Summarizing key historical phases in the field of international preservation

The early development of the field – people and philosophies.

Preservation is not an invention of our times. It has a part of human existence and practiced in some form or the other in most cultures. Through history its parameters may have changed but the essence has in most parts remained the same. Early in the history of man, various objects have been chosen by people to characterize their self and these have in turn been used as symbols of power. The masculine was represented with symbols of the traditional virile virtues such as strength and endurance and the feminine with ob­jects symbolizing equally stereotyped feminine qualities, such as seductiveness, fertility, and nurturance. [1]


Preservation fueled by human interest and travel.

Much of the concern towards old buildings and sites has its roots in the history. The glowing descriptions left behind by travelers, of the monumental architecture they had came across during their travels, fueled an interest towards the architecture and subsequently towards its care and preservation. Some of the historic travelers include luminaries such as Herodotus (450 B.C) Plutarch, Strabo and Pausanius[2]. Similarly scholars and travelers in the East like Fa Hien (5th Century AD) and Huien Tsang (7th Century AD) from China visited various Buddhist sites and cities in India leaving behind descriptions of various cities and buildings. Their descriptions of some sites such as Nalanda are all that is left of the architecture of the period, which was destroyed by the invading Moslems.


Collection of Curiosities and the Formation of Museums.

The interest towards various sites and buildings in other places led to individuals wanting to own a part of history. Towards the end of the 15th Century, wealthy individuals with an interest in the material culture began organizing private collections. This became a fashionable phenomenon in Europe. As travel became easier and the writings on various monuments and cultures increased, the interest towards monuments was on the rise. Collections of the wealthy grew out of the need to share in this knowledge and subsequently to own a piece of the original.

The Vatican led by the Popes: Sixtus IV (1414-1484), Julius II (1443-1513) and Julius III (1487-1565) had a huge role to play in this amassing of curiosities.[3] It was probably under such circumstances that in 1666, the King Carl of Sweden wrote the Proclamation for the Protection of Antiquities.[4] This was probably the first public proclamation of its kind though not much is known of its immediate outcome.

A result of the interest towards the collection of antiquities was the need to produce buildings that could house them. One such house was the Soane House in London. Noted architect Sir John Soane built the House and it became what we could term today as one of the earliest museums or historic house museums.[5] However, the collection of antiques and its acquisition processes got out of hand in the later years. In 1802, Lord Elgin received permission from the Turkish authorities to remove a number of sculptures from the temples of the Acropolis. Sculptures were hacked out of the temples and were taken to London where they later bought by the newly formed British Museum.[6]


International Activities and Cooperation

In 1751, the Society of Dilettanti financed a trip to Athens with intentions of recording its great monuments. James Stuart and Nicholas Revett were in charge of this monumental work, which took several decades to complete and consisted of several volumes of precise drawings. These books generated an interest in the Greek Style and its immediate result was the Greek Revival Style becoming the dominant style in Europe and parts of America. It also led to an awareness of the historic context of the cities.[7]Another great discovery of the period was the excavation of Pompeii and the subsequent finding of Herculaneum. These discoveries led to a greater appreciation of the past and the need for conservation of these sites.


The French and the English in the 18th and the 19th Centuries.

James Wyatt was one of the earliest “restoration architects” of the period. After training in Italy, Wyatt returned to England where he won the competition for the Pantheon at Oxford Street. He got involved in the restorations of several cathedrals for which he was severely criticized. It was felt that his interventions were not sensitive to the building. His work at the Cathedral at Salisbury plays an important role in the development of the field of Restoration. His interventions, which consisted of moving the altars and the removal of the stained glass windows and paintings, were highly criticized by his contemporaries who wrote articles that attacked these insensitive restorations. Wyatt’s work made people question the role of restoration as an appropriate intervention.

The conquest of Egypt in 1798 by Napoleon paved the way for the numerous artists and historians who accompanied him to take back to France numerous treasures. This import of Egyptian treasures into Europe opened the eyes of the West towards the vast treasures of Egypt and this interest continued to influence French art and culture for over a century.[8] In 1809, when Italy came under the purview of the French, Giuseppe Camporese and Giuseppe Valadier were appointed in charge of the restorations of specific architectural monuments. [9] They submitted plans for excavations to be carried out to reveal some of the monuments that did not gain approval in Paris. After the French occupation, Valadier in 1820 worked on the restoration of the Arch of Titus. His work is one of the earliest examples of anastylosis[10] that can be seen historically. The monument was stripped of all additions and the missing parts were replaced. Deliberate attempts were made to be able distinguish between the original materials and the replacements.


