Archaeoastronomical Heritage and the World Heritage Convention

Abstract

In 2009, the International Astronomical Union (IAU) and the International Council on Monuments and Sites (ICOMOS ) began a joint thematic study on astronomical heritage. The initial question was, “What are the best ways to support and encourage the inscription of the most outstanding examples of astronomical heritage onto a globally balanced World Heritage List?” That led us first to a large overview across ages and countries, because every civilization had a relationship with the sky. The result is far beyond what was anticipated, showing a richness and diversity of heritage, both for various civilizations around the world and throughout human history, especially for the proto-historical period and indigenous practices of observing the sky. This chapter also reviews the World Heritage Convention, its goals, evaluation tools, and trends. A strategy must be created for a credible dossier in the UNESCO -recommended format, with proper identification of “outstanding universal value” (OUV ) as a key point for the World Heritage listing. To assist in reaching such ambitious goals, this chapter examines the layout of the convention related to astronomical and archaeoastronomical heritage, though the main requirements need to be recognized. A methodology is proposed for site analysis by examples and practices of the World Heritage Convention, with a description of its origins, favorite subjects, and recent evolutions. Pure astronomical heritage is rare on the World Heritage List, but astronomy is frequently present as an associated value for complex sites and as a specific attribute that increases a global sense of the heritage.