Bangladesh / Bhutan / Cambodia

29

2022

The Twenty-ninth Regular Report

China / India

ACCU Nara International Correspondent
The ACCU correspondents periodically send reports on cultural heritage protection activities in which they have been
recently involved. This is a collection of nine reports submitted by international correspondents in the Asia-Pacific region.

The Twenty-ninth Regular Report
Contents
Bangladesh

1

Bhutan5

Cambodia

10

China

15

India

19

Mst. Naheed Sultana
Gokul Medh Temple (Behula-Lakshmindar’s Bashor Ghar), a Remarkable Architecture of Ancient Bengal

Karma Tenzin
Ruins of Mitenpa Lhakhang

Sokonthea Sort
Restoration and Renovation of the National Museum

Bi Yi
Digital Long March Pilot Project: The Application of New Technology in the Exhibition and Cultural
Dissemination of Military Heritage

Kisha Shanker
Management Model for Site Museums at World Heritage Sites in India

Kazakhstan

29

Nepal

37

New Zealand

45

Philippines

51

Gulnaz Kulmaganbetova
The Research of Cult Objects of the Bronze Age in the Territory of the Burabay Mountain Forest Massif

Suresh Suras Shrestha
Rehabilitation of Cultural Heritage: Challenges and Opportunity

Matthew Schmidt
Te Papa Atawhai Cultural Heritage Conservation Projects, Southern South Island 2022-2023

Louella Revilla-Baysic
Biblioteca del Convento de San Pablo de Agustinos-Manila: A Digital Repatriation of a Lost Archive

Bangladesh
Bangladesh

Gokul Medh Temple (Behula-Lakshmindar’s Bashor Ghar), a Remarkable Architecture of Ancient
BengalMst. Naheed Sultana, Regional Director
Department of Archaeology, Ministry of Cultural Affairs
Pundranagara, the capital of the ancient Pundravardhana
Bhukti (Province) is currently known as Mahasthangarh.
This place is located 12 km north of the Bogura district ofBangladesh. A provincial capital was established here about
two and a half thousand years ago and the area of this capitalis 1525 m in length from north to south and 1372 m in widthfrom east to west. The capital city was surrounded by a highsecurity wall, and it was actually a fort city. Also, for theprotection of the fort city, the river Karatoa flowed to theeast and the north, and the south and west sides were coveredby a deep moat. Up to 20 km north, south, and west of thePundranagara, suburbs were developed and a number ofhomesteads, religious institutions (Buddhist temples, a
Buddhist monastery and stupa) ancient roads, ponds, andwells were built (Figure 1).

Ancient Pundranagara(Mahasthangarh)

Gokul MedhFig. 1. Location of archaeological sites near Mahasthangarh. No. 3 is Gokul Medh.

The ancient site Gokul Medh is also known as Bashor Ghar
of Behula- Lakshmindar, the hero-heroine of a Bengali romantic
folktale. (Bashor Ghar means the room where newlyweds
spend the first night after the wedding.) Behula is one of themain characters in Manasamangal poesies based on which
there is a popular story in society in Bengal. According to‘Purana’, Behula is Usha, the wife of Aniruddha of heaven.
On the other hand, according to the folktale, she (Behula)was the daughter of Shaeben of Ujaninagara. Lakshmindar
was the youngest son of Chand Saudagar of Champaknagara.
Behula was the wife of Lakshmindar and he was the heroof Manasamangal poesies (Pidiya 2003:202). Many highcultural mounds are associated with their names for many1different reasons here. Netai Dhopanir Paat, Ojha Dhanantarir
Dhap, Chand Muah Hat cultural mounds are associated withthis story and these cultural mounds are located a shortdistance from the Gokul Medh site.
The archaeological site Gokul Medh or Behula-Lakshmindar’s
Bashor Ghar is situated 4 km west of the capital Pundranagara.
The cultural mound is 80.46 m in length and 55.77 m inbreadth. An extensive temple was established at a height of
13.10 m above the plain and this temple is a remarkable
example of multi-chambered architectural genius. The
geographical location, architectural style, construction
technique, and construction method of this ancient site isthe same row and were filled strongly with adhesive earth. It
can be easily presumed from the location of the chambers
built at different heights that these were used as foundations
for a lofty temple or stupa. Such a multi-storied parallel buttresswalled foundation is a significant architectural feature ofancient Bengal (Figures 2, 3, & 4).

Bangladeshof special significance. This type of construction style israre in ancient Bengal. A total of 172 chambers have been
unveiled in various shapes and sizes from archaeologicalexcavations. The chambers, built at different heights, werearranged in ascending order from the bottom to the top.
These chambers were placed at several heights but built in

Fig. 2. Gokul Medh, after excavation; the photo taken from the ASI annual report in 1935-36.

Fig. 3. General view of Gokul MedhFig. 4. Aerial view of Gokul MedhThis innovative construction technique was prevalent in
Bengal for five centuries before the arrival of Islam. Thismethod can be compared to our present-day piling system.
The technique was very useful and effective in the alluvial
soil of Bangladesh for constructing any religious or sacredbuilding of large size as well as high above the flood plain.
Similar construction methods are also found in Ahichchhatra
in the Bareilly district of Uttar Pradesh in India far from
Bengal (Ahmed1997:41-42). The plinth of the shrine is apolygon of twenty-four sides and an octagonal floor can beseen above it. Most probably a Buddhist temple or stupa
was built on this floor. However, at present, there is noevidence of walls built above this floor (Figure 5).
Besides these, many terracotta plaques, ornamental bricks,
human figures, and animal figures have been found at thissite during excavations. These terracotta plaques are typical‘Gupta’ in style. “On the strength of the evidence suppliedby these terracottas the monument may be assigned to the
6th or 7th century AD” (Majumdar 1990:69) (Figures 6, 7, 8,
9 & 10).
The artifacts found indicate that the massive ruin was
originally a Buddhist shrine. The temple was exposed by
a 1.46 m wide staircase outside on the north-east side at aheight of about 7.62 m from the plain. “On the north-east,
at a height of about 25' from the foot of the mound, wasdiscovered a staircase 4' - 8˝ wide, with landing, leading
up to a terrace encircling the shrine” (Majumdar 1990:67).
A square temple (8.22 m × 8.22 m) and a verandah werebuilt on the same site during the Sena period (the 11th to12th centuries CE) after demolishing or abandoning theBuddhist temple or stupa. There is evidence that the second
phase of construction began here during the Sena period in
the 11th to 12th centuries CE (Zakaria 2007:194).
Inside the later period temple, a human skeleton was foundin the chamber. Below this chamber, there is a circular brickbuilt pit measuring 3.68 m in diameter (Figures 11 & 12).
A stone with 12 holes was found inside the pit and a goldleaf was discovered in the middle hole. A depiction of a bull
can be seen on the gold leaf. Researchers believe that the
exposed architectural structure was a Shiva temple due tothe depiction of a bull on the gold leaf. “It appears that thegold leaf was placed here as the foundation deposit of ashrine, and it may be suggested that the shrine, judging
from the bull figure, was dedicated to the worship of Siva”(Majumdar 1990:68).

