Values-Based Conservation in Practice - Accessibility at Akershus Castle.

This paper promotes the application of geoarchaeology—joint studies using historical, archaeological and heritage approaches—to the conservation and management practice of castles and landscapes in the context of ‘castlescapes’. Using case studies from recent research on medieval castles in frontier regions of the eastern Baltic and Spain, it demonstrates how geoarchaeology can create synergies between on-site and off-site environments and between cultural and natural heritage and draw valuable information from soils and sediments about the changing form and function of spaces within castles, and about the links between these spaces and activities in their hinterlands. Geoarchaeological approaches can also illuminate the diachronic biographies that hide from visitors in the buried archaeology of castles, which to most visitors would be blank cavasses, but which can provide snap-shots of castle life in the context of a wider landscape. Castles are commonly publicly recognised as being important historical monuments, but from a heritage perspective they are often presented in isolation from their associated historical territories, and often (especially in frontier regions) appropriated within modern politics, which has influenced both heritage management decisions and research frameworks.

There is an inevitable world-wide trend towards increased tunnelling and excavations in urban areas and the protection of historic buildings and monuments is an important issue. The paper focuses on the topic of what constitutes tolerable subsidence induced movements of historic buildings and monuments. The BRE damage classification system has proved valuable when consulting with heritage authorities. Examples are given of different categories of damage. It is important to appreciate that most historical buildings have cracks in them. Moreover in some cases these can be beneficial in controlling the location of movements. Recommendations are made on how to negotiate with heritage authorities on tolerable levels of potential damage.

Historical cities are cultural heritages which mankind should preserve, keep alive, experience and hand on future generations. Situated in the eastern part of Turkey within an area with a high altitude, Erzurum city was the home of a lot of civilizations in the past and it is also a city with geopolitical significance; therefore, with these features, it houses several important historical monuments and cultural values. In this study, the current state analysis was done based on protection regions and the borders of protection focused public improvement plans. The study aimed at presenting the current state of historical city texture by quantifying and evaluating the monumental structures of the historical city core, the samples of civilian architecture and cultural features. Although the urban tissue has been in a deterioration process through history due to the natural disasters, battles, and recent distorted and unplanned urbanisation, it still shelters a considerable amount of values. From this point of view, it may be concluded that historical remains and structures can be transferred to the next generations in conservation and use balance.

This article reports findings from two research projects that aimed to understand the vulnerabilities of cultural heritage sites in Svalbard and investigated factors that influence tourism-induced pressures and site degradation. It draws upon fieldwork conducted at ten selected historic locations, including interviews with tourists and guides, consultations with regional and central cultural heritage management authorities, on-site observations, and condition assessments. The primary goal was to explore indicators rendering cultural heritage sites susceptible to the impacts of tourism and human visitors. These indicators were common denominators and encompassed the sites’ physical state/degree of decay, legibility, accessibility, and quantity and quality of objects at the sites. This article seeks to enhance the understanding of these sites’ vulnerabilities and provide insights for effective heritage site management and sustainable tourism development. The principal findings highlight key factors contributing to cultural heritage sites’ vulnerability. These factors encompass intensity and frequency of visitor traffic, suboptimal visitor management strategies, tourists’ limited awareness of proper site behaviour and conservation practices, and restricted resources for site maintenance and protection. These findings can guide policymakers, site managers, and tourism stakeholders in formulating strategies to balance tourism promotion with site conservation, ensuring the long-term preservation of cultural heritage in this unique and vulnerable environment.

The correct documentation and scientific attribution of ancient works of art requires the processing of relevant amounts of images and interdisciplinary data usually kept in non-compatible formats and objects of different property. The main goal of the IFIDA project Intelligent Fast Interconnected Devices and Tools for Applications in Archaeometry and Conservation Practice is to collect and integrate the dispersed models, tools, case studies, imaging and analytical resources resulting from previous investigations of works of art in repositories that facilitate extraction and sharing of new knowledge for cultural heritage research. This information will be further assessed applying sophisticated analytical and computer technologies in order to develop or adapt interconnected software tools for very fast authenticity certification and applications in archaeometry and conservation practice; to benefit development of new scholarship and technologies.

