DAMAGE ASSESSMENT AND MONITORING OF CULTURAL HERITAGE PLACES IN A DISASTER AND POST-DISASTER EVENT – A CASE STUDY OF SYRIA

In recent decades, and in response to an increased focus on disastrous events ranging from armed conflict to natural events that impact cultural heritage, there is a need for methodologies and approaches to better manage the effects of disaster on cultural heritage. This paper presents the approaches used in the development of a Historic Environment Record (HER) for Syria. It describes the requirements and methodologies used for systematic emergency recording and assessment of cultural heritage. It also presents the type of information needed to record in the aftermath of disaster to assess the scale of damage and destruction. Started as a project at Durham University, the database is now being developed as part of the EAMENA (Endangered Archaeology in the Middle East and North Africa) project. The core dataset incorporates information and data from archaeological surveys undertaken in Syria by research projects in recent decades and began life as a development of the Shirīn initiative<sup>1</sup>.<br><br> The focus of this project is to provide a tool not only for the recording and inventory of sites and monuments, but also to record damage and threats, their causes, and assess their magnitude. It will also record and measure the significance in order to be able to prioritize emergency and preservation responses. The database aims to set procedures for carrying out systematic rapid condition assessment (to record damage) and risk assessment (to record threat and level of risk) of heritage places, on the basis of both on the ground and remote assessment. Given the large number of heritage properties damaged by conflict, the implementation of rapid assessment methods to quickly identify and record level of damage and condition is essential, as it will provide the evidence to support effective prioritization of efforts and resources, and decisions on the appropriate levels of intervention and methods of treatment. The predefined data entry categories, use of a data standard, and systematic methods of assessment will ensure that different users choose from the same prefixed data entry and measurement inputs in order to allow for consistent and comparable assessments across different sites and regions. Given the general lack of appropriate emergency response and assessment databases, this system could also be applied in other locations facing similar threats and damage from conflict or natural disasters.

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Case Study—Washington State Rapid Assessment Methods

Wetland and Stream Rapid Assessments ◽

10.1016/b978-0-12-805091-0.00048-7 ◽

2018 ◽

pp. 423-429

Author(s):

Thomas Hruby

Keyword(s):

Rapid Assessment ◽

Washington State ◽

Assessment Methods ◽

Rapid Assessment Methods

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Ground Probing Radar prospecting and urban cultural heritage: the case study of San Pietro dei Pescatori church in Cagliari, Italy

Environmental Semeiotics ◽

10.3383/es.6.2.1 ◽

2013 ◽

Vol 6 (2) ◽

pp. 18-27 ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Author(s):

L. Piroddi ◽

S. Calcina ◽

A. Trogu ◽

W. Bakinowska ◽

M.L. Casnedi ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Cultural Heritage

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Digital Storytelling in Cultural Heritage: Audience Engagement in the Interactive Documentary New Life

Sustainability ◽

10.3390/su13031193 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 13 (3) ◽

pp. 1193

Author(s):

Anna Podara ◽

Dimitrios Giomelakis ◽

Constantinos Nicolaou ◽

Maria Matsiola ◽

Rigas Kotsakis

Keyword(s):

Cultural Heritage ◽

Full Range ◽

Social Dimension ◽

Data Driven ◽

Specific Interest ◽

Key Factors ◽

Audience Engagement ◽

Main Research ◽

The Social

This paper casts light on cultural heritage storytelling in the context of interactive documentary, a hybrid media genre that employs a full range of multimedia tools to document reality, provide sustainability of the production and successful engagement of the audience. The main research hypotheses are enclosed in the statements: (a) the interactive documentary is considered a valuable tool for the sustainability of cultural heritage and (b) digital approaches to documentary storytelling can provide a sustainable form of viewing during the years. Using the Greek interactive documentary (i-doc) NEW LIFE (2013) as a case study, the users’ engagement is evaluated by analyzing items from a seven-year database of web metrics. Specifically, we explore the adopted ways of the interactive documentary users to engage with the storytelling, the depth to which they were involved along with the most popular sections/traffic sources and finally, the differences between the first launch period and latest years were investigated. We concluded that interactivity affordances of this genre enhance the social dimension of cultural, while the key factors for sustainability are mainly (a) constant promotion with transmedia approach; (b) data-driven evaluation and reform; and (c) a good story that gathers relevant niches, with specific interest to the story.