Viollet- le- Duc

The French had a great interest in the Preservation of old buildings. In 1831, Ludovic Vitet was appointed the Inspector General of Ancient Monuments as a result of legislation for the protection of historic buildings. In 1838, Eugene Emmanuel Viollet-le-Duc joined the agency to the post of auditeur-suppleant. He started his career with the restoration of Vezelay and in 1945 won the competition for the restoration of Notre Dame. Viollet believed that

“ To restore a building is to reestablish it to a completed state which may never have existed at any particular time.”[11]

In his restoration of Notre Dame, he proposed a scheme including spires that never existed, while in his restoration of the Chateau de Pierrefonds, he created new forms in the structure that was based on his knowledge of medieval architecture. [12]

In 1818, as a result of the passing of the Church Building Act in England, numerous restorations took place between 1840 and 1880. Restorations were judged based on the respect of the historic integrity of the monuments rather than improvements, which were made on the original. This period was vital for the development of the field of restoration. Diverse ideas ranged from Freeman’s destructive philosophy, which directed that “ in restoring any building, the original style, arrangement and proportion be entirely left out of the question.” to the ideals of Sir George Gilbert Scott who believed that monuments were jewels “ handed down for our use only, but given to us in trust, that we may transmit it to generations having more knowledge and more skill to use it alright.”


John Ruskin

Undoubtedly, one of the major contributors to the field during that period was John Ruskin. Ruskin’s ideas on restoration were highly influenced by his exposure to restorations during his trip to Italy. In his book, “The Seven Lamps of Architecture”, he states that time represented history and that it should be preserved on old buildings. He was a romantic and had strong feelings against restorations, which he said was “ a lie from the beginning to end”. Ruskin’s writings created awareness towards preservation but it was more through the efforts of William Morris in 1877 that it took a more physical form. William Morris known for his founding role in the Arts and Crafts Movement formed the Society for the Protection of Ancient Buildings (SPAB). The members of the society were outspoken opponents of Restoration and felt that Restoration had until then been an insensitive intervention -generally stripping the history from artifacts. They favored protection over restoration and due to the realistic goals that they set out to achieve attracted a large group of followers. Much of the movement in Britain is a result of its members such as the Ancient Monuments Protection Act of 1882, which was the result of the actions of one of the members of the group.

Towards an international preservation movement-

The Athens Charter.

Similarly, the work of Valadier in Italy influenced Camillo Boito, a restoration architect, who tried to bridge the gap between the anti- restorationists and the Viollet le-Duc school of thought. His philosophy that was a middle path of minimal interventions would not alter the building’s physiognomy. [13] G. Giovanni following Boito’s path after his death was instrumental in stopping a number of insensitive interventions and creating Italy’s first legislation for the Protection of Monuments. This legislation in turn laid the ground for the Charter of Athens- the first international document on the protection of monuments.

In 1931, the international symposium on the protection of Historic Monuments took place in Athens that resulted in the drafting of the Athens Charter, which became the earliest document on international recognition of preservation and acceptance. The principle focus of the Charter was the need for closer co-operation between the nations and the formation of a forum where information could be shared between nations. The Charter deemed that the protection of monuments was not an individual concern but that the general public had a right to learn about their heritage and take an active part in its protection. Following the Charter, there were major upheavals in the world with the Depression and the World War that left much of Europe in ruins. Hundreds and thousands of historic buildings were razed to the ground. Warsaw was leveled to the ground, London struck with fires and much of the built heritage of many countries destroyed. After the war, the other problem, which much of these countries faced, was the rapid changes due to mechanization. There were serious concerns towards the approaches that the restoration of these cities and the route that architecture would take.

The World Wars and the interest towards preservation.

The First World War (1914-1918) upset the social balance. It took away many young men, servants became scarce, and the class structures eroded. The days of the serviced country estate were over. Much of the monuments came under the purview of the Office of Public Works, which also looked after archaeological sites, historic buildings, and medieval ruins during the interwar years. The task comprised mostly of maintenance and tidying up and it was not until 1932 that any protection was given to historic buildings in Britain through the first of its Town and Country Planning Acts. The cultural disasters of the war were not lost upon the authorities. The German armies deployed special officers to units in charge of protecting cultural objects. [14]

The debate on the various reconstructions that took place moved in three directions- those who wanted to keep the ruins as a memory of destruction, those in favor of creation of gardens and others who favored rebuilding it exactly as it had been before the war. In most cases the third solution was considered the most favorable.

The Second World War (1939-45) shattered the historic core of many cities—Warsaw, Berlin, Dresden, Coventry and Portsmouth. The Limited resources at the end of the war went to survival and economic recovery while restoration and conservation were low priorities. Mass housing and prefabrication were the prevailing themes in construction. The spirit of the age after the war was for a better future based on a need for space, health, and education, rather than on cultural heritage. The Second World War had more destructive effects than the first. In France itself almost 460,000 buildings were destroyed and 15% of the listed buildings were damaged.[15]

The city of Warsaw rose up from the ashes with a massive campaign of rebuilding which was based on a set of existing measured drawings, prints and paintings and other pre-war documentation. Buildings in new Warsaw corresponded to the old in its façade but changes were made internally to incorporate modern amenities and facilities. In 1978, this reconstructed center of Warsaw was inscribed into the World Heritage List for its outstanding universal value. [16]