2

Bangladesh
Fig. 5. Ground plan and circular pit of Gokul Medh; the photo taken from the ASI annual report in 1935-36.

Figs. 6-7. Fragments of terracotta plaques; photos taken from the Gokul Medh excavation report in 1934-35.

Figs. 8-10. Fragment ornamental bricks; photos taken from the Gokul Medh excavation report in 1934-35.

3

Bangladesh

Fig. 11. Later period temple in aerial view

The researchers believe that the bull figure and terracotta
plaques are from the later period. “The bull figure on thegold leaf is rather crude, as compared with the contemporary
terracottas, and there is no doubt that in the latter the
Bengal artists have always excelled” (Majumdar 1990:60).
At present, Gokul Medh temple is a protected monument by
the Department of Archaeology of the Ministry of Cultural
Affairs of Bangladesh. Apart from researchers, a numberof tourists and visitors come to visit and explore thisarchaeological site just to see the Behula-Lakshmindarer’s
Bashor Ghar, as this place (Gokul Medh) is associated withthe story of Behula-Lakshmidar, a popular folktale of Bengal.
But archaeological excavations here in 1934-35 unearthed
the remains of a grand and amazing building. This typeof architectural construction technique and construction
method is not seen much in Bangladesh. Excavations haverevealed ancient structures and artifacts from the first phaseof a 6th to 7th century Buddhist temple or stupa and thelater phase of the 11th to 12th century remains of a Hindu
temple.

Fig. 12. Later period temple in close view

Acknowledgments:
1.	Md. Abu Sayed Inam Tanvirul, Custodian, Shahjadpur
Rabindra Kachhari Bari, Department of Archaeology,
Bangladesh.
2.	Md. Abul Kalam Azad, Photographer, Rajshahi Regional
Office, Department of Archaeology, Bangladesh.
3.	Md. Murshid Kamal Bhuiya, Serveyor, Rajshahi Regional
Office, Department of Archaeology, Bangladesh.
4.	Md. Abdus Salam, Computer Operator, Rajshahi Regional
Office, Department of Archaeology, Bangladesh.

Bibliography
1.	Majumdar, N. G., Archaeological Survey of India Annual
Report, 1935-36, Swati Publications, Delhi, 34 Central
Market, Ashok Vihar, Reprinted 1990.
2.	Ahmed, Dr. Nazimuddin, Mahasthan Mainamati Paharpur,
Bangladesh Government Press, Tejgoan, Dhaka, 1997.
3.	Sen, Provash Chandra, Mahasthan and its Environ, Jyotish
Chandra Ghoshat the Cotton Press, 57 Herrison Road,
Calcutta, 1929.
4.	Zakaria, Abul Kalam Mohammad, Bangladesher
Protnashampod, Moumita Printers, 25 Paridash Road,
Dhaka, 2011.
5.	Bangla Pidiya, Part-3, Bangladesh Jatio Jnankosh,Bangladesh Asiatic Society, 5- old Secretary Road,
Nimtoli, Dhaka-1000, 2003.
6.	Bangla Pidiya, Part-7, Bangladesh Jatio Jnankosh,Bangladesh Asiatic Society, 5- old Secretary Road,
Nimtoli, Dhaka-1000, 2003.

4

Bhutan
BhutanRuins of Mitenpa Lhakhang
Karma Tenzin, Executive Architect
Division for Conservation of Heritage Sites, Department of Culture, Ministry of Home and Cultural Affairs

Ruins of Mitenpa Lhakhang

Introduction
The Mitenpa Lhakhang ruins are located in Chapcha gewog
in the Chukha district. They are situated on the slope of a hill at
Mitekha village. The village is located about 40 kilometersfrom Thimphu town and is connected by a feeder road fromDamchu, alongside the Thimphu-Phuentsholing highway. It
takes around one hour to reach the ruins from the highway(see Fig. 1). The village is said to have had only fiveThimphu-Phuentsholing highway
DamchuFig. 1. Aerial view of the ruins. Google Earth

5

households in the past and even to this day there is only one
house nearby the lhakhang ruins which is currently occupied.
Today, the ruins remain partially covered by overgrowth, worn
down by weather and time.
Exact location of the ruins (Site coordinates)
27°15’22.51°N; 89°32’14.52°E

The Mitenpa Lhakhang ruins date back to sometime
between the 17th and 18th centuries during the time of
Tsamdrak Choeje Ngawang Drukpa. Tsamdrak Choeje
Ngawang Drukpa was the founder of Mitenpa Lhakhang
who also founded Tsamdrak monastery located in the samevillage. Tsamdrak monastery was in existence by at least
the 18th century. And according to oral history, Mitenpa
Lhakhang was built earlier than Tsamdrak monastery. This
places the date of the lhakhang sometime between the 17thand 18th centuries. Tsamdrak Choeje Ngawang Drukpa
was a renowned teacher who gave teachings to the 2nd
Gangtrul Tenzin Legpai Dondup (1645-1725). Long before
Lam Ngawang Drukpa, a Tibetan master called Drigung
Chopa Rinpoche prophesied that his son Drubthob Sangay
would visit Bhutan to establish his linage. As prophesied,a Drubthop named Authay Sangay is said to have visited
and witnessed a burning stone at the place where thelhakhang ruins lie today three times in a row. This is how
the village got its name: “mi” means fire, “te” means to burn,and “kha” means the place, and so the lhakhang was named
Mitenpa.

