A Vulnerability Assessment Framework for Cultural Heritage Sites: The Case of the Roman Ruins of Tróia

Abstract

This article contributes to developing an indicator-based vulnerability assessment framework for cultural heritage sites. It provides a vulnerability index for heritage sites potentially exposed to multiple hazards, including sudden-onset and slow-onset hazards, while considering climate change influences. Through determining particular criteria and indicators, the Cultural Heritage Vulnerability Index incorporates structural and non-structural factors of the heritage site and its local and national settings. The assessment procedure was applied to the case of the Roman Ruins of Tróia in Portugal. The findings highlight those areas of sensitivity (e.g., the existing deterioration patterns and types of foundation) and coping and adaptive capacities (e.g., institutional setting and response plan) that significantly contribute to the level of vulnerability and risk. The results of vulnerability assessment will further enable determining priorities and developing risk mitigation and preparedness measures, in particular reducing structural sensitivity and promoting coping capacities.

Keywords

Climate change / Coping capacity / Cultural heritage / Risk assessment / Roman Ruins of Tróia / Vulnerability assessment

References

[1] Andrade C, Rebêlo L, Brito PO, Freitas MC. Dias R, Araújo A, Terrinha P, Kullenberg JC. Holocene processes: Aspects of the geology, geomorphology and sediment dynamics of the Tróia-Sines coastal stretch ( Processos holocénicos: Aspectos da geologia, geomorfologia e dinâmica sedimentar do troço litoral Tróia-Sines ). Geology of Portugal in the Iberian context (Geologia de Portugal no contexto da Ibéria), 2013, Lisbon: Sociedade Geológica de Portugal e Universidade de Évora 533-571 (in Portuguese)

[2] Appiotti F, Assumma V, Bottero M, Campostrini P, Datola G, Lombardi P, Rinaldi E. Definition of a risk assessment model within a European Interoperable Database Platform (EID) for cultural heritage. Journal of Cultural Heritage, 2020, 46: 268-277

[3] Baldi P, Giovagnoli A, Marabelli M, Coppi R. Models and methods for the construction of risk maps for cultural heritage. Journal of the Italian Statistical Society, 1995, 4: 1-15

[4] Barreiros, G. 1561. Chorography of some places by a path that Gaspar Barreiros took in the year 1591 beginning in the city of Badajoz, in Castile, until that of Milan in Italy (Chorographia de alguns lugares que stam em hum caminho, que fez Gaspar Barreiros ó anno MDxxxxj começado na cidade de Badajoz em Castella, te á de Milam em Italia). Coimbra, Portugal: Ioam Alvarez, impressor da universidade (in Portuguese).

[5] Berto L, Doria A, Faccio P, Saetta A, Talledo D. Vulnerability analysis of built cultural heritage: A multidisciplinary approach for studying the Palladio’s Tempietto Barbaro. International Journal of Architectural Heritage, 2017, 11(6): 773-790

[6] Birkmann J. Measuring vulnerability to natural hazards: Towards disaster resilient societies, 2013, Tokyo: United Nations University Press

[7] Birkmann J, Cardona OD, Carreño ML, Barbat AH, Pelling M, Schneiderbauer S, Kienberger S, Keiler M Framing vulnerability, risk and societal responses: The MOVE framework. Natural Hazards, 2013, 67(2): 193-211

[8] Bogardi J, Birkmann J. Malzahn D, Plapp T. Vulnerability assessment: The first step towards sustainable risk reduction. Disaster and society: From hazard assessment to risk reduction, 2004, Berlin: Logos Verlag 75-82.

[9] Brooks, N. 2003. Vulnerability, risk and adaptation: A conceptual framework. Tyndall Centre for Climate Change Research working paper No. 38. University of East Anglia, Norwich, UK.

[10] Cantagallo C, Spacone E, Perrucci D, Liguori N, Verazzo C. A multilevel approach for the cultural heritage vulnerability and strengthening: Application to the Melfi Castle. Buildings, 2020, 10(9): Article 158

[11] Cardona OD. Bankoff G, Frerks G, Hilhorst D. The need for rethinking the concepts of vulnerability and risk from a holistic perspective: A necessary review and criticism for effective risk management. Mapping vulnerability: Disasters, development and people, 2013, London: Routledge 56-70.

