PRINCIPLES FOR THE
RECORDING OF MONUMENTS,
GROUPS OF BUILDINGS AND SITES
(1996)
(Text ratified by the 11th ICOMOS
General Assembly, held in Sofia, Bulgaria, from 5 to 9 October 1996)
As the cultural heritage is a unique expression of
human achievement; and as this cultural heritage is continuously at
risk; and as recording is one of the principal ways available to give
meaning, understanding, definition and recognition of the values of
the cultural heritage; and as the responsibility for conserving and
maintaining the cultural heritage rests not only with the owners but
also with conservation specialists and the professionals, managers,
politicians and administrators working at all levels of government,
and with the public; and as article 16 of the Charter of Venice requires,
it is essential that responsible organisations and individuals record
the nature of the cultural heritage.
The purpose of this document is therefore to set out
the principal reasons, responsibilities, planning measures, contents,
management and sharing considerations for the recording of the cultural
heritage.
Definitions of words used in this document:
Cultural
Heritage refers to monuments, groups of buildings and sites
of heritage value, constituting the historic or built environment.
Recording is the capture of information which describes
the physical configuration, condition and use of monuments, groups
of buildings and sites, at points in time, and it is an essential
part of the conservation process.
Records of monuments, groups of buildings and sites
may include tangible as well as intangible evidence, and constitute
a part of the documentation that can contribute to an understanding
of the heritage and its related values.
THE REASONS
FOR RECORDING
1. The recording of the cultural heritage is essential:
a) to acquire knowledge in order to advance the understanding
of cultural heritage, its values and its evolution;
b) to promote the interest and involvement of the
people in the preservation of the heritage through the dissemination
of recorded information;
c) to permit informed management and control of construction
works and of all change to the cultural heritage;
d) to ensure that the maintenance and conservation
of the heritage is sensitive to its physical form, its materials,
construction, and its historical and cultural significance.
2. Recording should be undertaken to an appropriate level of detail
in order to:
a) provide information for the process of identification,
understanding, interpretation and pre-sentation of the heritage, and
to promote the involvement of the public;
b) provide a permanent record of all monuments, groups
of buildings and sites that are to be destroyed or altered in any
way, or where at risk from natural events or human activities;
c) provide information for administrators and planners
at national, regional or local levels to make sensitive planning and
development control policies and decisions;
d) provide information upon which appropriate and
sustainable use may be identified, and the effective research, management,
maintenance programmes and construction works may be planned.
3. Recording of the cultural heritage should be seen as a priority,
and should be undertaken especially:
a) when compiling a national, regional, or local inventory;
b) as a fully integrated part of research and conservation
activity;
c) before, during and after any works of repair, alteration,
or other intervention, and when evidence of its history is revealed
during such works;
d) when total or partial demolition, destruction,
abandonment or relocation is contemplated, or where the heritage is
at risk of damage from human or natural external forces;
e) during or following accidental or unforeseen disturbance
which damages the cultural heritage;
f) when change of use or responsibility for management
or control occurs.
RESPONSIBILITY FOR RECORDING
1. The commitment
at the national level to conserve the heritage requires an equal commitment
towards the recording process.
2. The complexity of the recording and interpretation
processes requires the deployment of individuals with adequate skill,
knowledge and awareness for the associated tasks. It may be necessary
to initiate training programmes to achieve this.
3. Typically the recording process may involve skilled
individuals working in collaboration, such as specialist heritage
recorders, surveyors, conservators, architects, engineers, researchers,
architectural historians, archaeologists above and below ground, and
other specialist advisors.
4. All managers of cultural heritage are responsible
for ensuring the adequate recording, quality and updating of the records.
PLANNING
FOR RECORDING
1. Before new
records are prepared, existing sources of information should be found
and examined for their adequacy.
a) The type of records containing such information should be searched
for in surveys, drawings, photographs, published and unpublished accounts
and descriptions, and related documents pertaining to the origins
and history of the building, group of buildings or site.It is important
to search out recent as well as old records;
b) Existing records should be searched for in locations
such as national and local public archives, in professional, institutional
or private archives, inventories and collections, in libraries or
museums;
c) Records should be searched for through consultation
with individuals and organisations who have owned, occupied, recorded,
constructed, conserved, or carried out research into or who have knowledge
of the building, group of buildings or site.