The Venice Charter[17]

It is certain that among the Council of Europe’s achievements can be counted the consultative effective interest in conservation, stemming from the decision of the Consultative Assembly set up in 1963. The Council was formed in 1946 at a time when Europe was passing though a difficult economic phase and the various European states were resolved to ensure that this tragedy would not reoccur. In the years that followed, symposia held in varies European cities advanced not only the study and understanding of Europe’s heritage in monuments and sites but also the organization of a conservation apparatus. The delegates to those symposia were the constituent State’s outstanding experts; their contributions in papers and in discussion are impressive. The nature of the seven conferences contains essential information about the history of the conservation movement, the problems involved and the solutions proposed.

The movement was initiated with an appropriate formality and even stiffness in Venice in 1964 when a group from 17 countries assembled in Venice to discuss these issues. The Venice Charter- the International Charter for the Conservation and Restoration of Monuments and Sites was drafted. It was recognized that it was “essential that the principles guiding the preservation and restoration of ancient buildings should be agreed and be laid down on an international basis, with each country being responsible for applying the plan within the framework of its own culture and traditions.”[18]

The Venice Charter is used as the principal guiding in international preservation practice. The Charter defines the historic monument as embracing not only a single architectural work but also incorporating the urban or rural setting in which it is found and lays down the aim of conserving and restoring monuments primarily to safeguard them much in the manner of works of art. It specifies the processes of restoration and conservation.

The Venice Charter has defined the path of preservation since with countries adapting in various forms, partially or in entirety depending on its needs. The various charters since then build on the Venice Charter and it remain the “datum point” for nations to abide. [19]

The field of historic preservation has been greatly affected by developments and discoveries in its allied fields of architecture and archaeology. Though archaeology as a scientific study is only around 150 years old, interest in the past and excavations of artifacts is an age-old phenomenon. One of the earliest probes in the past was as early as 2650-2140 B.C. in Egypt when the pharaohs excavated and reconstructed the Sphinx. [20]


Preservation in the colonies.

Along with the allied field of archaeology, international research, documentation and concertino methods evolved in tandem with developments in international affairs from over the past two centuries. Early examples of the set up by foreigners of departments for cultural heritage management are the establishment of the Archaeological Survey of India by the British in 1814 and the establishment of the Ecole Francais Extreme Oriente in various locations in French Indochina. The set-up of government bureaucracies for monuments management by foreign powers has undeniably had lasting effect in places countries such as India, Pakistan, Cambodia, Viet Nam, and Laos. These have in turn often, either directly or indirectly, served as models for neighboring countries such as Nepal, Thailand, Indonesia, the Philippines, etc. Indeed the French model of their being separate branches of museums and monuments under one ministry of culture, is a model used in many countries throughout the world from their original creations to the present.

The efforts by these various agencies had a positive effect on the protection of many of the historic sites in the various countries where this concept was introduced by the colonizers. In India, the Archaeological Survey continues to carry on its work even after the departure of the British and has been responsible for the protection of over 5000 monuments directly or indirectly over the last century. The neighboring countries of Nepal, Pakistan, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka look up to its activities and much of the initial works and legislation in these countries have been affected and based on the working of the Indian model.


International assistance.

Similar efforts have been noticed in other countries. Russia sent architects to Demre to restore the St Nicholas Church. The Keats-Shelley House, the boarding house where Keats died in 1821, was bought in 1903 after years of fundraising on both sides of the Atlantic. The house was turned into a museum and is dedicated to memorabilia related to Shelley, Keats and Byron, the trio of young poets who symbolize the English Romantic movement. The interest and concern towards historic architecture and heritage has over the years extended to encompass a wide variety and range of people and nations. Relief efforts for Versailles after the First World War, which started as a single soldier’s rescue efforts, sparked off the interest of John D. Rockefeller who sponsored much of the restoration. After the Second World War, others such as the Kress Foundation joined in the fray to support the preservation works at Versailles. Since then they have been joined by many individuals and organizations, which include the World Monuments Fund, in efforts to preserve and to expand the collections of this world heritage site.

Emperor Alexander II of Russia called in Brussels the first international conference to discuss the international laws and customs of war. This declaration, which remained on paper, declared culture to be belonging to common heritage of mankind and artistic treasure which once destroyed was considered irreplaceable. [21]However the First World War, which followed this declaration, showed the complete failure of this declaration.

In November 1966, Venice was flooded with filthy, oily water as a result of high tides and other phenomenon combined. This left behind a trail of sticky blackness underneath. The Venice in Peril Fund was started by Sir Ashley Clarke, the former ambassador to Italy shortly after to bring help to Italy and Florence. The Fund started with the restoration of the late Gothic church of Madonna dell’Orto and various other churches, which were less famous to bring attention to the lesser-known monuments and also to aid churches, which would not likely get any aid.