[12] Cardona OD, Van Aalst MK, Birkmann J, Fordham M, Mc Gregor G, Rosa P, Pulwarty RS, Schipper ELF Determinants of risk: Exposure and vulnerability. Managing the risks of extreme events and disasters to advance climate change adaptation: Special report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, 2012, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press 65-108

[13] D’Ayala, D., A. Copping, and H. Wang. 2006. A conceptual model for multi-hazard assessment of the vulnerability of historic buildings. In Structural analysis of historical constructions: Possibilities of numerical and experimental techniques. Proceedings of the Fifth International Conference, 6–8 November 2006, ed. P.B. Lourenço, P. Roca, C. Modena, and S. Agrawal, 121–140. New Delhi, India, Barcelona, Spain: CIMNE.

[14] Daly C. A framework for assessing the vulnerability of archaeological sites to climate change: Theory, development, and application. Conservation and Management of Archaeological Sites, 2014, 16(3): 268-282

[15] FEMA (Federal Emergency Management Agency) Integrating historic property and cultural resource considerations into hazard mitigation planning: How-to guide (FEMA 386–9), 2005, Washington: FEMA

[16] Figueiredo R, Romao X, Pauperio E. Component-based flood vulnerability modelling for cultural heritage buildings. International Journal of Disaster Risk Reduction, 2021, 61: Article 102323

[17] Fitzner, B. 2007. Evaluation and documentation of stone damage on monuments. In Proceedings of the International Symposium of Stone Conservation, 29 May 2007, Seoul, Korea, 25–30.

[18] Forino G, MacKee J, von Meding J. A proposed assessment index for climate change-related risk for cultural heritage protection in Newcastle (Australia). International Journal of Disaster Risk Reduction, 2016, 19: 235-248

[19] Füssel HM, Klein RJT. Climate change vulnerability assessments: An evolution of conceptual thinking. Climatic Change, 2006, 75(3): 301-329

[20] Gallopín GC. Linkages between vulnerability, resilience, and adaptive capacity. Global Environmental Change, 2006, 16(3): 293-303

[21] Garrote J, Diez-Herrero A, Escudero C, Garcia I. A framework proposal for regional-scale flood-risk assessment of cultural heritage sites and application to the Castile and León region (central Spain). Water, 2020, 12(2): Article 329

[22] ICOMOS-ISCS (International Council on Monuments and Sites—International Scientific Committee for Stone). 2008. Illustrated glossary on stone deterioration patterns. Paris: ICOMOS-ISCS. http://iscs.icomos.org/glossary.html. Accessed 10 May 2017.

[23] IPCC (Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change). 2014. Annex II: Glossary. In Climate change 2014: Synthesis report. Contribution of Working Groups I, II and III to the fifth assessment report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, ed. Core Writing Team, R.K. Pachauri, and L.A. Meyer, 117–130. Geneva: IPCC.

[24] IPCC (Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change). 2018. Annex I: Glossary. In Global warming of 1.5°C. An IPCC special report on the impacts of global warming of 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels and related global greenhouse gas emission pathways, in the context of strengthening the global response to the threat of climate change, sustainable development, and efforts to eradicate poverty, ed. V. Masson-Delmotte, p. Zhai, H.-O. Pörtner, D. Roberts, J. Skea, P.R. Shukla, A. Pirani, W. Moufouma-Okia, et al., 541–562. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

[25] ISO (International Organization for Standardization) IEC 31010:2009 risk management—Risk assessment techniques, 2009, Geneva: ISO

[26] Jurgilevich A, Räsänen A, Juhola S. Assessing the dynamics of urban vulnerability to climate change: Case of Helsinki, Finland. Environmental Science & Policy, 2021, 125: 32-43

[27] Kelman I. Lost for words amongst disaster risk science vocabulary?. International Journal of Disaster Risk Science, 2018, 9(3): 281-291

[28] Lagomarsino S. On the vulnerability assessment of monumental buildings. Bulletin of Earthquake Engineering, 2006, 4: 445-463

[29] Lagomarsino S. Oliveira CS, Roca A, Goula X. Vulnerability assessment of historical buildings. Assessing and managing earthquake risk: Geo-scientific and engineering knowledge for earthquake risk mitigation: Developments, tools, techniques, 2008, Dordrecht: Springer 135-159.

