Valuable Monuments Research Articles

Retrofit of a church with linear viscous dampers

The church of Agios Ioannis Prodromos in the village of Askas, Cyprus, contains a vast cycle of important and rare Byzantine wall paintings dating from the 15th and 16th centuries. Because of its importance to the cultural heritage of Cyprus, the church has been selected as one of the monuments to be studied in an INCO-MED project for the Conservation of Historical Mediterranean sites by innovative seismic protection techniques (CHIME). The computational model developed for the church is presented, as well as the measurements obtained by hammer-impact excitation. The fine-tuning of the selected computational model to match the dynamic characteristics obtained from the site measurements is also discussed. The model was used to test analytically the cost-effectiveness of damping devices in providing the best earthquake protection to the church without spoiling its monumental value. Copyright © 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

O tratamento das superfícies arquitetônicas como problema teórico da restauração

O artigo aborda a questão das superfícies arquitetônicas e sua relação com a teoria de restauração. São examinadas com esse intuito, em linhas gerais, as transformações por que passaram as teorias de restauro. Analisam-se também as tendências contemporâneas, com o intuito de averiguar os princípios gerais que deveriam guiar as intervenções. Verificase então o que ocorre na prática de intervenções em superfícies arquitetônicas, notando-se que há uma dissociação entre teoria e prática. Neste texto, procura-se enfatizar a relevância da reflexão teórica para enfrentar os problemas em toda a sua complexidade e como meio eficiente de preservar os aspectos materiais, históricos, formais e simbólicos dos monumentos.

X-ray fluorescence in research on Czech cultural monuments

Radionuclide X-ray fluorescence analysis (RXRFA), as a non-destructive method, relatively simple and allowing measurements to be carried out in situ, is an excellent tool in research on various objects of art. A range of artefacts have been investigated by our laboratory, in part for the purposes of history of art and in part as a basis for restoration works – medieval frescoes in some Czech castles and churches, metal sculptures and objects of applied art, paints and inks of old manuscripts, paintings. Some of these are among the most valuable monuments in the Czech cultural heritage. The contribution of the results of the tests to the investigation of their “life story” and, in some cases, to their conservation, is not negligible. Later additions and repairs can be recognised, and materials and technologies that are close to their historic counterparts can be used in restoration work.

Paleosubsidence and active subsidence due to evaporite dissolution in Spain

Evaporite formations crop out or are at shallow depth present in an extensive area of Spain. These soluble sediments occur in diverse geological domains and were deposited over a long time span, from the Triassic up to the present day. Broadly, the Mesozoic and Paleogene formations (Alpine cycle) are affected by compressional structures, wheras the Neogene (post-orogenic) sediments remain underformed. Subsidence caused by subsurface dissolution of evaporites (subjacent karst) takes place in three main types of stratigraphic settings: a) subsidence affecting evaporite-bearing Mesozoic and Tertiary successions (interstratal karst); b) subsidence in Quaternary alluvial deposits related to the exorheic evolution of present-day fluvial systems (alluvial or mantled karst); and c) subsidence in exposed evaporites (uncovered karst). These types may be represented by paleosubsidence phenomena (synsedimentary and/or postsedimentary) recognizable in the stratigraphic record, or by equivalent, currently active or modern examples which have a surface expression. Interstratal karstification of Mesozoic marine evaporites, and the consequent subsidence of overlying strata, is revealed by stratiform collapse breccias and wedge outs of the evaporites grading into unsoluble residues. In several Tertiary basins, the sediments overlying evaporites locally show synsedimentary and/or postsedimentary subsidence structures. Dissolution-induced subsidence coeval with sedimentation is accompanied by local thicknening of strata in basin-like structures with convergent dips and cumulative wedge-out systems. This sinking process controls the generation of depositional environments and lithofacies distribution. Postsedimentary subsidence produces a great variety of gravitational deformations in Tertiary supra-evaporitic units, including both ductile and brittle structures (flexures, synforms, fractures, collapse, and brecciation). Quaternary fluvial terrace deposits overlying evaporites show anomalous thickenings (>150m) caused by a dissolution-induced subsidence process in the alluvial plain, which is balanced by alluvial aggradation. The complex evolution (in time and space) of paleosubsidence leads to intricate and chaotic structures in the alluvium, which may be erroneously interpreted as pure tectonic deformations. The current subsidence and generation of sinkholes due to suballuvial karstification constitutes a geohazard which affects large, densely populated areas, and thus endangers human safety and poses limitations on development. An outstanding example can be seen in Calatayud, an important historical city where subsidence has severely damaged highly valuable monuments. Subsidence resulting from the underground karstification of evaporites has caused or influenced the generation of some important modern lacustrine basins, such as Gallocanta, Fuente de Piedra, and Banyoles Lakes. The sudden formation of sinkholes due to collapse of cave roofs is fairly frequent in some evaporite outcrops. Very harmful and spectacular subsidence activity is currently occurring in the Cardona salt diapir, where subsidence has been dramatically exacerbated by mining practices.