Much of the works of the fund has been concentrated towards the religious and artistic works in the city and the work is carried out by the specialist of the superintendencies, the local part of the Italian Ministry of Culture and paid for by the Fund. In 1966, in response to the appeal by UNESCO, numerous groups were established in various countries to collect and channel contributions to the works at Venice and numerous buildings benefited from these contributions. An International Campaign for the Safeguarding of Venice was set up. The set-up under this campaign for a three- way co-operation between the locals- represented by the superintendencies, the private committees and UNESCO. This set-up has been responsible for the restoration of over 100 monuments and over 1000 pieces of art.

In his book Conservation of Buildings, John Harvey agues that “The honor of producing the first general decree dealing with the whole problem of architectural monuments seems to belong to Louis X, Grand Duke of Hesse-Darmstadt (1753-1830)”. Significantly, the Hessian movement followed the Napoleonic Wars with the German patriots reacting to the destruction of their cultural heritage by the troops of a revolutionary France. A century and a quarter later a greater war produced a greater reaction. The aftermath of the second world war saw the creation of UNESCO, which despite its need to appear impartial with its true effect being limited to the power of persuasion, more than actual execution, has nevertheless triggered a number of important rescue operations, which otherwise probably would not have taken place. The effort to rescue Abu Simbel is a case in point. While it was a spectacular feat that caught the world’s attention at the time, the second best technical solution was used since less than half of the sum needed to do the optimum approach could be raised. Nonetheless it did generate publicity for that particular cause and point the way for more international rescue operations of the sort.

Threats to the heritage of a place are not necessarily from natural forces alone. In 1960, the construction of the Aswan Dam threatened the obliteration of numerous historically and architecturally significant structures in Egypt and Sudanese Nubia. Traditional rulers of Egypt built their palaces and monuments, temples and shrines along the Nile, as they knew that the flooding and silting of river was the lifeline of the agriculture and subsequently the lifeline of the people. The damming of the river to allow for irrigation for a greater area of land was a conscious intervention on the part of the government to promote other interests over the protection of the numerous monuments, which lay scattered along the river. An international campaign to save the Nubian monuments was started simultaneously. A committee was set up to look into the effects of the dam, which recommended a survey, excavation and research of all the sites. A result of this campaign was the saving of over 20 monuments in Egypt and 4 monuments in Nubia. [22]

At the 9th Unesco general conference in New Delhi, the decision was made to found an international center for the study and the preservation and restoration of cultural properties. This inter-governmental organization, earlier known as the Rome Center or sometimes as the International Centre for Conservation has since been called ICCROM. It was established in 1959 in Rome. Its primary task since it’s founding has been in the identifying and creating a worldwide network of experts and specialized institutions in the conservation and restoration. ICCROM has since then focused its attention in the multidisciplinary collaboration in conservation with archaeologists, architects, planners, curators etc. It offered initial courses in the conservation of historic towns and buildings in the early 60s along with courses on material conservation.


International Agencies.

International Agencies had a major role to play in the conservation of cultural heritage globally with Unesco playing one of the key roles. Unesco was founded in 1945 by 37 countries and was ratified by 20 countries the next year when it came into force. The purpose of the Organization was defined as: "to contribute to peace and security by promoting collaboration among nations through education, science and culture in order to further universal respect for justice, for the rule of law and for the human rights and fundamental freedoms which are affirmed for the peoples of the world, without distinction of race, sex, language or religion, by the Charter of the United Nations".[23] Unesco was entrusted with the task of “ensuring the preservation and protection of the world heritage of works of arts and monuments of historic and scientific interest”. Simultaneously in 1946, the International Council of Museums was founded in November in Paris. The Documentation Centre is placed under the charge of ICOM, which becomes the resource center for museums all around the world.

These came at a time when much of Asia and Africa was getting de-colonized and there was a conscious effort of the national and cultural identities. Much of Unesco’s early work pertained to movable heritage and hence the co-operation between the two agencies was mutually beneficial. In 1949, Unesco called a meeting of experts to decide on the establishment of an International Committee on Monuments. This was approved in soon. In 1951, it was decided to send a team organized by Unesco to assist in the restoration of the city of Cuzco, which was heavily damaged by an earthquake. Thus began Unesco’s missions towards cultural heritage protection, which has over the year spread and continues to do so in every corner of the globe.

The International role of Unesco was first tested when the monuments of Nubia were being seriously damaged. Unesco’s first international campaign for saving these monuments was successful in the response that it received from every level, of all age groups and nationalities. This made it clear that these monuments belonged to everyone- to all humankind. Unesco’s role in cultural heritage has primarily been in the provision of preparation of various charters and guidelines, which could be used to guide international legislation regarding cultural heritage. One of the earliest such documents which Unesco was responsible for was the Hague Convention for the Protection of Cultural Property in the event of Armed Conflict. This document, which was initiated early in 1899 and 1907, was updated in 1954 when it was finally adopted in Nederland by 102 countries in the wake of the Second World War. This document led to the development of the Unesco Convention on the Means of Prohibiting and Preventing the Illicit Import, Export and Transfer of Ownership of Cultural Property (1970) and various other charters. Unesco collaborated with the French to organize an international meeting of various professionals responsible for cultural heritage to draft the Venice Charter in 1957. 600 participants from over 61 countries and representatives of Unesco, ICOM and ICCROM attended the meeting, which was held at Venice. The Charter was considered as a revision to the Athens Charter and in it, the concept of historic settings was included as being significant along with the buildings.