We done sold Africa for the price of tomatoes. We done sold ourselves the white man in order be like him. Look at the way you dressed ... that ain't African. That's the white man. We trying be just like him. We done sold who we are in order become someone else. We's imitation white men. (Toledo, in August Wilson's Ma Rainey's Black Bottom 417) For the record, and in case the obvious has passed by unnoticed, as we enter the next millennium, Black Theatre suffering an identity crisis, an inability define its ideological purpose and performance practice. Unclarity has encouraged uncertainty, even an ambivalent indifference about whether or not the experience should be designated African American (the conservative practice, in form and content, of petit bourgeois Negro imitations of Euro-American domestic dramas) or reflect the conscious-raising ritual enactments of radical Black Theatre (which should not be confused with the misapprehension of those observers who claim have sighted a New Black Theatre, the enterprising, commercial exploitation of Gospel music staged as popular entertainments that do not own the slightest pretense of pursuing the enlightened aspirations of ritual enactment, an exercise uncharitably labeled Chittlin' Circuit [see Gates 44]). Black Theatre might even be consigned the hybrid status of the new performance orthodoxy that agglutinates race, gender, and gay/lesbian social and philosophical issues into a newly marginalized Other designated by the dominant culture as Multicultural Theatre. The unique, particularized, cultural expression that informs Black Theatre has been restrained by an historically passive response by blacks the hierarchical authority of a dominant culture that subordinates the Afrocentric ethos into conformity with its popular standards of entertainment. As Tejumola Olaniyan so aptly points out in Scars of Conquest/Masks of Resistance, the impediment an Afrocentric theatre practice in Black Theatre cannot be fully discerned without an appreciation of the European hegemonic domination that has bridled the authentic impulses of black aesthetics: The Eurocentric discourse on black drama thinkable only within the materiality of the rise of Europe, the conquest and enslavement of African peoples, colonialism, neocolonialism, and ongoing aggressive capitalist imperialism (11). Historically, the consequent subordination of the African American cultural ethos found support among influential authorities in defense of slavery, as President Dew of William and Mary College demonstrated in 1832: ... slavery had been the condition of all ancient culture, ... Christianity approved servitude, and ... the law of Moses had both assumed and positively established slavery.... It the order of nature and of God that the being of superior faculties and knowledge, and therefore of superior power, should control and dispose of those who are inferior. It as much in the order of nature that men should enslave each other as that other animals should prey upon each other. (qtd. in Dodd 53) During his courageous challenge mainstream American Theatre hegemony at the 1996 Theatre Communications Group Conference at Princeton University, August Wilson laid bare the fact that Black Theatre is a target for cultural imperialists who ignore the abundant gifts of black humanity, and he characterized the gross exploitation of black social practices for the purpose of white consumption as being a reflection of the House Slave being trotted out to entertain the slave owner and his guests. In his disavowal of the values upon which the standards for American Arts and Letters are erected, Wilson declared: We cannot share a single value system if that value system consists of the values of white Americans based on their European ancestors. …

Awareness is growing of the need for more inclusive and sustainable cities and communities, as evident in the objectives of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals. The targets underline the importance of participatory approaches, protecting cultural and natural heritage, and providing universal access to inclusive public spaces. To achieve these targets in the context of built heritage, our research explores a pathway that aligns with conservation practice’s gradual shift to collaborative approaches involving diverse others. Seeking a more inclusive approach in built heritage conservation, we engage people with diverse bodies and minds as users/experts, attending to their situated and embodied experiences. Their unique expertise-by-experience informs architecture and conservation practice by providing nuanced insights into qualities and obstacles of built heritage. However, suitable methods and tools are necessary to capture and transfer these insights to practice effectively. In this article, we present the approach we experimented with in the case of the historic Leuven Town Hall (Belgium), which is undergoing a restoration project. We outline our process and methods for transforming disability experience into actionable knowledge that facilitates exchange between users/experts, architects, and city representatives. We detail how the resulting tools illustrate and situate the identified qualities and obstacles in the user/experts’ interaction with this heritage site, building on the concepts of affordance and gradient of accessibility. Leveraging user/expertise for built heritage, our approach promotes a conservation process inclusive of diverse voices and experiences and fosters collaboration between academia and practice, while contributing to creating inclusive and socially sustainable historic environments.

The holy city of Najaf has a number of historical buildings, many of which are in danger of permanent deterioration due to muddled conservation practices. Khan Al-Shilan, built in 1899, is a significant historic structure, continuously changing and adaptable to several functions. Possession of the structure was transferred from one party to another, and it has not been well maintained, suffering damage and neglect. The khan existed during the Ottoman era and British colonialism, and it stands today as a physical reminder of the Iraqi people’s struggle against occupying powers. It is also an interesting example of the limitations of conservation in Iraq. Using secondary sources and primary evidence gathered through interviews with stakeholders, local residents, heritage elites, and conservationists, this article examines the current state of Iraqi conservation practices, with a particular focus on the extent to which they have affected the existing historic fabric. It includes a detailed examination of the approaches and the problems that exist in applying international standards of heritage protection to the Iraqi context. The case study demonstrates that there is local motivation for conservation that is accompanied by an awareness of the processes to manage change effectively.

