiv during the era of Ukrainian independence. The study focuses on print and electronic media coverage of around 100 monuments and sculptural compositions constructed in the city between 1991 and 2019. When analyzing the body of publications, the author pays attention to the thematic spectrum and architectonics of messages about monumental sites of memory. The study finds that the intensity of the coverage of the installation and unveiling of monuments is not determined by the memorial value or merits of the commemorated historical figures. Other factors are more important – such as the participation of authorities in commemorative events. Furthermore, mass media rarely report the opinions of experts and city residents regarding sites of memory. It is often representatives of the authorities who are given the opportunity to voice the motives for commemoration and talk about the significance of memorial sites, rather than the immediate initiators, especially if the latter are not state institutions but public bodies. However, there have been positive changes in this area: independent and opposition media have begun to propose different practices for covering the opening of monuments, centering precisely on the agents of memory and their motives. They are also expanding the thematic range of messages, more fully covering the process of decision-making and related discussions. In the author’s view, these developments should be thought of not only as a counterweight to pro-government practices of covering memorial initiatives, but also as an important tool for shaping a culture of memory and building a civil society. In addition, broad public dialogue on memorial initiatives in the city between representatives of various political and professional communities is becoming more essential in the current climate. After all, there is a growing need and demand for seeing monumental sites of memory not only as an ideological resource or a tool for symbolic marking of territory, but also as a means of creating a positive and competitive image of the city.

Diverse approaches to the preservation of built vernacular heritage: case study of post-disaster reconstruction of the Xijie Historic District in Dujiangyan City, China

ABSTRACTPreservation of the built vernacular heritage contributes to maintaining a ‘sense of place' and cultural diversity; yet, it is often ignored in preservation practices that favour high styled architectures and monumental sites. In China, although the understanding of the value of vernacular expression has shown some progress, technical and methodological efforts are still necessary to address the diversity and complexity of vernacular heritage. In this paper, the Xijie Historic District in Dujiangyan City in China provides an example for the preservation of the built vernacular heritage in the context of neighbourhood revitalization during a post-earthquake reconstruction project. Five types of intervention are examined in this paper, including the repair and restoration of the monuments, restoration of historic buildings, rehabilitation of traditional houses, contextual design of new buildings, and demolition to provide public space and facilities. In particular, the measures implemented to meet the residents' needs while maintaining the diversity of the built vernacular heritage are inspected. This study concludes with three recommendations: the classification of vernacular environments and employment of diverse measures to each type; the adaptation of the vernacular environment to meet residents’ expectations and aspirations; and recognition of the development and reasonable control of the changes.

Equinox in Petra: Land- and Skyscape in the Nabataean Capital

In earlier works, we had shown the actual possibility that the Nabataeans had used the Equinox, or an astronomical event equivalent to this, as an important milestone to control the calendar, stablish festivals and perform pilgrimages to important sacred sites. In this paper we present evidence that this was indeed the case. In a research carried out in Petra in March 2018, equinoctial phenomena were observed and tested at the Urn Tomb, the Obelisks at Jabal Madbah and the sacred area of Al Madras, showing that the actual astronomical Equinox could be observed together with other related phenomena such as the midday between the solstices. Besides, this campaign was used to obtain data in various isolated places in Petra seldom visited by the general public such as the Obodas Chapel, Sidd al Ma’jin, Parcak’s Platform, or the sacred areas on top of Umm al Biyara. These little known monumental sites have also provided interesting results that are described and discussed in this paper.

HBIM ORIENTED TOWARDS THE MASTER PLAN OF THE CHARTERHOUSE OF JEREZ (CÁDIZ, SPAIN)

Abstract. This paper is focused on the possibilities of Heritage Building Information Modelling HBIM to enhance the strategic planning of large monuments ensembles in a Master Plan. The study case is the Charterhouse of Jerez (Cádiz, Spain), a monument acknowledged with the highest level of legal protection since 1856. Its HBIM model, developed with a Level of Knowledge LOK200, provides appropriate alphanumerical and graphical outputs for strategic decision-making on the major guidelines of heritage management: research, protection, conservation and dissemination. This LOK200 HBIM model emerges from the integration of graphic information produced with different techniques, from historic plans to photogrammetric surveys. In relation to research, the architectural analysis required to generate the HBIM model has defined its constructive elements and spaces, its construction process and the higher heritage potential areas. In addition, the synthetic views produced from the model have allowed unexpected relationships and conclusions about the monument. In relation to protection, a precise delimitation of the monument site and its surroundings have been defined. Furthermore, areas with different levels of vulnerability have been characterized. In relation to conservation, the severity of the damages in the main structures and the urgency of the interventions have been defined. In relation to dissemination, the relationship between its current religious use and the odds for public visit have been presented.