The ICOMOS – International Council on Monuments and Sites was formed the next year and till date uses the Venice Charter as a datum point in all their preservation practices. The ICOMOS is an international non-governmental organization of professionals, dedicated to the conservation of the world's historic monuments and sites providing a forum for professional dialogue and a vehicle for the collection, evaluation, and dissemination of information on conservation principles, techniques, and policies. ICOMOS is Unesco’s principal advisor on matters pertaining to cultural sites and also the World Heritage Committee. ICOMOS like Unesco is based in Paris and has local offices and national committees in various countries. Raymond Lemaire one of the founders of ICOMOS sums up the role of ICOMOS as an organization “promoting on an international level the conservation, protection, utilization and valorization of monuments, ensembles and sites.”

Other agencies such as the Getty, the World Monuments Fund, the Smithsonian Institute, the Aga Khan Trust, the World Bank and many other international bodies have played a big role in the development of the field as well as increasing international understanding and appreciation of both heritage and its protection. The Council of Europe was established in 1949, and aims to promote co-operation in heritage policies and technical assistance amongst its 47 States. The Amsterdam Declaration that was adopted as a part of the European Year of Architectural Heritage laid the basis for a series of principles to promote preservation of historic properties and led to the recognition that historic preservation was an integral part of urban planning and land development. It also laid down legal and administrative measures for the successful implementation of preservation initiatives. In 1977, the Granada Declaration was adopted which addressed issues pertaining specifically to the cultural heritage of rural environments of Europe. European institutions have been engaged in partial financing of pilot projects of historic preservation and restoration of European sites and monuments of exceptional quality. In recent years, the Council has been actively involved in developing an Action Plan for Bosnia and Herzegovina following the civic conflicts, which devastated the historic fabric.

The Getty Conservation institute was formed in 1982 when the Trust decided to establish a conservation center for scientific research, collection and dissemination of information, and training in conservation theory and practice. Since then, the Institute has developed both in size and expertise and conducted a number of projects in Asia, Africa, North and South America, and Europe. Some of the works include development of a Cultural Heritage site management plan for the Mayan region, repairs of damaged bas-relief at t Benin in West Africa, the stabilization of wall paintings of the tomb of Nefertari in Egypt, conservation and management of the Mogao Grottoes in China and the collaborative effort with the Chinese in the formulation of the China Principles for conservation works in China. The Institute provides internships for graduate students in conservation that vary from 8 to 12 months.

Colonel James Gray founded the World Monuments Fund in 1965 as a result of concern towards the imminent collapse of the Leaning Tower of Pisa. The initial projects of the Fund were focused on individual buildings, which were paired with donors for the period of the project. WMF’s art historian and Chair Dr. Marilyn Perry describes the transition of the Fund from “nice charity that cares about old buildings to an organization like the Red Cross that can go wherever necessary to help with emergencies or avert them”. The initial projects were concentrated in Western Europe. The collapse of the Soviet Union in 1989 revealed the amount of neglect and damage of aesthetically and historically important buildings in the former Communist countries. The World Heritage Fund with a $5 million from American Express launched a worldwide program to bring global attention to cultural heritage sites all around the world under a program called the World Monuments Watch. The first List of 100 Most Endangered Sites was issued in 1996 followed by subsequent lists every two years. The WMF focuses on going beyond the protection and preservation of aesthetics and encourages public participation in its activities

The Aga Khan Trust for Culture, with a primary purpose of improving built environment in societies where Muslims have a significant presence, has initiated, planned and promoted various projects such as the planning for the historic city of Samarkand, the master plan of Zanzibar and various other projects. One of the greatest developments in the field of Cultural Heritage towards the end of the last millennium was the interest of the World Bank in Cultural heritage and the recognition of the richness of the diversity of cultural diversity. The Bank funded and supported the urban projects of Lahore City in Pakistan and the historic district in Tunis where it realized that the Bank needed to be active in the following fields of conceptual analyses, financial and technical support and providing partnerships with other agencies. The bank intended to support financially, and technically in alliance with the other agencies, the protection of cultural heritage as well as the expression of the local culture.

Apart from the larger international agencies, there are numerous smaller agencies some of which have a more regional focus. The Katmandu Valley Preservation Trust founded by Americans, works in Nepal and looks at the monuments in the Katmandu Valley in Nepal. The Tibet Heritage Fund founded by Norwegians, looks after monuments that have Tibetan origins in the Tibetan Plateau and beyond. They have done extensive surveys of buildings in Lhasa in Tibet as well as Tibetan influenced architecture in Mongolia.