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Remote Sensing for Cultural Heritage Assessment and Monitoring: The Case Study of Alba Iulia

Sustainability ◽

10.3390/su13031406 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 13 (3) ◽

pp. 1406 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Cristian Moise ◽

Iulia Dana Negula ◽

Cristina Elena Mihalache ◽

Andi Mihai Lazar ◽

Andreea Luminita Dedulescu ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Remote Sensing ◽

Cultural Heritage ◽

Heritage Management ◽

Time Interval ◽

Urban Landscapes ◽

Persistent Scatterer Interferometry ◽

Heritage Site ◽

Depth Analysis ◽

Assessment And Monitoring ◽

Historical Past

In recent times, satellite-based remote sensing has a growing role in archaeology and inherently in the cultural heritage management process. This paper demonstrates the potential and usefulness of satellite imagery for the documentation, mapping, monitoring, and in-depth analysis of cultural heritage and the archaeological sites located in urban landscapes. The study focuses on the assessment and monitoring of Alba Iulia, which is one of the Romanian cities with the richest historical past. Multitemporal analysis was performed to identify the land use/land cover changes that might contribute to an increased cultural heritage vulnerability to natural disasters. A special emphasis was dedicated to the assessment of the built-up area growth and consequently of the urbanization trend over a large time interval (30 years). Next, the urbanization and urban area expansion impact was further analyzed by concentrating on the urban heat island within Alba Iulia city and Alba Iulia Fortress (located in the center of the city). As temperature change represents a key element of climate change, the temperature trend within the same temporal framework and its impact on cultural heritage were determined. In the end, with regard to the cultural heritage condition assessment, the research was complemented with an assessment of the urban ground and individual building stability, using persistent scatterer interferometry. The results contribute to the detailed depiction of the cultural heritage site in such a manner that the site is monitored over an extensive timeframe, its current state of conservation is accurately determined, and the future trends can be identified. In conclusion, the present study offers reliable results regarding the main factors that might endanger the cultural heritage site as a basis for future preservation measures.

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Distribution and Integration of Military Settlements’ Cultural Heritage in the Large Pass City of the Great Wall in the Ming Dynasty: A Case Study of Juyong Pass Defense Area

Sustainability ◽

10.3390/su13137166 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 13 (13) ◽

pp. 7166

Author(s):

Yukun Zhang ◽

Songyang Li ◽

Lifeng Tan ◽

Jiayin Zhou

Keyword(s):

Cultural Heritage ◽

Ming Dynasty ◽

Conservation Strategy ◽

Defense System ◽

Current Conservation ◽

North West ◽

Cultural Routes ◽

Great Wall ◽

The Ming Dynasty

The Great Wall of China is more than a wall: it is an extensive cultural route. Pass cities, which are usually large defensive fortresses overseeing an entire fortified area, are an essential part of this heritage and are at the core of the Great Wall’s defense system. Juyong Pass was the closest Pass city to Beijing during the Ming Dynasty when the Great Wall reached its peak. It consisted of five regions—south, east, north, west, and central—that form three fortification levels: core castle, Bao city, and End facility. Based on the Juyong defense area military settlements database, this paper applied spatial analysis methods and found that more than half of the military’s resources for the whole defense area were focused on the western part of the wall, which formed another military core alongside Juyong Pass city. However, the current conservation strategy only focuses on Juyong Pass itself, neglecting the settlements in the western part, thereby destroying the integrity of the Great Wall’s heritage. By clarifying the distribution of cultural heritage in this area, we hope to encourage the preservation of many fortifications according to their authentic historical sphere of control and provide a reference for the sustainable integration of resources along the significant cultural routes of the Great Wall.

