Value-based studies relating to the ICOMOS Guidelines on Fortifications and Military Heritage

Abstract

Fortifications are the outcome of the historical development of human settlements, regions, and even nations. From the prehistoric era to modern times, fortifications have been an essential component of the self-defense of any human community. Fortifications were integrated with their settings in various ways.

ICOMOS (International Council on Monuments and Sites), an advisory body in the field of cultural heritage of the UNESCO World Heritage Committee, prepares charters, principles, guidelines, and declarations to effectively establish, conserve, and utilize various categories of cultural heritage, and promotes them to the world. ICOFORT (International Scientific Committee on Fortifications and Military Heritage), one of the international scientific committees under ICOMOS developed a charter on the protection, conservation, and interpretation of fortifications and military heritage from 2007 to 2021. This charter was officially adopted during the ICOMOS General Assembly in 2021 under the title of “the ICOMOS Guidelines on Fortifications and Military Heritage.” ICOMOS Guidelines set out how to identify the basic attributes of fortifications and military heritage indicating their value. In this paper, the aim is to provide directions for stakeholders, mainly site managers in specific fields of fortifications and military heritage, on how to identify, disseminate a fortification’s value, conserve its attributes embodying the value, and utilize its heritage through a value-based approach. It considers and offers an interpretation of the attribute system that reflects the functional authenticity of the fortifications and military heritage.