World Heritage Sites

Much of the charters and resolutions were paper documents and Unesco did not have much control over the actual sites and monuments. In 1972, at the 17th General Conference of Unesco held at Paris, the Convention Concerning the Protection of the World Cultural and Natural Heritage was adopted. This document provides precise definitions of world cultural and natural heritage, and at the same time stipulates the guiding principles for implementing the Convention. It is an international standard instrument with far-reaching influence worked out and executed by UNESCO on a global scale. This document has since then been ratified by 152 State parties.

One of its principal functions is to identify cultural sites and landscapes of outstanding significance and universal value all over the world to include in the World Heritage List and to place them under the general protection of the international community as the common heritage of mankind. The Convention aims to promote cooperation and mutual support among all peoples of the world for safeguarding mankind’s common heritage and to urge them to make active contributions to the cause.

To heighten the professional level of their protection, evaluation, monitoring and technical assistance work, UNESCO and the world heritage committee have invited the international council of monuments and sites (ICOMOS), the International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources (IUCN), and the International Center for the Study of the Preservation and Restoration of Cultural Property (ICCROM), all international prestigious professional organizations, to act as advisory bodies and to offer expert help in the investigation, evaluation and monitoring of heritage sites and in the work concerning training, financial, and technical assistance. ICOMOS advises chiefly in the field of cultural heritage, IUCN in the field of natural heritage, and ICCROM in the work concerning technical training, research, and publicity and expert service in the field of cultural heritage. By the end of 2002, there were 730 sites included on the world heritage list, which are distributed in the territories of 125 States Parties. Of these 563 are cultural, 144 are natural, and 23 are mixed cultural and natural sites (including cultural landscapes). [24]

In addition to the List, the World Heritage Committee prepares and publishes a List of World Heritage in Danger, which includes world heritage properties, which are threatened by serious and specific danger owing to development, armed conflicts or natural disasters. A trust fund has been established under the convention to meet immediate conservation needs of the properties listed under the List of World Heritage in Danger. The World Heritage has been described as one of the most effective tools to protect heritage. However, the recognition of cultural heritage puts these sites under huge stresses owing to the interest generated to them by tourists, which without an adequate management and control has a detrimental effect.


Molding the various international charters

Though preservation as an interest is a phenomenon of the 19th Century, it blossomed into a profession only in the mid 20th Century. The comprehensive legal frameworks and the various other international guidelines, which framed the profession internationally, began with the Athens Charter. The Hague Convention of 1907as a result of the Russian War (an attempt to protect monuments in events of conflict) and the Madrid Conference of 1904 (which classified monuments as dead or living and the need to restore living monuments) were not successful documents. The Venice Charter of 1964 went beyond the Athens to incorporate the settings of the monuments. The successive charters have been addendums to the Venice.

There are numerous examples of the adoption of international conventions with flexibility and wisdom in order to incorporate the culture of various countries and regions. Two specific examples of the adaptation are the Burra Charter and the Declaration of Oaxaca. In Australia, the greatest challenge has been to make the Burra Charter applicable to Aboriginal places, and adapt its methodology for use by their Aboriginal custodians. The Charter’s strength lies in the assessment of cultural values and important role that it plays in the management of culturally significant values. The Burra Charter recommends that where possible all established cultural values of the place should be conserved. The Burra Charter was adopted in 1988 and has since been revised several times with the last revision in 1999.

Charter of Aotearoa- is being rewritten to include Maori views of significance and value, particularly the Maori belief that places imbued with the spirit of the ancestors should be allowed to decay. The Cultural Treaty of the Arab League, November 1946 is one where a group of countries came together to co-operate regionally on various which also included the revival and the safeguarding of intellectual and artistic legacy.

The Venice Charter has been argued as not being necessarily reflective of the global perspective of preservation. Experts in the United States have argued since its inception that the Document is a charter, which deals primarily with the conservation of stone monuments – a European phenomenon and does not cater to the preservation of monuments of wood and other materials as in the US. Similarly, Eastern preservationists think that the western preservation movement is very based on the preservation of the material while in the East; preservation is more of the spirit of the place.[25] While preservation of heritage is thought of as being a more universal and collaborative effort there are cases where this opinion is not shared and is surprisingly just the opposite. In the words of former ICOMOS Canada president, Francois Leblanc: 1990-1994.