Dissemination in archaeology: a GIS-based StoryMap for Chan Chan

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to demonstrate the importance of exploiting a geographic information system (GIS)-based data management, designed and implemented for an important monumental site. In particular, data collected during the years have been used to create a storytelling experience to disseminate the tangible and intangible heritage of Chan Chan (Peru), the wider site in mud bricks of Latin America.Design/methodology/approachThe paper discusses the steps that have been performed to use the data stored in a GIS, arguing over the importance of sharing the knowledge through web-based tools, and in particular by the implementation of a storytelling. In this context, the data were structured in interoperable forms in order to preserve the universal value of the archaeological site. The exploitation in an all-in-one solution of the archival research, field surveys and planning represents a step forward for let known ancient testimonies to the whole mankind.FindingsThe GIS-based inventories represent the backbone for an affordable management of heritage resources. The novelty of the proposed approach lies on the creation of an integrated, accessible and updatable data system sharable on web.Originality/valueThe GIS of Chan Chan is an example of documentation of a wide archaeological area (14 km2) with complex and heterogeneous data. The developed web tool makes use of these data which can be queried even by non-expert users. The pipeline of this paper can act as useful guidelines to practitioners and researchers who want to disseminate cultural information.

Emotional perception and tourist satisfaction in world heritage cities: The Renaissance monumental site of úbeda and baeza, Spain

This research analyzes the motivation and satisfaction of tourists who visit the monumental ensembles of the World Heritage cities of Úbeda and Baeza (Spain). To do so and to identify the types of tourists who visit this site, a segmentation was conducted of the emotional perception and cultural motivations of each tourist. The results highlight the existence of a common cultural identity among the tourists from nearby—the identity of the Andalusian Renaissance—and suggest a high level of satisfaction among tourists with a primarily cultural motivation for visiting the destination. Management implicationsThe management of a world heritage site requires an in-depth knowledge about their visitors. The planning and management should be done by public managers as well as private entrepreneurs. One major precondition for the development of strategies are insights not only into the socio-demographic structure of the tourists, but also their main motivation, interests, expectations, and their perception of the respective historical heritage sites. These insight are required for the design of new products and a sustainable management of the side.

A Computational Program for Estimating Atmospheric Corrosion of Monuments

This study developed a novel computer program for predicting the deterioration of various types of materials from historic monuments caused by exposure to atmospheric pollution. The program was designed based on a set of materials’ dose-response functions, which take air pollutants together with climatic parameters into account. It is a web-based application that requires three input datasets: monuments’ material characteristics, local meteorological data and air pollution levels over a defined exposure time. It is also capable of estimating restoration costs. Quantification of future monument deterioration is possible by extrapolation of linear temporal relationships for air pollution and meteorological parameters. This user-friendly-interface program cooperates with Google Maps™ to find the nearest air pollution and meteorological stations to the monument site. The program may be used as a tool providing quantitative information for effective policy-making in conservation of cultural heritage monuments. To illustrate its use, the program was employed to assess the accumulated deterioration of 75 Buddhist monuments comprised of various materials located in a historical area of Bangkok, Thailand. It was estimated that the total accumulated material loss from all monuments over seven years exposure in this environment to be approximately 410 cm3 with an overall restoration cost of about 210,000 USD.

Virtual Reconstruction as Archaeological Observation: Embracing New Ways of Treating Sites, Places and Landscapes

AbstractVirtual Reconstruction is a powerful tool broadly suited to a diverse array of archaeological heritage applications. In practice, however, reconstruction has largely focused on grand and monumental sites. Here we present two case studies–one from southern Oklahoma, the other from western Nebraska–to explore the use of this technology for more common heritage applications. The goal of this article is to advertise the dilemma we faced with communicating information on ephemeral sites and how we, as nonspecialists, solved the issue using affordable and accessible digital tools. Our workflow makes use of common tools (GIS) and open source software and online tutorials provide step by step instruction to support its replication. In presenting our experiences and the results of these efforts, we hope to spur similar applications in the use of Virtual Reconstruction to communicate information on archaeological heritage more broadly.

Of Saints, Shrines, and Tractors: Untangling the Meaning of Islam in Soviet Central Asia

Abstract In this article I suggest that in the Soviet period Central Asians cultivated and conceptualized Islam as an episteme. They did this by reaching beyond alienating (and often ephemeral) categories offered to them by the state. I argue that the constitution of an Islamic culture was made possible, among other things, by Central Asians’ encounters with the past, most notably with what they perceived as an Islamic past. We observe the curious phenomenon of Central Asians’ continuous interaction with the Islamic historical sites that escaped the bulldozers of the Soviet campaigns of religious repression. For some, encounters with the past might be accidental. For many others, the exploration of the past represented a purposive, self-conscious, and reiterated emotional act. I show that Central Asians in the Soviet period—even if at school they were taught little about, and were usually offered a distorted vision of, the Islamic history of their region—were still able to access their past through the surviving architectural presence of Islam. Monumental sites, however, were not enough for Muslims to understand the past and use it to construct their own identity. Such artifacts acquired meaning through an interpretive framework provided by Sufi narratives about saints and their miracles. Therefore, shrines represented for Central Asia a collective memory space, i.e., a place in which the past was preserved for mobilization in the present through narrative.

Whirlow Hall Farm: Sheffield’s Forgotten Henge?