BhutanHistorical background /Oral history
Temples and monasteries, locally known as lhakhangs, arethe religious structures found throughout Bhutan. They werebuilt several centuries ago, some of them as early as the 5th
and 6th centuries AD or before.

According to an oral history, the lhakhang was lost to fire.
After the fire, it was impossible for the villagers alone torestore the lhakhang and it is said to have been left in ruins.
A few years later, the villagers also couldn’t live long in thevillage due to a water shortage and are said to have abandoned
the place. Today, we can see house ruins some meters awayfrom the lhakhang.
Archaeological investigation of the site
The existing ruins of Mitenpa Lhakhang are mostly covered
in debris and vegetation. Although the structure was destroyedby fire, some portions of the walls are still standing, which
provide evidence of the past architectural layout and formof the building.

Fig. 2. Joist holes in the rear façade of the ruins

The lhakhang is double storied, as one can clearly see thejoist holes in the rear façade of the ruins (Fig. 2). The main
entrance to the lhakhang is from the south and there isanother entrance to the room from the east (Fig. 3). The
ground floor of the ruins comprises a platform which israised about one meter above the ground. The raised
platform houses five large statues (Fig. 4). The statues areabout 7 feet tall. All the statues are significantly damaged
without faces or arms. These statues are made from earth.
Twigs and bamboos were used to form the shape of thestatues and hold the plaster from outside. The statues,

being faceless and armless, are very difficult to recognize.
One can see a portion of a robe painted red on two of thestatues.
The area below the raised platform, which measures 6.7
meters in length and 3.2 meters in width, was used forcarrying out rituals. Towards the north-western façade of thewall, one rectangular slit is placed about one foot above thestatue (Fig. 5). It is placed at quite a height and most probably
was used for proper air circulation and light as there is noevidence of any windows inside the lhakhang.

6

BhutanDoors
Fig. 3. Plan of Mitenpa Lhakhang, Lam’s zimchu , and choeten ruins

Red robe

Fig. 4. Faceless remains of the statues inside the lhakhang ruins

Area below raised platform.
Fig. 5. Rectangular slit

7

Fig. 6. Attached wall behind the lhakhangAttached roomof kemar 1 (Fig. 7) which are placed at the top portion of theexterior walls to signify it as a religious structure. It is difficult to
examine the function of this room as it is covered withdebris from the collapsed wall. However, by judging fromthe size and its location, it probably must have been the
caretaker’s room, which are found in most ancient temples.

BhutanAttached to the lhakhang is a small room-like structure.
Almost all portions of the walls have collapsed except therear façade of the wall. The exterior eastern wall of thislhakhang provides evidence that the room was attached
at a later date as the walls are well plastered like the otherouter walls of the lhakhang. In addition, there is the presence

Kemar on the eastern façade

Fig. 7. Attached room at the Mitenpa Lhakhang ruins

Nearby the lhakhang there is an open space for gatheringsand performing festivals. The entire lhakhang ruins areconstructed of stones and rammed earth. The outer walls of
the lhakhang are plastered using fine-grained soil.
Towards the northeast of the lhakhang ruins lies a large
structure, comprising ruins of the Lam’s residence (Fig. 8).
Lam Ngawang Drukpa himself being a great lama, his
residence was also very large. Normally, lhakhangs arelocated above a Lam’s residence. However, at Mitenpa, it
must have been built purposefully above to protect thelhakhang from enemies, as the main entrance door overlooks the lhakhang. There are wall ruins in front of the ruinsof the residence, which probably must have been built for
defensive purposes.
The residence complex measures about 21.35 meters at therear façade and 21.45 meters at the front, with a wall thicknessof 1.55 meters. One can determine that the residence is fourstoried from the joist holes remaining in the walls (Fig. 9).
The structure comprises two large rooms on the ground floor
and two small rooms attached to the eastern and westernsides. The residence must have been used to house the Lam’sfollowers as the structure is too big to be used by only theLam.

Wall remains.
Fig. 8. Lam’s residence (zimchu) plan

1

Fig. 9. Joist holes at Lam’s zimchu “kemar” is red band on top of dzongs and religious structures below roof.

8

Bhutan

The wooden lintels of the doors and windows are stillintact, but blurred with soot (Fig. 10). The remains of sootand the blackened portion of the wall corresponds to theoral history which says that the structure was lost to fire.

Fig. 10. Wooden lintels of doors

Fig. 11. The ruins being buried under the soil

9Part of the structure is partially buried under the soil (Fig.
11). Thus, scientific research and excavation is crucial todetermine its age, form, layout, and function of the entire
complex.