The Stabilization of the Leaning Tower of Pisa

The stabilization of the Tower of Pisa has proved to be an immensely difficult challenge to civil engineers and architectural conservationists. The Tower is founded on weak, highly compressible soils and its inclination has been increasing inexorably over the years to the point at which it was in a state of leaning instability. Any disturbance to the ground on the leaning side would have been very dangerous, ruling out conventional geotechnical processes such as underpinning and grouting. Moreover, the masonry was highly stressed and at risk of collapse. The internationally accepted conventions for the conservation of valuable historic monuments, of which the Tower is one of the best known and most treasured, require that their essential character should be preserved, with their history, craftsmanship, and enigmas. Thus any invasive or visible intervention in the Tower had to be kept to an absolute minimum. Stabilization of the Tower was achieved by means of an innovative method of soil extraction, which induced a small reduction in inclination not visible to the casual onlooker. This technique has provided an ‘ultra soft’ method of increasing the stability of the Tower, which at the same time is completely consistent with the requirements of architectural conservation. Its implementation has required advanced computer modelling, large-scale development trials, an exceptional level of continuous monitoring, and daily communication and control. The Tower was re-opened to the public on 15 December 2001.

Heritage Tourism and Textile “Model Villages”: The Case of River Park, Barcelona, Spain

The expansion of tourism in recent years has been such a widespread phenomenon that the number of potential tourist regions has increased, thus favouring the inclusion of resources and forms of tourism that had formerly been considered uninteresting or had even been rejected. One of the most outstanding examples is industrial heritage tourism or tourism based on traditional manufacturing and mining centres. Many of these have suffered industrial decline and the consequent closure of industrial plant, and have been obliged to search for alternatives for social and economic recovery. This article examines the possible interest of this place as a focus for industrial tourism activities, based on a case study of Central Catalonia (province of Barcelona, Spain), although the most important examples are probably to be found in the United Kingdom. In this framework, recently steps have been taken by the Spanish government to have the textile model industry “colonies” or villages along the Cardener and Llobregat rivers included in the list of proposals of World Heritage Sites to be submitted to UNESCO. The justification is very clear: industrial development along these two rivers—especially the latter—constituted a unique phenomenon in the world, on account of the degree of concentration. Indeed, in recent years, UNESCO has opened its doors to industrial archaeology as an important component of World Heritage worthy of the distinction of preservation, on the basis of its scenic, architectural and monumental value.

On the Development History of Arch Stone Bridges, and it's Engineer IWANAGA Sangoro, Chief of Stonemason, and ASO Tetsuya, Master Carpenter

Late in the Edo era, the construction works have been promoted in parallel with the TENPOU reforms in the SATSUMA clan, and these successes have produced a factor of the modernization of Japan. ZUSHO Hirosato, principal of the clan, have actively promoted infrastructures, such as river improvement, drought countermeasure and transportation preparation. Both IWANAGA Sangorou, chief of stonemason, and ASO Tetsuya, master carpenter, have played important parts in these construction works.The construction techniques of arch stone bridge that came down from China early in the Edo era, have made rapid progress with the numbers of construction works and structure plans, under the step-up in the agricultural production and the economy of the clan late in the Edo era. Both the five stone bridges of multiple spans that crossed Kotsuki river and IWANAGA who produced the five bridges are monumental values in the development history of arch stone bridges.

Priority scores for archaeological evaluation

The new Monuments Protection Programme (Darvill et al. 1987; the November 1987 ANTIQUITY) will depend heavily on scoring systems to assess the relative value of different monuments and areas. Here are some comments by someone else with experience of scoring sites.

Culture and Region: A Multidimensional Evaluation of Monuments

The issue of assessing the compound socioeconomic and historicocultural values of monuments is addressed. Monuments are part of the historical and cultural heritage of a country, region, or city. They are a potential source of economic development (for example, by means of tourism), but they also have their own indigenous value. A plea is made for planning for preservation of the cultural heritage by emphasizing the intangible attributes of urban monuments. In this context, the notion of option value plays an important role. The actual compound evaluation of cultural monuments, based on both user value and option value, is then undertaken by means of a recently developed multicriteria technique for qualitative assessment, namely the regime method. The method is briefly described and next applied to evaluate the socioeconomic and functional-urban value as well as the historicocultural value of twenty churches in the city of Thessaloniki. The results are presented in visual form by means of bar charts pertaining to three different types of scenarios. These outcomes appear to be reasonably robust across all scenarios. Some remarks are made about the use of such methods in the broader context of monument restoration policy.