Since the promulgation of heritage legislation in 1999, under the new government after the end of Apartheid, stricter rules and regulations determine the management of cultural heritage in South Africa. This includes the processes related to the exhumation and reinterment of human skeletal remains. However, from time to time, projects are experienced where the rules are discarded, resulting in extraordinary circumstances. These need to be handled in a different way in order to protect and preserve the cultural heritage as well as the dignity of the buried individuals. Such an example is that of three desecrated historical graves from the town of Zeerust, in the North West Province. Despite the legislation, and the fact that the three graves were visible, the developer continued with the development. Only when members of the public complained, the heritage authorities were consulted. By this time the development had almost been completed. It was unfortunately impossible to preserve the graves in situ. Negotiations with different stakeholders were necessary and, based on the legislation, a solution accepted by all, was reached.Although the discussion to follow stems from a mainly archaeological study, the aim is to provide and value historical background research on the graves and the three individuals buried there. Also the value of the larger historical context is pointed out. This would provide information on the deceased which would to some extent restore their dignity. Apart from the archaeological methods that had to be utilized to exhume the graves, methods include a literature survey and archival search on the property, as well as on the graves and the individuals buried there. The article will also briefly discuss relevant aspects of heritage legislation in South Africa.It will be debated that historical context is extremely important, and perhaps could contribute in restoring the dignity of buried individuals. Though not ever complete, it does provide a legacy of the life of the three people to be discussed.

The Djebel Amour region, located in the Western Saharan Atlas of Algeria, hosts a vernacular mosque heritage that remains largely unexplored. This study presents the first comprehensive typo-morphological analysis of fourteen mosques dating from the 11th to the 20th century. Their original architectural state was reconstructed through the triangulation of field surveys, archival documentation, iconographic sources, and oral testimonies. A reference model based on four recurrent components—the prayer hall with its mihrab, courtyard, portico, and minaret—enabled the identification of typological constants, contextual variations, and vernacular constructive logics. The results reveal the persistence of sober and functional forms, marked by the frequent absence of a courtyard and the presence of skiffa-inspired porticos and staircase minarets. A complementary quantitative component strengthens cross-regional comparisons and situates the Djebel Amour corpus within wider North African, West African, Middle Eastern, and Southeast Asian vernacular mosque traditions. Beyond architectural reconstruction, this study develops an operational framework for conservation and transformation management, supported by a structured database that systematises typological, material, and construction data. While the analysis relies primarily on photogrammetric documentation, the proposed framework is compatible with international digital standards and can be expanded through methods such as 3D laser scanning, drone-based surveys, or geospatial modelling. By integrating qualitative, quantitative, and digital perspectives, this research offers practical tools for heritage authorities, local administrations, mosque committees, architects, designers, and conservation practitioners, positioning the Djebel Amour mosques as a reference model for sustainable heritage management and contextual adaptation in arid and tribal environments.

Given the national commitments and the international criteria for nomination of cultural propertiesand cultural landscapes to be inscribed on the World Cultural Heritage List, and various threats frommultiple external forces as well as intrinsic constraints among Asian countries, this study then attemptsto investigate the significant variables, their applicabilities to and impacts on conservation implementationand potential performances. Through reviewing conservation experiences in Asian regions, criticalconstraints and prospects in terms of positive approaches are explored together with demonstratingdistinctive examples of World Cultural Heritage and Asia-Pacific’s best practices in conservation. Theoutputs of these investigations set up the conceptual framework of challenge for escalating the conservationmovements in Thailand.

Both Southern Italy and Central China feature historic rural settlements characterized by underground constructions with residential and service functions. Many of these areas are currently tackling economic, social and environmental problems, resulting in unemployment, disengagement, depopulation, marginalization or loss of cultural and biological diversity. Both in Europe and in China, policies for rural development address three core areas of intervention: agricultural competitiveness, environmental protection and the promotion of rural amenities through strengthening and diversifying the economic base of rural communities. The challenge is to create innovative pathways for regeneration based on raising awareness to inspire local rural communities to develop alternative actions to reduce poverty while preserving the unique aspects of their local environment and culture. In this view, cultural heritage can be a catalyst for the sustainable growth of the rural community. Through a series of projects on a national and international scale, the authors have addressed some of these problems by exchanging best practices in conservation, sustainable use and the enhancement of the underground heritage.

