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An ancient monument can refer to any early or historical manmade structure or architecture. [1] Certain ancient monuments are of cultural importance for nations and become symbols of international recognition, including the ruins of Baalbek on Lebanese currency, the Angkor Wat on Cambodian currency and the Great Wall of China on the Chinese currency. [2] There are some countries that display ancient buildings as symbols on their coats of arms as a way to affirm national identity. [3] In this way, ancient monuments in the modern world are used as icons to represent a country. The importance of ancient monuments extends to cultural heritage and how the people of a nation or city identify themselves. [4]
In British law, an ancient monument is an early historical structure or monument (e.g. an archaeological site) worthy of preservation and study due to archaeological or heritage interest. The Ancient Monuments and Archaeological Areas Act 1979 classified ancient monuments as "scheduled monuments" or monuments that are considered by the Secretary of State of archaeological, historical or artistic importance. [5]
Since the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, with the rise of nationalism, part of the nation-building process was the construction of a national past. [6] This past comprised a collection of legends, traditions and myths. In Europe's emerging nations, ruins and relics became the centre of attention for group consciousness and national aspirations, which became an important motivation for the emergence of a preservation movement. [7] This was because many buildings, landscapes and monuments achieved a great level of significance as symbols and icons of a growing nation. [8] [9] As such, these buildings and landscapes became national monuments, which possessed new meanings given the emergence of nationhood. Light and Dumbraveanu-Andone assert that the connection between heritage and national identity continues to be important. [7] This is also evident in national identity related to an awareness of national heritage that is still visible around the world. [3]
The emergence of the discipline of archaeology was linked to the rise of nationalism. [11] It was often emphasised to be used in service of the nation-state to reinforce its historical and territorial legitimacy. Archaeology as a culture-historical discipline is the study and preservation of remains from past societies and their environments. [12] In this, the past is studied through preserving its sources including landscape (ancient monuments or heritage sites) and physical artefacts. The preservation and restoration are important for all heritage sites, particularly at locations of ancient monuments and archaeological areas that are in dangerous or delicate conditions. [13]
To protect, preserve and care for ancient monuments, there were a number of laws and Acts passed during the late nineteenth and twentieth century. [14] These included Ancient Monuments Protection Act of 1882 and Ancient Monuments and Archaeological Areas Act 1979. [15] The aforementioned was passed after several unsuccessful attempts, which ensured governmental involvement in England and Ireland to legally preserve and conserve ancient monuments. Following this, in 1913, the Ancient Monuments Consolidation and Amendment Act provided an extension to the existing powers by introducing a concept known as the Preservation Orders. [16] This enabled monuments in threat of damage or removal from neglectful treatment to be classified under the protection of the Commissioners of Works. [17] [18] The most significant was Section 6.2, which qualified the monuments as national importance and were to be preserved. Additionally, any ancient monument could be considered for inclusion on that list, not just those in the Guardian of the State, and this meant that for the first time legislative protection could officially be applied on a large scale. It was as a result of this that Guardianship Monuments were distinguished to what later became defined as "Scheduled Monuments". [17]
Furthermore, the Ancient Monuments Act 1931 extended its protection policies around previous monuments, including the scheduled monuments on the list, through introducing a notification system. [19] As part of this system, monument owners had to provide the Commissioners of Works three months' notice in writing of any works affecting the monument, which remained in use until 1979. [20] During the 1930s and 1940s, there were a number of background strategies by various organisations concerned with ancient monuments. In the immediate aftermath of the Second World War, a committee was established to look into the existing state and future direction of archaeological work in Britain. [21] This resulted in the publication of A Survey and policy of field research in the archaeology of Great Britain and from this, more information about the past to fill gaps in knowledge. [20]