2. Arising out of the analysis above, selection of the appropriate
scope, level and methods of recording requires that:
a) The methods of recording and type of documentation
produced should be appropriate to the nature of the heritage, the
purposes of the record, the cultural context, and the funding or other
resources available. Limitations of such resources may require a phased
approach to recording. Such methods might include written descriptions
and analyses, photographs (aerial or terrestrial), rectified photography,
photo-grammetry, geophysical survey, maps, measured plans, drawings
and sketches, replicas or other traditional and modern technologies;
b) Recording methodologies should, wherever possible,
use non- intrusive techniques, and should not cause damage to the
object being recorded;
c) The rational for the intended scope and the recording
method should be clearly stated;
d) The materials used for compiling the finished record
must be archivally stable.
CONTENT
OF RECORDS
1. Any record
should be identified by:
a) the name of the building, group of buildings or site;
b) a unique reference number;
c) the date of compilation of the record;
d) the name of the recording organisation;
e) cross-references to related building records and
reports, photographic, graphic, textual or biblio-graphic documentation,
archaeological and environmental records.
2. The location and extent of the monument, group of buildings or
site must be given accurately; this may be achieved by description,
maps, plans or aerial photographs. In rural areas a map reference
or triangulation to known points may be the only methods available.
In urban areas an address or street reference may be sufficient.
3. New records should note the sources of all information
not obtained directly from the monument, group of buildings or site
itself.
4. Records should include some or all of the following
information:
a) the type, form and dimensions of the building, monument or site;
b) the interior and exterior characteristics, as appropriate,
of the monument, group of buildings or site;
c) the nature, quality, cultural, artistic and scientific
significance of the heritage and its components and the cultural,
artistic and scientific significance of:
- the materials, constituent parts and construction,
decoration,ornament or inscriptions,
- services, fittings and machinery,
- ancillary structures, the gardens, landscape and the cultural,topographical
and natural features of the site;
d) the traditional and modern technology and skills
used in construction and maintenance;
e) evidence to establish the date of origin, authorship,
ownership, the original design, extent, use and decoration;
f) evidence to establish the subsequent history of
its uses, associated events, structural or decorative alterations,
and the impact of human or natural external forces;
g) the history of management, maintenance and repairs;
h) representative elements or samples of construction
or site materials;
i) an assessment of the current condition of the heritage;
j) an assessment of the visual and functional relationship
between the heritage and its setting;
k) an assessment of the conflicts and risks from human
or natural causes, and from environmental pollution or adjacent land
uses.
5. In considering the different reasons for recording
(see Section 1.2 above) different levels of detail will be required.
All the above information, even if briefly stated, provides important
data for local planning and building control and management. Information
in greater detail is generally required for the site or building owner’s,
manager’s or user’s purposes for conservation, maintenance
and use.
MANAGEMENT, DISSEMINATION AND SHARING OF RECORDS
1. The original
records should be preserved in a safe archive, and the archive’s
environment must ensure permanence of the information and freedom
from decay to recognised international standards.
2. A complete back-up copy of such records should
be stored in a separate safe location.
3. Copies of such records should be accessible to
the statutory authorities, to concerned professionals and to the public,
where appropriate, for the purposes of research, development controls
and other administrative and legal processes.
4. Up-dated records should be readily available, if
possible on the site, for the purposes of research on the heritage,
management, maintenance and disaster relief.
5. The format of the records should be standardised,
and records should be indexed wherever possible to facilitate the
exchange and retrieval of information at a local, national or international
level.
6. The effective assembly, management and distribution
of recorded information requires, wherever possible, the understanding
and the appropriate use of up- to-date information technology.
7. The location of the records should be made public.
8. A report of
the main results of any recording should be disseminated and published,
when appropriate.