Cambodia
Sokonthea Sort, Officer
Planning Office, The National Museum of Cambodia, Ministry of Cultural and Fine Arts
Introduction
Although the COVID-19 pandemic had a devastating effecton various sectors in Cambodia, including the economy andtourism, the task of restoring and preserving the national
heritage is still in progress. As we are reminded that themuseum has implemented a long-term roof repair according
to the restoration master plan, which is scheduled to becompleted in four years (2021-2024), including the installationof an automatic fire fighting system.
In 2021, the roof repair project started on the northern roof
and was completed in early 2022 in the first phase and thenrapidly continued to the second phase, focused on thesouthern roof of the museum. On the other hand, the museum
also had renovated the layout of the exhibition gallery suchas changing the wall color, upgrading the lighting, and refining
the style of the collection display to improve the aestheticsof the museum even more. This report will reveal the overall
restoration and renovation of the National Museum building
in 2021-2022.
1. First phase: roof repair
The museum roof structure survey found the difference
damage in various parts of the roof, which could be divided
into four areas according to the disparate conditions of decay.
The reparation plan was also divided into four stages: thenorthern, southern, western, and eastern stages. According
to data from the survey above, the northern roof is the mostdamaged part and needs to be immediately restored before
continuing with the other parts of the restoration plan.
A. Damaged condition
During the repair, it was found that the components of thewooden roof were very fragile. Not only the batten and therafters but also the large and long wooden roof beams thatplay a critical role in supporting the roof structure were deeply
decayed, due to humidity from leaking water in the roof top,
termites, and also the nesting and stool of pigeons. Moreover,Cambodia

Restoration and Renovation of the National Museum

the ornaments of this section also have cracks on the outsideof the cement and the inner wooden frame was almost falling
down. The condition of damage in this area is divided into
three sub-parts as follows:
Damage in Block 1: The roof structure is the most damaged,
especially the roof timber and wooden ceilings. The timber
flashing such as principal rafters, rafters, and purlins are very
rotten due to termites and moisture from seepage (Figure 1).
The repair technique requires the dismantling of all roof tiles
and removal of the rotten parts, restoration of the main structure
timber which is not in place, and the addition of supporting
accessories to stabilize the timber to make it stronger. Somerotten timber was removed and replaced with new timber,which was soaked or sprayed with termite repellent.
Damage in Block 2: Construction components are damp andmoldy (Figure 2), and we found that in this part most of timbercomponents were covered with mold and some of them werealso decayed and cracked. The plates of the wooden pediment
on both sides have shrunk to enable water to leak into theroof when it rains. Restoration needs to remove the tiles, clean
the mold on the timber, check the level of damage of thecomponents and make repairs, and apply anti-fungal paintto the components.
Damage in Block 3: Not so different between both parts
above, the timber in this part is also damaged but most of thecomponents such as rafters and purlins are still in better
condition than in Block 1 and Block 2. The water gutter issloped, tiles have decayed and peeled from their original place,causing water to seep into the exhibition gallery. Some timber
has been damaged by moisture including the roof ridge beam
and ornaments of the roof such as Neak Cheng,(1) Neak Dong
Kda,(2) Javea.(3) Restoration in this part is the same as for thetwo blocks above: dismantle the roof tiles, restore the damaged
timber, change the water gutter, repair timber ornaments,
and cover it back with mortar in the same style (Figure 3).

Fig. 1. Timber components of the roof structure, which are rotten

10Cambodia
Fig. 2. Mold on timber components

Fig. 3. Damage to the structure of the gable pediment

B. Repairs
Dismantling part of the roof for the restoration. Based on
observations of previous restorations, this repair can also
be done in the following order:
General damage plan study: Inspect the condition of the roof
damage and prepare a risk plan showing the problem points
or damaged spots. At this stage, the expert team collected
detailed data of the damage through recording, painting
or sketching, photography, etc. The survey results will be
an important research document for the basis of repair,conservation, and project planning or improvement in thenext step.
Dismantling the damaged area: Start dismantling the damaged
area to check the actual damage situation, make notes andtake photos of the damage before starting restoration work
to keep as a document for reporting after completion of therestoration project. For disassembly to repair, be very patientand pay attention to each part, especially roof components,
to ensure that this disassembly does not add further damage.
Another precaution is to preserve as much of the timber as
possible. All these components of the roof structure need
to be reused to avoid complete replacement (Figure 4).
The repair and dismantling steps are as follows:- Remove all damaged tiles, as they are convex and leaky.
- Remove unusable timber that is seriously damaged.
-	Repair the damaged parts of timber components, suchas principal rafter, purlins, common rafters, battens.
-	Reinforce principal timber components that are damaged
but cannot be dismantled by adding new wood.
-	Clean mold and moisture from the roof structure by
applying a moisture-proof coating on the timber andinspecting the damaged parts and testing how it affects
the timber.
-	Clear out insects and apply pesticides to structure timber.
-	Add plate wood to fill in cracking wooden pediment11

and mixing material to fill in cracking wooden timber.
-	Repair, clean, and repaint the decorative gable and fill theshrinking of the pediment with wooden plate and Nagasfinials. The decorative gable of the pediment has a twopart wooden structure and is covered with mortar whichappears as an ornament. But the structure of the decorative
gable is decayed and needs to be removed and replacedwith new timber (Figure 5).
Restoration material
Some of the material used in this restoration are local products
and some are imported from neighboring countries. The
wood that we use as rafters, principal rafter, purlins, and battens
is taken from various provinces in Cambodia. However, thepaint for protecting timber structure such as Marak isimported from Vietnam instead of natural local Marak, as
the local Marak producers have decreased in number. In
addition, we use chemical pesticides imported from Thailand
for soaking wood to prevent termites from damaging thetimber.
2. Exhibition Hall Renovation
Some changes were made in the gallery of the museum,such as the wall color, lighting and display. Some of the wall
paintings were changed along with the different colors in
the gallery according to the chronology of Khmer art andthe special exhibition galleries. Display of the collection
also changed by grouping the collection in series and asa storyline. This modification aims to make the gallery
more aesthetically pleasing and also to prevent damage tothe walls, and the rearrangement of the collection isintended to be more orderly and will provide visitors more
understanding of the story or genre of Khmer art (Figures
6 and 7).
Gallery before improvement-Wall in the hall: There were stains from pigeon stool

Cambodia

Fig. 4. Restoration of the beam and replacement of the strut timber

Fig. 5. Gable timber and Neak Cheng

12

Cambodia

covering the wall, and peeling paint and mortar, which
made the wall look dirty and in bad condition.
-Wooden support: There were stains from pigeon stool
and some damaged parts needed to be repaired.
-Light: Lack of light bulbs and not enough light in thegallery. Most light bulbs were broken and needed to be
replaced with new ones to enhance the light in the gallery.
Stages of improvement-Start of repair work: Cleaned the gallery by removing oldwall paint and bulging mortar that has been peeled off,
removed pigeon stool stains and dirt on the walls, and thenrepaired the damaged part of the wall by closing the cracks
with mortar plaster and repainting with a new set of colors.
In this repainting work the old color in gallery was coveredby the new color as decided by the team.