Abstract. Cultural heritage sites worldwide are increasingly vulnerable to disasters and climate-related risks, threatening their physical integrity and cultural value. In Malaysia, iconic sites such as Masjid Kampung Laut and Bangunan Sultan Abdul Samad have experienced the impacts of such hazards. However, heritage conservation efforts in the country still largely rely on conventional methods, lacking the integration of advanced technologies like Geographical Information Systems (GIS) and Building Information Modeling (BIM). These tools offer significant potential for comprehensive disaster risk assessments and proactive site management, yet their application remains limited. The absence of GIS and BIM in Conservation Management Plans (CMPs) has resulted in reactive conservation practices that leave heritage sites susceptible to irreversible damage caused by environmental threats and urban encroachment. This study investigates the sufficiency of technology adaptation in the monitoring criteria of Malaysia’s heritage management plans, particularly for sites located in disaster-prone areas. Employing a qualitative research design, the study conducts a detailed content review of selected CMPs and on-site observations of the two heritage sites. The findings reveal a significant gap in the incorporation of technology-driven risk assessment, indicating an urgent need for reform in the monitoring and conservation practices. The study highlights the importance of GIS in spatial risk classification and BIM in structural analysis and mitigation planning. Aligning with UNESCO’s “Managing Disaster Risk for World Heritage” manual, the study advocates for a technology-enriched conservation framework that promotes data-driven, predictive, and resilient strategies for safeguarding cultural heritage in Malaysia.

Preserving cultural heritage can be efficiently supported by structured and semantic representation of historical artifacts. Bookbinding, a critical aspect of book history, provides valuable insights into past craftsmanship, material use, and conservation practices. However, existing bibliographic records often lack the depth needed to analyze bookbinding techniques, provenance, and preservation status. This paper presents a proof-of-concept system that explores how Large Language Models (LLMs) can support knowledge graph engineering within the context of 19th-century Greek bookbinding (1830–1900), and as a result, generate a domain-specific ontology and a knowledge graph. Our ontology encapsulates materials, binding techniques, artistic styles, and conservation history, integrating metadata standards like MARC and Dublin Core to ensure interoperability with existing library and archival systems. To validate its effectiveness, we construct a Neo4j knowledge graph, based on the generated ontology and utilize Cypher Queries—including LLM-generated queries—to extract insights about bookbinding practices and trends. This study also explores how semantic reasoning over the knowledge graph can identify historical binding patterns, assess book conservation needs, and infer relationships between bookbinding workshops. Unlike previous bibliographic ontologies, our approach provides a comprehensive, semantically rich representation of bookbinding history, methods and techniques, supporting scholars, conservators, and cultural heritage institutions. By demonstrating how LLMs can assist in ontology/KG creation and query generation, we introduce and evaluate a semi-automated pipeline as a methodological demonstration for studying historical bookbinding, contributing to digital humanities, book conservation, and cultural informatics. Finally, the proposed approach can be used in other domains, thus, being generally applicable in knowledge engineering.

Structural delamination in mural paintings is a complex phenomenon and is considered among the most frequent types of damage. In conservation practice, the most common technique to identify structural detachments in wall paintings is the percussion method, otherwise known as the ‘tap and listen’ approach. Full-field optical techniques based on interferometry, such as shearography, can potentially provide a more scientifically substantiated evaluation of the condition of heterogeneous structures of wall paintings. The empirical nature of the percussion method was observed during the condition assessment of two medieval wall paintings in Maria Church, Nisse, Netherlands. Consequently, the need to obtain more knowledge regarding the structural condition of these wall paintings was established. Furthermore, to allow the formulation of specific treatment needs for structural delamination in wall paintings, accurate defect mapping is needed. The application of shearography coupled with thermography was believed to provide an holistic representation of the structural condition of the wall painting depicting St. Christopher in Maria Church. A comparison of the practical execution and the interpretation of data between shearography and the percussion method was conducted to deliver a description of both techniques. Initial comparison of the two methods confirmed what was already hypothesised: I) the percussion method can provide an approximate indication of delaminated areas. Results, which are considered both non-qualitative and non-quantitative, are dependent on the experience of the conservator; II) shearography can produce qualitative and quantitative results regarding the presence of delamination in complex structures of wall paintings. Analysis of the shearography data together with the percussion method may result in a reliable way to map the defects for future conservation activities. The next steps include optimisation of the thermal excitation for shearography to maximise the defect detection and adapt the shearography output for onsite interpretation by conservators and professionals in the cultural heritage.