Ancient Marseille in the Light of Recent Excavations

information recovered from recent excavations in the heart of taken with previously known data, has permitted reconstructions of the way in which the ancient city developed and of the economic role which Marseille played from the time of Greek colonization through the Roman period. An important group of ancient ruins was found in March 1967, in the course of ground levelling of unusual extent undertaken in the heart of behind the Palais de la Bourse, about 150 m. north of the Vieux-Port (pl. 22, fig. I). discovery created a certain amount of interest, more for its potential economic and political implications than for the rare historical and monumental value of the remains. Before this discovery little of ancient Massalia was actually known: the remains of some Christian religious buildings; the location of a few outlying necropoleis; the substructures of Roman horrea near the port; the meager vestiges of a theater; a large Ionic capital, probably votive; a few Latin and Greek inscriptions; a collection of naiskoi dedicated to Cybele; and a fairly extensive group of Greek sherds studied lately by F. Villard. If we include several minor finds and acknowledge the remarks, unfortunately often conflicting, made by local scholars, this limited picture can be considered more or less complete.' persistent, if peculiar, lack of interest exhibited by the inhabitants of Marseille in the oldest period of the city's history can hardly be offset by the isolated efforts of some scholars. From 1862 to 1864, in spite of Napoleon III's personal interest in archaeology, over a kilometer of the city's heart was ripped up by the construction of the rue Imperiale, later the rue de la Republique, causing irretrievable loss since no serious study of the area was made. Since 1913, the gradual demolition of old housing blocks behind the Bourse has revealed remains of sufficient importance to suggest that significant discoveries could be made in the course of such work. Reconstruction of the area has been delayed, but no preliminary excavation was planned. Finally in 1943, the complete demolition of the quarter on the north shore of the Vieux-Port provided an unexpected occasion for research which was not exploited, despite the efforts of Henri Rolland and Fernand Benoit. It is therefore in this eminently unpromising context that the discoveries of 1967 must be placed. Administration of Antiquities intervened and temporarily protected the area, but the burden of the compensation paid to the city of Marseille for the site was such that sufficient funds for detailed excavations could not be allocated. In the beginning, researchers had to be satisfied with superficial examination of the visible remains; then they had to excavate hastily areas which were about to be destroyed, without even being able to study completely those ruins meant for preservation. This portion represents only one-fourth of the original archaeological zone, and its condition bodes ill for the work which is still to be done. Given this situation, one must be satisfied with sorting out the evidence which exists.2 * manuscript is translated from the original French. photographs are by the Institut d'Archeologie Miditerrane Benoit, The New Excavations at Marseille, AJA 53 (1949) 237-40; Benoit, Topographie antique de Marseille: le theatre et le mur de Crinas, Gallia 24 (1966) 1-20. major work remains that of M. Clerc, Massalia. Histoire de Marseille dans l'Antiquitd, des origines a' la fin de I'Empire romain d'Occident 2 vols. (Marseille 1927-1929). A detailed bibliography may be found in M. Euzennat and F. Salviat, Les fouilles de Marseille (Mars-Avril 1968), CRAI 1968, 145-59. 2 Euzennat and Salviat (supra n. i); M. Euzennat, Les This content downloaded from 207.46.13.149 on Thu, 20 Oct 2016 04:01:00 UTC All use subject to http://about.jstor.org/terms 134 MAURICE EUZENNAT [AJA 84 Considered as a whole, the known remains are of great complexity. But the numerous levels are generally coherent, and the history of the site which can be deduced from them is relatively simple in its outlines. At the time when the Phokaians settled the deep and narrow bay (calanque) which later became the Vieux-Port was much larger and deeper than it is today (ill. I). It penetrated inland Laa Joliette t. Charles

Henry Lee Shattuck: Ideal Politician

PRIVATE acts of generosity have provided the United States with some of the most valuable monuments unique to a free society. They stem from a deep conviction that wealth is a privilege which must be shared. Evidence of this stewardship is more visible, perhaps, in Boston than in any other city. The Children's Hospital, Massachusetts General Hospital, the Boston Symphony Orchestra, and the Museum of Fine Arts are only four of many magnificent legacies left by thoughtful Bostonians. They have been matched by lifetimes of work in the public weal. Family after family, generation on generation, have assumed such responsibility. Among them, the Shattuck family is outstanding. Indeed, the Shattucks have had few parallels in this country's history. Their gifts to institutions range from the funds for a Massachusetts Medical Society lecture series, to an observatory for Dartmouth College. Their gifts to individuals could be a note to a tailor to outfit a poor man with a suit, or full tuition for college. Frequently, their largesse has been anonymous. Always it has been sensitive to each special situation. One Shattuck included in his will a bequest to the Roman Catholic Church as an apology for the burning of the Ursuline Convent in Charlestown by a rabble. Another be-