-Dismantling of wooden supports: Some of the damaged
wooden supports were removed and replaced with newones, but others were kept and repainted with a newcolor, because some of them could be repaired and usedagain.
-Replacing damaged bulbs: Removed some of the broken
light bulbs in the gallery and replaced them with new lightbulbs and reset the light bulbs to magnify the light andaesthetics in the display room.
-Re-arrangement of the collection into the gallery: Before rearranging, all the images were cleaned and then put backinto the gallery. However, the collection was not arranged
completely in the same way as the original display.

Figs. 6-7. Post Angkor gallery during repair

Figs. 8-10. Aesthetics in the Angkor and Post-Angkor gallery after renovation13

color instead of the old colors. As a result of the above repairs,
we improved the condition of the building, with no moreleaking water from the rooftop, making the structure morestable and stronger than before. We treated the new structure
timber with pesticide to prevent damage from termites, andwaterproofed the roof timber with Marak. However, for thiswork, there are still limitations in terms of repair techniques,
data collection, and recording work that need to improvefor the next project. Finally, we still need more help fromour collaborative partners and we would like to suggest that
ACCU share any comments or ideas and also documents on
the conservation techniques of this type of building by
providing more restoration training courses in Japan or in
Cambodia directly.

Cambodia

Conclusion
The roof repairs focus on reinforcing the structure of theroof and maintaining the aesthetics of the building from theoutside, by keeping the form intact but ensuring that it isstronger. In particular, in regard to the materials used in
restoration work, we do not focus only on raw materials,
because some raw materials have almost no local producers,
so it is necessary to use imported goods from neighboring
countries, except for wooden timber that we take from various
provinces in the country. The refinement in the gallery is arenovation of the upper surface, removing dirt and stains,
but not focusing on the details of the interior wall restoration,
as we did not remove all the wall mortar to repair but justfilled in some damage parts and repainted them with newAppendix(1)
Part of the ornamentation in the shape of a dragon head (Neak Cheng)(2)
In the middle part of the gable of the pediment and shaped as a sham dragon body which is covered with mortaron the timber (Nesk Dog Kda)
(3)
Top part of the roof gable ( Javes)(3)Javea(2)Neak Dong Kda(1)Neak Cheng

References-	National Museum of Cambodia (2020). National Museum roof survey damage report.
-	National Museum of Cambodia (2020). Gallery renovation meeting report.
-	National Museum of Cambodia (2021). Restoration and preservation of National Museum concept 2021-202514

ChinaChina

Digital Long March Pilot Project: The Application of New Technology in the Exhibition andCultural Dissemination of Military Heritage
Bi Yi, Project Manager
Beijing Tsinghua Tongheng Urban Planning and Design Institute
Abstract: On August 1, 2021, the “Digital Long March” pilot
project was officially launched.1 This project is an attempt tocomprehensively integrate 5G, AR, 3D digital, and othertechnologies and aims to provide best practices for theexhibition and protection of military heritage sites.
Keywords: Military Heritage, Digital Technology, Internet, 5G,
AR Technology
1. The Trend of Applying New Technology in Cultural Heritage
Conservation
On October 28, 2021, the General Office of the State Council
issued the “14th Five-Year Plan for Cultural Heritage
Protection and Scientific and Technological Innovation,”
pointing out that the “14th Five-Year” period is critical topromote a socialist cultural influence. It is imperative for China
to develop from a country with a large cultural inventory to
one with strong protection and management capability. It isnecessary to give full play to the unique advantages ofcultural heritage in order to present China truthfully andcomprehensively, and enhance the cultural influence ofChina.
In the past decade, the Internet and digital technology havedeveloped rapidly in China, showing huge potential in theprotection and utilization of cultural heritage. As early as
2017, the State Administration of Cultural Heritage plannedand deployed the “Internet + Chinese Civilization” Threeyear Action Plan in the “Thirteenth Five-Year Plan for theDevelopment of National Cultural Relics,” vigorously promoting
the integrated development of cultural heritage protection
and technological development, especially in the areas ofInternet technology, big data, information sharing, crossborder creative industry, and smart applications.
Now China has entered a new stage of high-quality development.
With the advent of the “post-epidemic” era, demand forFig. 1. Typical battlefield along the Long March route1

2. Background to the “Digital Long March” ProjectAs an important type of cultural resource in China, military
heritage faces its own unique challenges in terms ofprotection and utilization. The Long March heritage sites aregood examples to demonstrate those challenges. The sites
bear witness to the history of the Long March as well as themarching route of the Red Army. The sites are huge in number
and rich in type. But at the same time, they are also generally
small and sparsely located. There are thousands of Long
March sites scattered among 15 provinces, autonomous
regions, and municipalities along the Long March route,making them difficult to protect and manage, and evenmore difficult to exhibit to the public. The Long March sites
embody the history, memory, and emotion of the revolution,and still have strong appeal today. However, most of them
won’t attract attention at first sight. In many sites, there isrelatively little historical information that can be visuallyperceived (Figure 1-2). According to the conservation
principles of cultural heritage in China, cultural heritage
sites need to retain authenticity. Any kind of reconstructionof ruins or archaeological sites is not permitted, whichmakes the exhibition of military sites more difficult.
Currently, most of the exhibitions at military sites are
relatively simple in content and form, focusing more on
lecturing about history but not so much on interactingwith visitors. Therefore, they lack public appeal, especiallyto the younger generation.

Fig. 2. Typical ferry sites along the Long March route This project was organized by China’s State Administration of Cultural Heritage, and carried out by Beijing Tsinghua Tongheng Urban Planning and Design Institute, China Unicom Group,
Beijing Film Academy, and Sinomap Press.

