Category Archives: cultural conservation
Lordy Lord, Lourdes! Pilgrimage Site Suffers Record Flooding
The rainwater and snowmelt that flooded southwest France just over a week ago has finally receded. The normally tranquil Gave de Pau river rose as much as 15 feet, spilling over its banks and pouring into medieval towns across the Pyrenees. … Continue reading
Post Office Workers Curb Illicit Smuggling of Peru’s National Cultural Heritage
This article was prominently featured in the The New York Times Americas section on June 14th. Self-proclaimed “defenders” of their nation’s history, an art historian and an archaeologist have joined together to safeguard Peruvian cultural heritage from illicit smuggling. Trafficking in … Continue reading
Harris Tweed is Back!…or Never Really Went Anywhere
Mills producing Harris Tweed dot the landscape at Ballalan, Outer Hebrides, date unknown (photo credit: Harris Tweed Authority Archive) Three years ago I wrote a piece about the apparent decline of the Harris Tweed weaving industry in Scotland’s Outer Hebrides (see: … Continue reading
Rock Art Vandals Strike Again (and Again) in American Southwest
In December 2010, I focused on a particularly alarming example of cultural heritage destruction striking rock art sites across the American Southwest (“Graffiti Vandals Hit Rock Art Sites in American Southwest”). Two archaeological and natural sites — Agua Fria National … Continue reading
Adaptive Reuse and Cultural Heritage
Melissa Abraham, senior communications specialist at the J. Paul Getty Trust, posted an article, “What Do You Mean, ‘Sustainability and Cultural Heritage?,” in which she discusses sustainable development as it relates to the preservation of cultural resources. Sustainable development, according to … Continue reading
Culture in Peril 