[30] Lowry M, Farrar BJ, Armendariz D, Podany J. Protecting collections in the J. Paul Getty Museum from earthquake damage. WAAC Newsletter, 2007, 29(3): 16-23.

[31] Michalski, S., and J.L. Pedersoli. 2016. The ABC method: A risk management approach to the preservation of cultural heritage. Rome: ICCROM (International Centre for the Study of the Preservation and Restoration of Cultural Property), Canadian Conservation Institute. http://publications.gc.ca/collections/collection_2017/pch/CH44-157-2016-eng.pdf. Accessed 15 May 2017.

[32] Muething G, Waller R, Graham F. Risk assessment of collections in exhibitions at the Canadian museum of nature. Journal of the American Institute for Conservation, 2005, 44(3): 233-243

[33] Ortiz R, Ortiz P. Vulnerability index: A new approach for preventive conservation of monuments. International Journal of Architectural Heritage, 2016, 10(8): 1078-1100

[34] Papathoma-Köhle M, Gems B, Sturm M, Fuchs S. Matrices, curves and indicators: A review of approaches to assess physical vulnerability to debris flows. Earth-Science Reviews, 2017, 171: 272-288

[35] Phillips H. The capacity to adapt to climate change at heritage sites—The development of a conceptual framework. Environmental Science & Policy, 2015, 47: 118-125

[36] Pinto, I.V., A.P. Magalhães, and p. Brum. 2014. An overview of the fish-salting production centre at Tróia (Portugal). In Fish & ships: Production et commerce des salsamenta durant l’Antiquité, ed. E. Botte, and V. Leitch, 145–157. Aix-en-Provence: Centre Camille Jullian, Éditions Errance.

[37] Podestà S, Romano C. A macroseismic method for vulnerability assessment of Rationalist architectural heritage. Procedia Economics and Finance, 2014, 18: 173-180

[38] Quattrone G. Ioannides M. Risk analysis and vulnerability assessment of archaeological areas for the preventive conservation. Digital heritage: Progress in cultural heritage: Documentation, preservation, and protection, 2016, Cham: Springer 157-168

[39] Ravankhah M, de Wit R, Argyriou AV, Chliaoutakis A, Revez MJ, Birkmann J, Žuvela-Aloise M, Sarris A Integrated assessment of natural hazards, including climate change’s influences, for cultural heritage sites: The case of the historic centre of Rethymno in Greece. International Journal of Disaster Risk Science, 2019, 10(3): 343-361

[40] Ravankhah M, de Wit R, Revez MJ, Chliaoutakis A, Argyriou AV, Vaz Pinto I, Brum P, Žuvela-Aloise M Resta V, Utkin AB, Neto FM, Patrikakis CZ Risk assessment and risk management for the protection of cultural heritage. Cultural heritage resilience against climate change and natural hazards: Methodologies, procedures, technologies and policy improvements achieved by Horizon 2020–700191 STORM project, 2019, Pisa: Pisa University Press 55-88.

[41] Rodríguez-Rosales B, Abreu D, Ortiz R, Becerra J, Cepero-Acán AE, Vázquez MA, p. Ortiz. Risk and vulnerability assessment in coastal environments applied to heritage buildings in Havana (Cuba) and Cadiz (Spain). Science of the Total Environment, 2021, 750: Article 141617

[42] Romao X, Pauperio E, Pereira N. A framework for the simplified risk analysis of cultural heritage assets. Journal of Cultural Heritage, 2016, 20: 696-708

[43] Saaty TL, Kearns KP. Analytical planning: The organization of systems, 1985, New York: Pergamon Press

[44] Salazar LGF, Romao X, Pauperio E. Review of vulnerability indicators for fire risk assessment in cultural heritage. International Journal of Disaster Risk Reduction, 2021, 60: 102286

[45] Schneiderbauer, S., E. Calliari, U. Eidsvig, and M. Hagenlocher. 2017. The most recent view of vulnerability. In Science for disaster risk management 2017: Knowing better and losing less, ed. K. Poljanšek, M. Ferrer, T. De Groeve, and I. Clark, 68–82. EUR 28034 EN. Luxembourg: Publications Office of the European Union.