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Qualitative Fire Vulnerability Assessments for Museums and Their Collections: A Case Study from Kosovo

Fire ◽

10.3390/fire4010011 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 4 (1) ◽

pp. 11

Author(s):

Charlotte Fafet ◽

Erinë Mulolli Zajmi

Keyword(s):

Cultural Heritage ◽

Fire Suppression ◽

Mitigation Measures ◽

Risk Awareness ◽

Staff Members ◽

Heritage Sites ◽

Vulnerability Assessments ◽

Suppression Systems ◽

Simulation Exercises

Fires are among the most frequently recurring hazards affecting museums and cultural heritage sites. The fires of the National Museum of Brazil in 2018 and of Notre Dame de Paris in 2019 showed that the consequences of such events can be heavy and lead to irreversible heritage losses. In Kosovo, few studies were made about the risks that can affect cultural heritage sites. A project led by the NGO Kosovo Foundation for Cultural Heritage without Borders (CHwB Kosova) in 2018 explored the most prevalent risks for the cultural heritage sites of the country and highlighted fire as a predominant risk in Kosovo. In order to better understand it, vulnerability assessments were conducted in several museums in Kosovo. Data were collected through field visits in the different museums, in which interviews with staff members as well as observations were conducted. The aim of this paper is to present the main results of the fire vulnerability assessments conducted in Kosovo’s museums in 2018. An important aspect of this project is the approach to collect information in data-scarce environments. It is believed that the questionnaires used to lead interviews with museums’ staff members could help other practitioners to collect data in such contexts and evaluate more easily the risk of fire for the museums and their collections. In the context of Kosovo, one of the main findings is the identification and prioritisation of measures to ensure better protection of Kosovar museums. Structural mitigation measures such as alarm and fire suppression systems are not the only elements necessary to improve the resilience of Kosovar museums to fire. Indeed, the promotion of risk awareness, the training of staff members and the realisation of crisis simulation exercises are just as important in order to prevent and detect a fire, and above all, to respond quickly and accurately if a fire occurs.

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Rapid Assessment of Seismic Intensity Based on Sina Weibo —A Case Study of the Changning Earthquake in Sichuan Province, China

International Journal of Disaster Risk Reduction ◽

10.1016/j.ijdrr.2021.102217 ◽

2021 ◽

pp. 102217

Author(s):

Kezhen Yao ◽

Saini Yang ◽

Jiting Tang

Keyword(s):

Rapid Assessment ◽

Seismic Intensity ◽

Sichuan Province ◽

Sina Weibo

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Visiting Intangible Cultural Heritage Tourism Sites: From Value Cognition to Attitude and Intention

Sustainability ◽

10.3390/su12010132 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 12 (1) ◽

pp. 132 ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Author(s):

Qihang Qiu ◽

Tianxiang Zheng ◽

Zheng Xiang ◽

Mu Zhang

Keyword(s):

Cultural Heritage ◽

Tourism Development ◽

Intangible Cultural Heritage ◽

Cultural Resources ◽

Mediating Role ◽

Tourism Product ◽

Heritage Site ◽

Development Evaluation ◽

Positive Correlations

Intangible cultural heritage (ICH) has recently become an important area of tourism development for many countries that are home to such cultural resources. Within this context, the value of an ICH site has often been used to guide tourism development and policy making. In addition, community residents’ attitude and perception of ICH contribute to tourism development. In this study, we used the traditional firing technology of Longquan celadon in Zhejiang Province, China, as a case study to understand the relationships between value recognition and attitude along with the intention to visit the heritage site. We surveyed 368 residents and conducted path analysis to test such relationships. Findings revealed significant positive correlations between residents’ cognition of ICH value, their attitudes and travel intentions. Among them, attitudes played a mediating role in the formation of value cognition to travel intention. These findings offer insights into ICH-related tourism development, particularly regarding tourism product design, marketing and post-development evaluation, as well as the conservation of ICH sites.

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