Editorial Introduction

This issue features four articles that address a range of challenges in the conservation and management of archaeological heritage, from materials conservation, urban development, to site interpretation and presentation, and site management planning.

The first article, ‘A Review of Fungal Decay in Historic Wooden Structures in Polar Regions’, highlights the challenges for material conservation in the distinctive environmental conditions of the Polar regions (Antarctica and the High Arctic), where wood is the primary historic building material. Anne-Cathrine Flyen and Alma Thuestad bring their wealth of expertise on the archaeological heritage of the Polar regions to provide a state-of-the-field review of the dynamics and impacts of fungal decay in historic wooden structures in these regions. From the review, they identify gaps in knowledge and topics that receive less attention in the literature, such as decay rates, the causes and types of damage to heritage resources, methods for repair and conservation, and the impacts of climate change on fungal decay. Taken together, a review of the literature roundly refutes the idea that the cold and dry conditions of Antarctica and the High Arctic limits fungal decay; instead factors such as constant exposure to moisture and varying microclimates within structures help drive fungal degradation, as do broader processes such as rising temperatures and permafrost thawing. They argue for further research and greater collaboration between researchers across disciplines and regions to develop effective conservation strategies and ensure the preservation of wooden heritage in polar environments.

In ‘Vegetation, Bulldozing, and Urban Change-Related Risks to Built Heritage in Bawshar, Oman’, Mohamed Hesein and Mohammed Ali K. Al-Belushi detail the challenges confronting built heritage in Bawshar, Oman amid rapid socio-economic development, urban growth, and modernisation. Bawshar has experienced significant changes in land use, with traditional agricultural areas supplanted by modern residential and commercial developments. Their study tracked the risks posed to heritage sites from 2000 to 2017 by these developments, including vegetation encroachment, bulldozing, and urban expansion. They employ high-resolution satellite imagery and GIS to classify and map the current and potential risks to built heritage, focusing on Wadi Bawshar, an area characterised by a blend of rural and urban landscapes with archaeological sites and historic monuments present. The research shows the value of risk assessment for integrating heritage conservation into strategic planning processes, by providing baseline data and prioritising responses to safeguard vulnerable built heritage in rapidly urbanising environments.

The next article in this issue, by Miquel Àngel Salvà Cantarellas, turns to the challenges of site presentation in ‘Interpreting the Diachronic Past: Time and the Archaeological Record in the Presentation of Mediterranean World Heritage Sites’. Salvà Cantarellas explores the difficulties of interpreting and presenting an archaeological site’s diachrony for site visitors. Diachrony involves the site’s history over time, and especially how the archaeological record was formed by human actions layered over one another through time like a palimpsest of construction, alteration, transformation, and superimposition. He examines the interpretive exhibits at seven UNESCO World Heritage Sites located in Malta, Sardinia, Ibiza, and Minorca, and also interviews managers at the sites, to show the public interpretation challenges they face in communicating through fragmentary archaeological evidence the overlapping activities on a site over time. He found that interpretive materials like panels, displays, and even audio guides tended to convey a compartmentalised viewpoint on site chronology, and struggle to create a picture of the multi-phase and dynamic character of archaeological sites. Instead, innovative approaches like interactive models and 4D animations might help to combat these tendencies and provide a better medium for communicating diachrony at a site. Overall, the study argues that public interpretation materials too often flatten the existing rich understanding of a site’s history and its level of occupation through time, and instead a tailored and dynamic approach is critical to tap public interest in a site.

The final article, titled ‘Management Planning of a Rock-cut Settlement: The Case of Taşkale Heritage Site in Turkey’, showcases the significance and value of the Taşkale settlement site in Turkey, composed of historic rock-cut granaries and traditional houses, caves, and volcanic formations. The authors Rukiye Merve Kilit and Gülşen Dişli propose a management plan that emphasises sustainable conservation and community engagement, and the development of the plan is drawn from field studies, condition surveys, SWOT analyses, interviews, and other collaboration with stakeholders. The overall aim for the management plan is to provide the correct support to better position the site for nomination and inscription to the World Heritage List. As such, Kilit and Dişli provide a comprehensive condition assessment of the site, and a detailed account of the site’s authenticity and integrity and how these combine to demonstrate the site’s Outstanding Universal Value. The management plan is also drafted to foster a sustainable development for the site that benefits and enlists the local community and relevant stakeholders in preserving its cultural significance.