“Internationally, sharing knowledge is even worse, it is very difficult and generally bad, although this is normal and understandable. Problems of communication are very great. There are tremendous cultural differences across the world including different concepts of culture and heritage, which often cannot translate, from one language to another. If it is an untranslatable spiritual concept and intrinsic to heritage value then communication becomes very difficult. Likewise issues differ enormously and the issues in one part of the world are completely irrelevant to another part. For example, in northern Mozambique one issue is what techniques to use to survey a site when the principle issue is that surveyors are eaten by lions at certain times of the year. The issues are very different for those in Paris or Tokyo.”[26]


The realization of Cultural Diversity

Culture diversity exists in two forms diversity within a culture in the form of beliefs, social forms and various components of culture and diversity among the various cultures, which exist. The concept of cultural diversity has moved from broad based ideas of western and eastern cultures or large geographic and ethnic units to recognize smaller units within these larger ethnic and geographic divisions. The earlier concept of western and non- western cultures has been described as over simplification that serve no purpose but rather an attempt to obscure the values held most deeply by each group. [27] Even within groups such as the Native Americans, there are considerable differences from one part of the continent to the other and the presence of a distinct character of each of the tribes.

The Venice Charter was drafted by a predominantly European group and called upon the various signatory countries to use the charter within its framework of culture and traditions. The Venice Charter was adopted by many nations from beyond the European realm in most cases in its entirety. Repercussions regarding this direct adoption were felt, first in the “non western” world and later within the western world within the world of material conservation.


The Nara Document of Authenticity [28]

Experts gathered in Nara, Japan as the criterion for heritage preservation laid down by the Venice Charter was found to be lacking in catering to the diverse cultures. The charter was generally thought of as being very Eurocentric with a focus towards the conservation of stone buildings.[29]

If we are to pin our conservation principles to the point of these being the forerunners in terms of present day practices, then a good starting point in modern times, is the "Venice Charter" of 1964. Many attempts have been made to revise the Venice Charter and even we, proposed such a course of action in 1983. But subsequently, the ICOMOS organization resolved in 1990 to enshrine the Venice Charter, like the old religious precepts of the “Ten Commandments”, or the “Eight Fold Noble Path” of the Buddhists, and treat it as a Monument. Thereafter, we permitted Nations and Regions to formulate their own practices in greater depth, while the “Venice Charter” remains the “datum point” or the “minimum provisions” for nations to abide.
Dr. Roland Silva, Honorary President, ICOMOS

The Nara Document was envisaged as an addendum to the Venice Charter and acknowledges that the diversity of cultures and heritage in our world is an irreplaceable source of spiritual and intellectual richness for all humankind calling for the active promotion of its protection and enhancement. It calls upon the protection and enhancement of cultural and heritage diversity in our world to be actively promoted as an essential aspect of human development and places the responsibility for cultural heritage and the management to the cultural community that has generated it, and subsequently to that, which cares for it.The Nara Document also recognized that values that are attributed to cultural properties differ between cultures and that value judgments should not be based within fixed criterion but rather with the context to which these properties belong. [30]

One reason for the importance of the Document of Nara is that, unlike the revisions in the Australian and New Zealand charters and unlike NAGPRA in the United States, the values of indigenous peoples are not identified as uniquely different; with, therefore, unique provisions for the treatment of their objects, structures and sites. In the Nara document, there is no mention of indigenous peoples or their values. Cultural diversity is valued worldwide, and preservation practices should take into account the varying traditions, varying types of monuments, and varying environments of all peoples. [31]
More recently the general conference of UNESCO in November 2001 adopted the Universal Declaration of Cultural Diversity. This declaration affirmed that “respect for the diversity of cultures, tolerance, dialogue and co-operation, in a climate of mutual trust and understanding was among the best guarantees of international peace and security.” It also recognized that culture took on diverse form across time and space and this was embodied in the uniqueness and plurality of the identities of the groups and societies making up mankind.