The modern preservation techniques consist of physical planning and zoning. [22] Physical planning at archaeological sites around ancient monuments help direct the vehicle and pedestrian traffic from sensitive areas. [23] Additionally, zoning is a key principle of physical planning at monumental sites. [23] It refers to the physical development and protection of sites in various zones of contact or distance from important resources. [23] Zoning also enables certain amenities and visitor services to be managed in an effective manner. [23] There are several approaches to physical planning and zoning at historic monuments. As each site has its own unique environmental concerns and needs, zoning may vary from one to two zones or at times, several zones to protect and manage the area. [23]
Issues that ancient monuments such as historical buildings face can be linked to internal and external environmental factors. [24] This include the new changes that can add improvements to the interior of the building can also lead to new factors that cause decay. The example Feilden used was of traditional and historical building construction "breathes" are useful as it enables the "easy passage of moisture vapor". [25] In these cases, vapour checks and monitoring the environmental factors for balance is required. Other modern methods include preventive maintenance through acts such as the reduction of traffic vibration or air pollution through town planning controls. [25] As a maintenance strategy, this conservative activity is considered as an important protective method without intervention. [26]
Following the mass decolonisation period post World War II, identity through remains, the past and landscapes became more common and global tourism exponentially increased. [27] With the rise of globalisation, tourism has grown to become a type of commodity during the twenty-first century with new places and elements to discover. [28] In addition to this, the exoticism and romanticism around experiencing other "more authentic" cultures have contributed to heritage and cultural tourism. [29] As a result, ancient monuments are linked to heritage tourism because of the cultural and national aspect that the monuments embody. Heritage tours comprise a number of types including religious tourism and patriotic tourism. [30] In the case of ancient monuments, both types of heritage tourism apply.
The concept of religious heritage tourism has been around for several centuries. [31] According to Bond, Packer and Ballantyne, people have their own purpose and motives for visiting a religious heritage site or location. [32] This included five key factors; to find spiritual and emotional connection, to discover new things, to engage mentally, to interact or belong as well as searching for peace to relax. [32] Religious site tourism is also linked to pilgrimage as well as paying a visit to sites such as the Uluru in Australia, [33] the Western Wall, the Church of the Holy Sepulchre [34] and the Dome of the Rock [35] in the Old City of Jerusalem. All these sites are considered to be ancient monuments as they are of historical and cultural importance.
Tourism that are attached to nationalistic or patriotic sentiments is another type of heritage tourism. In the modern context, post World War I and World War II, certain places and sites and being claimed as nationalistic sites that patriotic tourists visit for the purpose of reclaiming and reaffirming their heritage and national identity. Such sites include the forts and castles of Ghana, [36] the ANZAC Cove [37] and the Great Wall of China. These types of ancient monuments fall under the category of national and historical importance. They are associated with culturally driven tourism linking to the colonial and violent past of nations that have become symbols of cultural reaffirmation and awakening. [38]
Whilst certain types of tourism can negatively impact the sustainability of historical and ancient sites, archaeological tourists have led to the conservation and maintenance of ancient monuments. [39] All archaeological disciplines apply the same types of methods and one includes the study of the physical artefact or site. In the modern world, most archaeologists are involved in excavations to rescue and preserve archaeological traces that can be damaged from activities such as housing, road-building, natural gas pipelines or airports. [40] Cultural heritage plays an important role with globalization and increasing ethnic recognition and thus, this type of management is significant. [41] As such, archaeologists are taking care of several ancient monuments and historical sites, and with the growth of tourism, this has become more vital and is defined as "heritage management". [40]
Archaeologists alongside to architects help preserve what other specialists, including art historians, cultural geographers, or ethnologists, study. [42] These may include medieval churches, monolithic monuments or ancient relics, stupas or paintings. For example, the study of the concept of "dying culture" refers to a part or portion of a living, an existing culture that has older origins, however, is still in use. [43] In this case, preservation of traditional objects, artefacts and monuments through archaeological study is both important for ancient monuments and the tourism industry. [44]
Examples of archaeological excavation that are classified as ancient monuments:
The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures, and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic value". A property listed in the National Register, or located within a National Register Historic District, may qualify for tax incentives derived from the total value of expenses incurred in preserving the property.