15

cultural products is increasing, and cultural products areconstantly developing in terms of product types, presentation
methods, and communication channels. The cultural content
of the Internet has shown to exert great influence. Therefore,
it has become increasingly important to comprehensively
promote technological innovation as well as in-depth
integration of innovative technologies with cultural heritage
conservation.

3. “Digital Long March” Project
The project created the following Internet-based content: an
online map of Long March Heritage Sites and a WeChat miniprogram comprising a 5G+AR immersive experience app aswell as a field study course, both featuring scenes at the
Dadu River Crossing Site in Shimian County, Ya’an City. The
project also includes construction of the supporting 5G
network and organization of promotion activities. As a pilot

project, the “Internet + Long March” project not only aims toapply new technology in only one aspect but also hopes tointegrate multiple technologies at different levels, online andoffline. The project strives to gather experience in content
creation and technical innovation as well as project management,in order to set best practices for future projects.

China

The protection and utilization of the Long March heritage
sites urgently require new ideas and innovative methods.
In 2016, the State Administration of Cultural Heritage issued
the “Notice on Strengthening the Work of Revolutionary
Heritage Sites,” in which it was clearly stated that “theexhibition and utilization of military heritage sites are
eligible for the support provided by the “Internet + Chinese
Civilization Action Plan.” In 2019, President Xi Jinping presided
over the ninth meeting of the Central Comprehensively
Deepening Reforms Commission. He reviewed and approved
the “Great Wall, Grand Canal, Long March National Cultural
Park Construction Plan,” which required the planning andconstruction of Long March as well as other national culturalparks. The Fifth Plenary Session of the 19th Central Committeeof the CCP set strategic goals for cultural development during
the “14th Five-Year Plan” period, reiterating that “national
cultural parks such as the Great Wall, the Grand Canal, theLong March, and the Yellow River” are important national
cultural facilities and critical cultural development projects.
Among them, the “Digital Reproduction” project, as one of
the six major projects in the construction of the Long March
National Cultural Park, emphasizes that digital technology
and Internet thinking should be fully utilized to comprehensively
enhance the exhibition and dissemination of Long March
heritage sites and cultural resources. However, currently,
there is a lack of best practices and referable experiences.
The relevant theories, methods, and practical solutions need
to be further explored. In the same year, under the planningand organization of the Science and Technology Departmentof the State Administration of Cultural Heritage, the “DigitalLong March” project was officially launched, aiming at
exploring a path for the protection and utilization of military
heritage sites through new technology and praxis.

3.1 “Digital Map of Long March” WeChat mini-program
Currently, there are a lot of people who have walked orwant to revisit “the Long March route” and the related
heritage sites. However, many sites cannot be found throughcommon navigation applications. In addition, the existingsites contain rich history but are sparsely scattered. It istherefore difficult for visitors to have a clear understandingof the overall history of the Long March, as well as thecauses and consequences of relevant events. It is quite
common for tourists to still feel unclear about the history
even after the visit. In response to this problem, the project
launched the “Long March Heritage Sites Map” (Figures3-5). This is an app accessible through WeChat. The app
mainly uses GIS, big data, and other technologies to visuallydisplay the geographic information of more than 1,600 Long
March heritage sites and important museums across thecountry. The app allows searches by category, name, andlocation. It also correlates the Long March heritage sites
with major historical events. When the user clicks on the“Zunyi Conference” event, for example, the app will not
only provide a brief introduction to the event but also
display all the Long March heritage sites related to this eventon the map. National-level protected sites are provided withmore information on the address, opening hours, introduction,and pictures. Users can have a clear and comprehensive
understanding of various information about the Long Marchand its related sites through the online map. In addition, theMini Program also provides interactive functions such as“Information Reporting” and “Today in the History of theLong March.” The “Long March Heritage Sites Map” draws
a “space-time map,” so that the numerous scattered sites can
not only be clearly identified but also be presented in a
concise and direct way. On the macro scale, the app
provides a path for the exhibition and utilization of military
heritage.

Figs. 3-5. Interface of the Long March Heritage Sites Map

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China

3.2 The “Crossing Dadu River” 5G+AR App
The “Crossing Dadu River” app is a 5G+AR app thatprovides an immersive experience of the site. It sets thescene at the Dadu River heritage site, an important ferryalong the Long March. In May 1935, the Red Army carriedout night raids and landing battles here. They managed tobreak the defensees on the Dadu River and bravely crossed
the Dadu River paving the way for subsequent troops tocross the river. The story of “17 warriors crossing the river,”and “the Marvellous Gunner Zhao Zhangcheng” are amongsome of the famous stories in the history of the Long March.
However, due to changes in the natural environment over
the years as well as the damage caused by construction,
great changes have taken place in the trenches, riverbanks,and other parts of the landscape. In addition, the content of
the on-site exhibition and interpretation is limited, resulting
in a poor experience for tourists, which also makes it especiallyhard to attract the younger generation.
In response to the problems mentioned above, the app uses
5G communication technology, AR space cloud, and 3D
digital content to achieve a “seamless integration” between
the crossing site along the Dadu River and the virtual sceneof the historical event. At the real-life experience location of“Zhao Zhangcheng, the Marvelous Gunner,” the audience
only needs to use their mobile phones to point at the trenchruins by the Dadu River to watch virtual Red Army soldiersfiring mortars with the real background in 360 degrees. The
vivid presentation of the historic scene at the very site
greatly enhances the visitors’ experience (Figures 6-9). In
addition, users can also take photos with virtual Red Armysoldiers through the app. People can also “hunt for treasures”
in the museum or offer virtual flowers to the memorial siteof General Sun Jixian, who led 17 warriors to cross the Dadu
River. By combining “panoramic AR” with the display ofbattlefield sites, the app adheres to the basic principles ofcultural heritage conservation, such as “not changing theoriginal state of heritage site,” “minimum intervention,” and“not reconstructing and disturbing the sites.” Meanwhile,
the app restores vivid historical scenes. It provides a newperspective for the exhibition of military heritage sites.
Together with the development of the project, a 5G network
was built for the Dadu River Scenic Area. The project gives
full play to the advantages of 5G technology, which greatly
reduces the size of the app and the computational load on
the mobile phone side, and improves the accessibility of
the app, while still obtaining higher-quality images andsmoother effects.