[1] Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi, excerpts from “Why We Need Things” in History of Things: Essays on Material Culture, Lubar, Steven and W. David Kingery, eds. (Smithsonian Institution Press 1993) P. 20-28.
[2] Not much is known of the life of Pausanius (mid 2nd Century AD)- a Greek traveler and geographer. “Description of Greece” which was written by him runs in ten volumes and was meant to be a kind of a tourist guide to Greece with its historical and religious artifacts. Strabo (64 BC to 21 AD) a Greek historian and geographer’s “Geography” runs into 17 books and is a wealth of information on the historical geography of the area. Both of them have written vivid descriptions of the historical architecture, which no longer exists today such as the Statue of the Zeus in the Ancient Olympic Complex. These descriptions along with the other discoveries by archaeologists (in the case of the Statue of Zeus- excavations of terracotta molds) help in the visually reconstruction of these various sites.
[3] Daniel, Glyn. A Hundred and Fifty Years of Archaeology (London:Duckworth,1978), P. 17.
[4] Skarmeas, George Christos. “An Analysis of Architectural Preservation Theories: From 1790 to 1975”(Ph.D.diss., University of Pennsylvania, 1983), P1.
[5] Ibid. P.24
[6] Hellenic Ministry of Culture, A Review of Seizure. (Online) Rev. October 10, 2002. Available: http://www.culture.gr/6/68/682/e68201.html. [October 10, 2002]
[7] Skarmeas, George Christos. “An Analysis of Architectural Preservation Theories: From 1790 to 1975”(Ph.D.diss., University of Pennsylvania, 1983), P25.
It was events such as these that triggered the UNESCO Convention on the Means of Prohibiting and Preventing the Illicit Import, Export and Transfer of Ownership of Cultural Property Paris, 14 November, 1970
This document is the first agreement of its kind to be accepted worldwide and seeks to protect cultural property against theft, illicit export and wrongful alienation. States which are party to the Convention are bound to return to other State Parties cultural property that has been stolen from a museum or similar institution and is inventoried, to take measures to control the acquisition of illicitly traded cultural objects by persons and institutions in their country, to co-operate with other States having severe problems of protection of their heritage by applying import controls based on the export controls of other States Parties, and to take steps to educate the public. The Parthenon marbles and the Elgin fiasco has been an international debate for a very long time. While England is party to the Charter, these marbles still remain in the British Museum.
[8] Rosenweig , Brahm. Napoleon’s Lost Fleet: Napoleon in Egypt. (Online) Rev. October 11, 2002. Available: http://exn.ca/napoleon/egypt.cfm. [October 11, 2002]
[9] Linstrum. Derek, “Giuseppe Valadier et l’Arc de Titus”. Monumentum (March 1982),p.51.
[10]“Anastylosis aims to make the spatial character of a ruined structure more comprehensible by reinstating its lost original form, using the original material which is located at the site and is in satisfactory condition. Anastylosis as an intervention refers in general to structures consisting of clearly identifiable components.”
Lagerqvist, Bosse . A System approach to Conservation and Cultural Resources : Management photogrammetry as a base for designing documentation models. (Online) Rev. October 11, 2002. Available: http://cipa.icomos.org/system.pdf. [October 11, 2002]
[11] Viollet-le-Duc, Eugene Emmanuel, Dictionaire Taisonne de l’Architecutre de Xle siecle, vol 8, (Paris : B.Bance, A. Morel, 1866), P14-34.
[12] Skarmeas, George Christos. “An Analysis of Architectural Preservation Theories: From 1790 to 1975”(Ph.D.diss., University of Pennsylvania, 1983), P74.
[13] Skarmeas, George Christos. “An Analysis of Architectural Preservation Theories: From 1790 to 1975”(Ph.D.diss., University of Pennsylvania, 1983), P 83.
[14] Ibid.
[15] Jukka Jokilehto, A history of architectural conservation (Oxford, England ; Boston : Butterworth-Heinemann, 1999),p.285
[16] Ibid.
[17] See Appendix for full document.
[18] The Venice Charter: International Charter for the Conservation and Restoration of Monument and Sites. ( Online) Rev. October 18, 2002. Available: http://www.icomos.org/docs/venice_charter.html [ October 18, 2002]
[19]Silva, Roland. Problems, Aims and Future Directions to Conserving the Past: (Online) Rev. October 18, 2002. Available: http://www.unescobkk.org/culture/roland.htm [October 18, 2002]
[20]Hirst, K. Kirst. The History of Archaeology, Part I: The Treasure Hunters. ( Online) Rev. October 17, 2002. Available: http://archaeology.about.com/library/weekly/aa113097.htm [October 17, 2002]
[21] Jukka Jokilehto, A history of architectural conservation (Oxford, England ; Boston : Butterworth-Heinemann, 1999),p.282
[22] The Nubian Campaign saved a larger number of monuments along the Egyptian side while only four were saved in the Nubian region. This intervention though most noble is often used by the Nubians as an example of how their culture is passed over for the greater Egyptian culture.
[23] Unesco 1945-2000:A Fact Sheet : (Online).Rev ( October 22, 2002) Available: http://www.unesco.org/general/eng/about/history/back.shtml [October 22, 2002]
[24] The World Heritage List (Online). Rev (October 22, 2002). Available: http://whc.unesco.org/heritage.htm . [October 22, 2002]
[25] Chen Wei and Andreas Aas 1989Heritage Conservation: East and West. ICOMOS Information – July/ September n. 3/1989.
[26]Ward John, Sharing ICOMOS information (Online) Rev: October 24, 2002. Online: http://canada.icomos.org/bulletin/vol6_no2_ward_e.html [October 24, 2002]
[27]Charles S. Rhyne. “Cultural Diversity and Conservation,” keynote address given at a symposium at the J. Paul Getty Museum, Malibu, CA., June 1995.
[28] See Appendix for full document.
[29] Charles S. Rhyne. The First International Document for Diverse Cultural Values in Conservation: "The Document of Nara" a paper presented at the Annual Meeting of American Institute for the Conservation of Historic and Artistic Works St. Paul, Minnesota 7th June 1995.
[30] The Nara Document of Authenticity
[31] Document of Nara" a paper presented at the Annual Meeting of American Institute for the Conservation of Historic and Artistic Works St. Paul, Minnesota 7th June 1995.