[46] Sesana E, Gagnon AS, Bertolin C, Hughes J. Adapting cultural heritage to climate change risks: Perspectives of cultural heritage experts in Europe. Geosciences, 2018, 8(8): Article 305

[47] Sevieri G, Galasso C, D’Ayala D, De Jesus R, Oreta A, Grio MEDA, Ibabao R. A multi-hazard risk prioritization framework for cultural heritage assets. Natural Hazards and Earth System Sciences, 2020, 20(5): 1391-1391

[48] Silveira T, Andrade F, Vaz Pinto I, Patrícia Magalhães A, Cabedal V. Beach filling to protect the Roman ruins of Tróia: Project and archaeological monitoring (Enchimento de praia para protecção das ruínas romanas de Tróia: Projecto e acompanhamento arqueológico). Setúbal Arqueológica, 2014, 15: 259-304.

[49] STORM Consortium. 2017a. D5.3—Risk management guidelines. Project STORM—Safeguarding cultural heritage through technical and organisational resources management. https://cordis.europa.eu/project/id/700191/results. Accessed 16 Jan 2023.

[50] STORM Consortium. 2017b. D3.1—STORM use cases and scenarios. Project STORM—Safeguarding cultural heritage through technical and organisational resources management. https://cordis.europa.eu/project/id/700191/results. Accessed 16 Jan 2023.

[51] STORM Consortium. 2017c. D5.1—Risk assessment and management methodology. Project STORM—Safeguarding cultural heritage through technical and organisational resources management. https://cordis.europa.eu/project/id/700191/results. Accessed 16 Jan 2023.

[52] Stovel, H. 1998. Risk preparedness: A management manual for world cultural heritage. Rome: ICCROM (International centre for the study of the preservation and restoration of cultural property). http://www.iccrom.org/ifrcdn/pdf/ICCROM_17_RiskPreparedness_en.pdf. Accessed 15 May 2017.

[53] Tandon A. First aid to cultural heritage in times of crisis, Vol. II: Toolkit for coordinated emergency preparedness and response to secure tangible and intangible heritage, 2018, Rome: ICCROM (International Centre for the Study of the Preservation and Restoration of Cultural Property) and Amsterdam: Prince Claus Fund for Culture and Development

[54] Tarbotton C, Dall’osso F, Dominey-Howes D, Goff J. The use of empirical vulnerability functions to assess the response of buildings to tsunami impact: Comparative review and summary of best practice. Earth-Science Reviews, 2015, 142: 120-134

[55] Tolles EL, Kimbro EE, Ginell WS. Planning and engineering guidelines for the seismic retrofitting of historic adobe structures, 2002, Los Angeles: Getty Conservation Institute

[56] Turner BL, Kasperson RE, Matson PA, McCarthy JJ, Corell RW, Christensen L, Eckley N, Kasperson JX A framework for vulnerability analysis in sustainability science. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 2003, 100(14): 8074-8079

[57] UNESCO, ICCROM, ICOMOS, and IUCN (United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization, International Centre for the Study of the Preservation and Restoration of Cultural Property, International Council on Monuments and Sites, and International Union for Conservation of Nature). 2010. Managing disaster risks for World Heritage. Paris: UNESCO. http://whc.unesco.org/uploads/activities/documents/activity-630-1.pdf. Accessed 16 Jan 2023.

[58] UNISDR (United Nations International Strategy for Disaster Reduction). 2015. Proposed updated terminology on disaster risk reduction: A technical review. Geneva: The United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction. www.preventionweb.net/files/45462_backgoundpaperonterminologyaugust20.pdf. Accessed 10 Jan 2017.

[59] Wisner B, Blaikie P, Cannon T, Davis I. At risk: Natural hazards, people’s vulnerability and disasters, 2004 2 London: Routledge

[60] Zschau, J. 2017. Where are we with multihazards, multirisks assessment capacities? In Science for disaster risk management 2017: Knowing better and losing less, ed. K. Poljanšek, M. Marin Ferrer, T. De Groeve, and I. Clark, 98–130. EUR 28034 EN. Luxembourg: Publications Office of the European Union.