Figs. 6-9. Superposition of the real environment and AR virtual scenes, which can be viewed 360-degrees through a mobile phone screen.

17

launch the “Unforgettable Memories” program; inviting
He Senbao, an influencer in the heritage and museum
sector, to give lectures and launch publicity activities;
holding “micro-exhibitions” at Tao Ran Academy as well as
the historic Red Building of Peking University. With
Internet thinking, the project explored a variety of newcommunication and promotion methods, such as course
output, online and offline integration, multimedia linkage,Internet matrix, etc., with obvious results. For example,
related topics have reached 100 million views on Sina;related videos were viewed 25 million times and an
online discussion reached 19,000 comments; mainstream
media such as the People’s Daily, People's Liberation
Army Daily, and China Natural Resources Daily all reported
on the project. The project has been successful in exploring
and applying new methods to disseminate revolutionary
history.

China

3.3 Study course and other programs on the Internet
In addition, the project is also developing a field study
course for the Dadu River Crossing site. The field study is
integrated with online applications and is specially designed
for primary and middle school students (Figures 10-11). The
main content includes walking the “Long March Route” andon-site teaching. It aims to integrate the history of the Long
March into site visits and storytelling. There are sections likethe “Little Commander” and “Learning from the Great Gunner.”
There are also interactive activities such as AR experience andweight-bearing competition. The course enables students toacquire historical knowledge and appreciate the spirit of
the Long March. At the same time, the project gives full play
to the advantages of the Internet, and has carried out
extensive publicity and promotion programs, including
follow-ups to research courses; the production of special
promotional films and micro-videos; working with Sina to

Figs. 10-11. Teaching materials of the field study course. Designed for young people, the course explains history in simple terms and covers relevant knowledge inmilitary matters, history, geography, cultural heritage protection, etc.

Conclusion
The successful implementation of the “Digital Long March”
project has demonstrated the approaches and scenarios ofapplying new technologies such as big data, 5G communication,
AR space cloud, 3D digital technology, and Internet matrix
in the exhibition and protection of military heritage. It provides
experiences on the integration of different technology, andcooperation of different disciplines, and also brings a new
way to conserve military heritage sites. The world is presently

undergoing major changes, and technological innovation is
one of the key variables. China’s economy and Chinese society
have also entered a new stage of development. Innovation,
cross-border integration, and technological empowerment
are the general trends. As 3DGIS, satellite navigation, multiple
remote sensing, virtual reality, the Internet of Things,
artificial intelligence, and other information technologies
are gradually introduced into the field of cultural heritage
conservation, the application of these new technologies
will have even broader prospects in the future.

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IndiaIndia

Management Model for Site Museums at World Heritage Sites in India
Kisha Shanker, Researcher
Department of Ancient Indian History Culture and Archaeology, Gurukul Kangri University
Introduction
India has a glorious and rich heritage with thousands of yearsof occupancy, with many grand forts, palaces, monuments,
as well as nature sanctuaries and other landmarks that draw
tourists from all over the world. It has thirty-two culturalsites which have been inscribed in the World Heritage List
by UNESCO. These sites are important landmarks for any
country and thus their story needs to be told, and the best
possible way of informally educating the masses about themis through museums. In this regard, site museums become
a vital entity. The advantage of a site museum is that it
tells the story of a single site through time and space.
The site museums of India, particularly those located at World
Heritage Sites, are distinct from other museums in India. A
site museum elucidates the story and meaning of the site. Its
exhibits have the sole purpose of interpreting the site forvisitors. The main objective of these museums is to allow
things to be studied and shown in their natural setting while
maintaining their ecological context (Sharma, 1998). The
potential of site museums located at World Heritage Sites isenormous; they draw a wide range of visitors from all walks

Map 1. Map showing site museums at WHS in India

19of life because these sites attract the most tourists due totheir international acclaim. In order to safeguard, document,
and exhibit movable cultural material in its original setting,as well as provide on-site interpretation and educational
experiences for visitors, site museums require a long-term
management plan.
General Overview of Site Museums
Lord Curzon’s personal interest and excitement in learningand conserving India’s magnificent past by maintainingmonuments and founding museums accounted for various
archaeological museums in India with the immense supportof Sir John Marshall. Site museums are a valuable adjunctto sites that are themselves educationally interesting, suchas Sarnath, Nalanda, Khajuraho, Sanchi, Hampi, Konark,
Dholavira etc. However, a site museum which is difficult tofind and is located half a mile away from a site is almost
valueless (Banerjee, 1990).
The fundamental context of archaeological artefacts isprovided by on-site museums: the excavation and theimmovable artefacts (the ruins). The ability of the personnelIt is important that the visitors can digest all material presented
to them if the interpretation is done correctly, and when theyleave the museum, they have a complete picture of the site’s
past as well as a deeper understanding of how archaeology
revealed that tale. Staff at the museum should make extra
effort to explain the places and their tales to the generalpublic. Evidently, several case studies around the globe have
proved that a site is well preserved if the local community
is more aware and wants to be involved in the safeguardingof the site for posterity.
Sir Mortimer Wheeler established a separate Museums
Branch at ASI in 1946, after independence, when the threemajor site museums of Harappa, Taxila, and Mohenjodaro
went to the other side of the border. Then, there was a surge

in the number of site museums established by ASI (Sharma,
1998). Presently there are forty-five archaeological site
museums established by ASI. Of these, eleven are locatedat World Heritage Sites (Map 1).