In the broadest sense, cultural resource management (CRM) is the vocation and practice of managing heritage assets, and other cultural resources such as contemporary art. It incorporates Cultural Heritage Management which is concerned with traditional and historic culture. It also delves into the material culture of archaeology. Cultural resource management encompasses current culture, including progressive and innovative culture, such as urban culture, rather than simply preserving and presenting traditional forms of culture.
The International Council on Monuments and Sites is a professional association that works for the conservation and protection of cultural heritage places around the world. Now headquartered in Charenton-le-Pont, France, ICOMOS was founded in 1965 in Warsaw as a result of the Venice Charter of 1964 and offers advice to UNESCO on World Heritage Sites.
Cadw is the historic environment service of the Welsh Government and part of the Tourism and Culture group. Cadw works to protect the historic buildings and structures, the landscapes and heritage sites of Wales, to make them available for the public to visit, enjoy, and understand their significance. Cadw manages 127 state-owned properties and sites. It arranges events at its managed properties, provides lectures and teaching sessions, offers heritage walks, and hosts an online shop. Members of the public can become members of Cadw to gain membership privileges.
Cultural tourism is a type of tourism in which the visitor's essential motivation is to learn, discover, experience and consume the cultural attractions and products offered by a tourist destination. These attractions and products relate to the intellectual, spiritual, and emotional features of a society that encompasses arts and architecture, historical and cultural heritage, culinary heritage, literature, music, creative industries as well as the living cultures with their lifestyles, value systems, beliefs and traditions.
A monument is a type of structure that was explicitly created to commemorate a person or event, or which has become relevant to a social group as a part of their remembrance of historic times or cultural heritage, due to its artistic, historical, political, technical or architectural importance. Examples of monuments include statues, (war) memorials, historical buildings, archaeological sites, and cultural assets. If there is a public interest in its preservation, a monument can for example be listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The Palgrave Encyclopedia of Cultural Heritage and Conflict gives the next definition of monument:
Monuments result from social practices of construction or conservation of material artifacts through which the ideology of their promoters is manifested. The concept of the modern monument emerged with the development of capital and the nation-state in the fifteenth century when the ruling classes began to build and conserve what were termed monuments. These practices proliferated significantly in the nineteenth century, creating the ideological frameworks for their conservation as a universal humanist duty. The twentieth century has marked a movement toward some monuments being conceived as cultural heritage in the form of remains to be preserved, and concerning commemorative monuments, there has been a shift toward the abstract counter monument. In both cases, their conflictive nature is explicit in the need for their conservation, given that a fundamental component of state action following the construction or declaration of monuments is litigating vandalism and iconoclasm. However, not all monuments represent the interests of nation-states and the ruling classes; their forms are also employed beyond Western borders and by social movements as part of subversive practices which use monuments as a means of expression, where forms previously exclusive to European elites are used by new social groups or for generating anti-monumental artifacts that directly challenge the state and the ruling classes. In conflicts, therefore, it is not so much the monument which is relevant but rather what happens to the communities that participate in its construction or destruction and their instigation of forms of social interaction.
A National Treasure is the most precious of Japan's Tangible Cultural Properties, as determined and designated by the Agency for Cultural Affairs. A Tangible Cultural Property is considered to be of historic or artistic value, classified either as "buildings and structures" or as "fine arts and crafts". Each National Treasure must show outstanding workmanship, a high value for world cultural history, or exceptional value for scholarship.
Historic preservation (US), built heritage preservation or built heritage conservation (UK) is an endeavor that seeks to preserve, conserve and protect buildings, objects, landscapes or other artifacts of historical significance. It is a philosophical concept that became popular in the twentieth century, which maintains that cities as products of centuries' development should be obligated to protect their patrimonial legacy. The term refers specifically to the preservation of the built environment, and not to preservation of, for example, primeval forests or wilderness.
A heritage centre, center, or museum, is a public facility – typically a museum, monument, visitor centre, or park – that is primarily dedicated to the presentation of historical and cultural information about a place and its people, and often also including, to some degree, the area's natural history. Heritage centres typically differ from most traditional museums in featuring a high proportion of "hands-on" exhibits and live or lifelike specimens and practical artifacts.