The prehistory of southern Yorkshire and the north east midlands is poorly understood in scholarship. Its Neolithic and Bronze Age in particularly rarely figure in wider discourses in Britain. This is partly due to its apparent dearth of monumental sites. This paper describes the re-discovery of a large circular enclosure first mapped in the 1970s and subsequently forgotten. Overlooking the city of Sheffield, it proves that the region was an integral part of that wider prehistoric world and not marginal to it. The enclosure, a possible ‘henge’, is not alone. South Yorkshire, with its diverse environments and prehistoric archaeology, should no longer be marginalised.

A monumental cemetery built by eastern Africa’s first herders near Lake Turkana, Kenya

Monumental architecture is a prime indicator of social complexity, because it requires many people to build a conspicuous structure commemorating shared beliefs. Examining monumentality in different environmental and economic settings can reveal diverse reasons for people to form larger social units and express unity through architectural display. In multiple areas of Africa, monumentality developed as mobile herders created large cemeteries and practiced other forms of commemoration. The motives for such behavior in sparsely populated, unpredictable landscapes may differ from well-studied cases of monumentality in predictable environments with sedentary populations. Here we report excavations and ground-penetrating radar surveys at the earliest and most massive monumental site in eastern Africa. Lothagam North Pillar Site was a communal cemetery near Lake Turkana (northwest Kenya) constructed 5,000 years ago by eastern Africa's earliest pastoralists. Inside a platform ringed by boulders, a 119.5-m2 mortuary cavity accommodated an estimated minimum of 580 individuals. People of diverse ages and both sexes were buried, and ornaments accompanied most individuals. There is no evidence for social stratification. The uncertainties of living on a "moving frontier" of early herding-exacerbated by dramatic environmental shifts-may have spurred people to strengthen social networks that could provide information and assistance. Lothagam North Pillar Site would have served as both an arena for interaction and a tangible reminder of shared identity.

How Can Climate Change Affect the UNESCO Cultural Heritage Sites in Panama?

This work investigates the impact of long-term climate change on heritage sites in Latin America, focusing on two important sites in the Panamanian isthmus included in the World Heritage List: the monumental site of Panamá Viejo (16th century) and the Fortresses of Portobelo and San Lorenzo (17th to 18th centuries). First of all, in order to support the conservation and valorisation of these sites, a characterisation of the main construction materials utilized in the building masonries was performed together with an analysis of the meteoclimatic conditions in their vicinity as provided by monitoring stations recording near-surface air temperature, relative humidity, and rainfall amounts. Secondly, the same climate variables were analysed in the historical and future simulations of a state-of-the-art global climate model, EC-Earth, run at high horizontal resolution, and then used with damage functions to make projections of deterioration phenomena on the Panamanian heritage sites. In particular, we performed an evaluation of the possible surface recession, biomass accumulation, and deterioration due to salt crystallisation cycles on these sites in the future (by midcentury, 2039–2068) compared to the recent past (1979–2008), considering a future scenario of high greenhouse gas emissions.

KASHMIR’S THREATENED HERITAGE: STUDY OF BIJBEHARA TOWN

Kashmir in general and district Anantnag in particular espies a sui-generic pulpit in whole India. Because of the axiomatic truth the region (Anantnag) has been a source of attraction for expeditionists, writers, bards, saints and scholars. Valley of Kashmir instead of its natural treasure is vastly embedded with the scintillated and sheering aforementioned heritage monumental sites that succor to cater the tourists from all nooks and corners of the globe. Heritage destinations are espying master attention to one of the growing niche market segments in the travel industry today. Over the years the popularity of heritage tourism has grown with travelers and with those developing new tourism attractions. Consequently, the present research paper has been devoted to highlight the quintessence and uniqueness of monumental heritage of the study area – Bijbehara (Anantnag). This research paper is mainly based on the secondary data to draw attention towards this potential tourist area. The heritage presentation must acquire a major thematic emphasis in the present position and future prospects of tourism in Bijbehara-(Anantnag) as well as whole state of Jammu and Kashmir. Henceforth, the suggestions provided are programme and strategic oriented with special reference to the study area Jammu and Kashmir.

Precedentes de la Arqueología de la Arquitectura en la historiografía artística: las investigaciones de Francisco M.ª Tubino en el Alcázar de Sevilla (1885)

Con este artículo pretendemos contribuir a la conciliación entre los estudios de Historia del Arte y de Arqueología de la Arquitectura, disciplinas que frecuentemente se han visto enfrentadas debido, fundamentalmente, a desavenencias entre sus métodos de trabajo. Para ello, presentamos y estudiamos un caso concreto, el de los estudios arqueológicos y artísticos llevados a cabo por Francisco M.ª Tubino en el Alcázar de Sevilla durante 1885. Estos trabajos fueron los primeros en realizarse en el conjunto monumental con un método de investigación analítico y sistemático, constituyendo un punto de inflexión en la historiografía artístico-arqueológica del siglo XIX. Consideramos que son fiel reflejo de una época en la cual los perfiles de historiador del arte y de arqueólogo no estaban tan definidos como en la actualidad, y que bien pueden ilustrarnos acerca de las ventajas que trae consigo la vinculación y coordinación entre los métodos arqueológicos y los histórico-artísticos.