Definition Of The Mechanical Features Of HistoricMasonry And Assessment Of Its Seismic BehaviourThrough Analytical Tools

Using statistical tools, an extensive review of the experimental literature on historic masonry has been carried out and a database obtained. From the statistical analysis of the data the correlation between a range of parameters emerged and regression's curves have been derived, which enable definition of the mechanic features of the masonry, when some of the mechanics and geometric feature of the components are known. The application to a number of f.e. non-linear models of simple structures is discussed. The procedure obtained can be a valid alternative to destructive tests on masonry buildings of historical or monumental value.

Post-Medieval Archaeology and Folk Life Studies

DURING THE NINETEENTH CENTURY, the antiquarian movement in the British Isles flourished tremendously, and local societies, variously called Philosophical Societies, or Literary Societies, Antiquarian Societies or Museum Societies were established in great number throughout the country to cater for the new interest in antiquities. One of the most important functions of these societies was to rescue the material remains of earlier centuries, and to most people, this meant the collection of prehistoric and proto-historic objects. Occasionally 'bygones' of more recent times were collected, but only if they possessed artistic or monumental value. Plain, simple or defective objects were more often than not disregarded, for the old generation of museum curators saw their objects primarily as exhibition pieces rather than as a basis for scientific study. The main interest of these local societies was the excavation of early sites, and the stone, metal and pottery objects excavated from those sites were .sometimes cleaned, presented to the local museum and shown there in a forest of ebonized glass cases. The museums were cabinets of curiosities and few attempts were made to study the nlaterial obtained by the museum in any detail. There was naturally some scientific work, but only on isolated articles which had a value of their own, rather than on the background from which they came. The usual sequence of events was the excavation of a site, rescuing the material objects found on it and displaying those objects in a museunl gallery. During the present century, however, archaeology has developed phenolnenally, and although the amateur excavator and the antiquarian still have an important part to play in archaeological work, great care is taken that a site is clearly docunlented and the material from it clearly dated and labelled. There is in most cases an attempt at placing the object in evolutionary sequence and in discovering the cultural contacts associated with it. In addition, scholars are studying the typology of nlaterial, its provenance and dating, while a collection of excavated objects may provide the raw materials for prehistorians and historians to study ways of life associated with these objects. In other words, archaeology has grown up from being a nlere collection of artefacts by enthusiastic amateurs to an academic discipline that has a great deal to contribute to our knowledge of mankind. Until recent times, folk life was regarded merely as an appendage to archaeology: 'an ambulating guest of certain related branches of science, which, thanks to the

The Anguipede of the Magical Amulets

With his Studies in Magical Amulets Professor Campbell Bonner has rendered a great service not only to collectors and museums, but also to the history of religion in Late Antiquity. His sound criticism has removed over-hasty interpretations, especially those which have given the name of “gnostic gems” to those amulets of which he writes. He says somewhere that his criticism will lessen the religious interest in the gems. But there is a great truth in his words: “Nothing is more important in these studies than to recognize the limits of our knowledge” (p. 195). If this is properly done we have firm ground to stand upon and are able to appreciate the value and importance of these monuments for the religious mind of Late Antiquity. The rivalry with the magic papyri is evident, but while these were the property of specialists, magical technicians, the amulets teach us what was current among the people.

Property Surveys Must Fit Their Titles

The basic purpose of this paper is to emphasize the fact that land surveying is a specialized profession. The r elation between a land title and a property survey is discussed, thus leading into a statement of steps preceding a field survey, a brief description of office and field relocation methods, the legal status and value of physical monuments, and the tracing of land titles from record.

Art Activities in France

Although the climax of the art season in Paris is always achieved in the Spring when there is an unceasing succession of Salons, exhibitions of all sorts and important sales, the Winter which has just passed has not by any means been a period of inaction. Two of our leading museums have been partially renovated and several exhibitions of major interest were received with well deserved success. Excavations in Syria and Afghanistan, undertaken under the auspices of the National. Museums, brought to light valuable archaeological monuments several of which have become part of the permanent exhibits in our museums. The number of our art publications has been increased under the influence of new editors whose point of view is more advanced and more modern in tendency. These are the various manifestations in art activities I wish to discuss here, somewhat in detail, so as to present an indication of our present artistic trend and of the nature of our efforts.