Conservation and restoration of immovable cultural property describes the process through which the material, historical, and design integrity of any immovable cultural property are prolonged through carefully planned interventions. The individual engaged in this pursuit is known as an architectural conservator-restorer. Decisions of when and how to engage in an intervention are critical to the ultimate conservation-restoration of cultural heritage. Ultimately, the decision is value based: a combination of artistic, contextual, and informational values is normally considered. In some cases, a decision to not intervene may be the most appropriate choice.
Cultural heritage is the heritage of tangible and intangible heritage assets of a group or society that is inherited from past generations. Not all heritages of past generations are "heritage"; rather, heritage is a product of selection by society.
Cultural heritage management (CHM) is the vocation and practice of managing cultural heritage. It is a branch of cultural resources management (CRM), although it also draws on the practices of cultural conservation, restoration, museology, archaeology, history and architecture. While the term cultural heritage is generally used in Europe, in the US the term cultural resources is in more general use specifically referring to cultural heritage resources.
The Royal Commission on the Historical Monuments of England (RCHME) was a government advisory body responsible for documenting buildings and monuments of archaeological, architectural and historical importance in England. It was established in 1908 ; and was merged with English Heritage in 1999. The research section and the archive are now part of Historic England.
The UNESCO World Heritage Site Historic Monuments of Ancient Kyoto encompasses 17 locations in Japan within the city of Kyoto and its immediate vicinity. In 794, the Japanese imperial family moved the capital to Heian-kyō. The locations are in three cities: Kyoto and Uji in Kyoto Prefecture; and Ōtsu in Shiga Prefecture; Uji and Ōtsu border Kyoto to the south and north, respectively. Of the monuments, 13 are Buddhist temples, three are Shinto shrines, and one is a castle. The properties include 38 buildings designated by the Japanese government as National Treasures, 160 properties designated as Important Cultural Properties, eight gardens designated as Special Places of Scenic Beauty, and four designated as Places of Scenic Beauty. UNESCO listed the site as World Heritage in 1994.
A Cultural Property is administered by the Japanese government's Agency for Cultural Affairs, and includes tangible properties ; intangible properties ; folk properties both tangible and intangible; monuments historic, scenic and natural; cultural landscapes; and groups of traditional buildings. Buried properties and conservation techniques are also protected. Together these cultural properties are to be preserved and utilized as the heritage of the Japanese people.
The National Register of Historic Monuments (Romanian: Lista Monumentelor Istorice (LMI)) is the official English name of the Romania government's list of national heritage sites known as Monumente istorice. In Romania, these include sites, buildings, structures, and objects considered worthy of preservation due to the importance of their Romanian cultural heritage. The list, created in 2004, contains places that have been designated by the Ministry of Culture and National Patrimony of Romania and are maintained by the Romanian National Institute of Historical Monuments, as being of national historic significance.
The cultural monuments of the Czech Republic are protected properties designated by the Ministry of Culture of the Czech Republic. Cultural monuments that constitute the most important part of the Czech cultural heritage may be declared national cultural monuments by a regulation of the Government of the Czech Republic. Government may also proclaim a territory, whose character and environment is determined by a group of immovable cultural monuments or archaeological finds, as a whole, as a monument reservation. Ministry of Culture may proclaim a territory of a settlement with a smaller number of cultural monuments, historical environment or part of a landscape area that display significant cultural values as a monument zone.
The conservation and restoration of archaeological sites is the collaborative effort between archaeologists, conservators, and visitors to preserve an archaeological site, and if deemed appropriate, to restore it to its previous state. Considerations about aesthetic, historic, scientific, religious, symbolic, educational, economic, and ecological values all need to be assessed prior to deciding the methods of conservation or needs for restoration. The process of archaeology is essentially destructive, as excavation permanently changes the nature and context of the site and the associated information. Therefore, archaeologists and conservators have an ethical responsibility to care for and conserve the sites they put at risk.
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