India

to interpret the archaeological record into a compellingexhibition without compromising the authenticity of theoriginal site and items embodied is critical to the successof an on-site museum (Biswas, 2011). For the audience tocomprehend the lives of the people behind these objects,
the context of archaeological discovery at an on-site museum
requires extensive interpretation.

Site Museum, Nalanda
Nalanda is known for having the world’s largest Buddhist
monastery as well as a famous learning centre. The site
museum, which opened in 1917, is more than a hundred years
old and is located in close proximity to the site. It housesa remarkable collection of stone and bronze sculptures of
Buddhist gods and goddesses, as well as a few Hindu
pantheon representations, all of which exhibit the Pala Schoolof art at its best. A few stucco heads from the late Gupta
period are also on display. Royal seals from the Gupta and
Maukhari kingdoms, as well as several official seals from the
Nalanda monastery are among the museum’s highlights.
There are also some artefacts from Rajgir on display. This
museum is located in close vicinity of the archaeological site
and thus visited by many visitors. However, the display andlighting of the museum needs a major revamp with focussed
LED lights which can further enhance the exhibits.

Fig. 1. Terracotta Gallery at Nalanda Museum

Site Museum, Sanchi
Sir John Marshall founded the museum in 1919 to display
the various types of artefacts discovered in Sanchi and thesurrounding area. The museum’s important antiquities
include an Ashokan lion capital that is identical to the one
at Sarnath, gateway and railing fragments, monastic andhousehold utensils made of iron, copper, and bronze, as
well as casts of a few relic caskets, as well as carvings from
the Mauryan to the Medieval periods. This museum is also
located at the entrance pathway which leads to the top of
the hill where the stupa is located. The main issue of themuseum is accessibility. The nearest town where you canfind a place to stay is Vidisha, which is 10 km away. The
area nearby the museum has hardly any cafeterias or cafes.
The museum should become a place for gatherings and allthese basic requirements boost the visitor outflow. Presently,
most of visitors come to Sanchi for few hours and leave
because of the dearth of local infrastructure, which thus leads
to no involvement of the local community with the site. The
government, along with local bodies and in collaboration
with ASI, should devise a strategy to cater to visitors withbasic facilities.

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IndiaFig. 2. Sculptural Gallery at Sanchi Museum

Site Museum, Hampi
The museum, which was established by ASI in 1972 and ishoused in a modern structure in the village of Kamalapur,
contains one of the world's most valuable antique collections,with items dating from the Prehistoric to the Medieval periods,
including stone sculptures of Brahmanical deities, stucco
figurines, hero stones and sati stones, and other minor
antiquities uncovered during excavations. The central courtyard

Fig. 3. Site Museum, Hampi

21

features a scaled model of the excavated remains of Hampi,
which is a unique element that contributes to a better understanding of the site. The museum’s information kiosk, whichis available for visitors, has not been in working condition
since prior to COVID-19. Although WHS of Hampi is spreadover a larger area, the museum is located many kilometresaway from the major tourist attractions and thus attracts only
a few visitors.

the various incarnations of Vishnu etc. The museum islocated half a mile away from the site and receives almost
negligible visitor footfall. Contributing to this is the Visitor
Interpretation Centre of Konark, which has been opened byIndian Oil Corporation just adjacent to the site. The visitor
interpretation centre receives many tourists irrespective of
the high ticket price as they find it more engaging. The whole
setup encourages their senses to delve into the immersive
experience.

India

Site Museum, Konark
On the northern flank of the well-known Sun Temple is theKonark site museum, which has been open to the public
since 1968. It has four galleries with almost 200 antiquities
from the Temple complex on display. The reconstructed
wheel, dikpals and celestial nymphs, the gigantic head of acrocodile, stone carvings of flora and fauna, Surya-Narayan,
Gaja-vyala, some erotic figures, Salabhanjikas, and othernotable objects on display include an image of Surya insandstone, King Narasimha in discussion, marriage scenes,

Fig. 4. Display of antiquities at Site Museum, Konark

Fig. 5. Interior of Visitor Interpretation Centre, Konark

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IndiaSite Museum, Khajuraho
The museum foundation was laid in 1910 by W.E. Jardine(political agent of Bundelkhand) and was called Jardine
Museum. However, the present museum was conceptualisedin the year 1952 after the Archaeological Survey of India
took over its charge. Before 2003, it was located near
Matangeshwar temple complex. Now, however, it is alsosituated half a mile away. It houses around two thousand
sculptures and architectural elements from the eleventh totwelfth centuries, representing three major faiths: Buddhist,
Brahamanical, and Jaina. Some of them are considered
medieval art masterpieces. This museum also must deal
with a location accessibility issue. One has to really struggle
to reach the museum without a personal vehicle. Although
the museum showcases one of the best sculptures ofChandella art, the display technique of the exhibits is quite
old.

Fig. 6. Gallery at Site Museum, Khajuraho

Site Museum, Dholavira
The site museum at Dholavira was established in 2007. It
comprises information and relics from the ancient site of
Dholavira. Several seals and sealings, a graduated scale
made on a burned rib bone of an animal, beads of semiprecious stones, copper, gold, shell, and terracotta wereamong the notable artefacts discovered during excavation
at the site. Among the clay figures, the unicorn animal

Fig. 7. Display of antiquities at Site Museum, Dholavira

23

figure is a noteworthy find. This newly inscribed WHS
needs a more interactive museum. This museum has thepotential to provide a captivating experience by using various
multimedia techniques for visitors. Instead of showcasing thetechniques of water harvesting, bead making, and bangle
making through a long monotonous descriptive model,
these techniques can be well elaborated with interactivemodels.

on the main road and one has to really struggle to find it.
This museum is also located quite far from the site. Here,
there are hardly any descriptive panels about the exhibits.
The whole experience of visiting this museum is unsatisfactory.
This WHS is such an important pilgrimage site of Buddhism
and caters to visitors from all around the globe all year round,but still the museum has not garnered any attention fromthe authorities.

India

Site Museum, Bodh GayaThis museum was established in 1956 to house the separate
sculptures and antiquities found in the excavation at
Mahabodhi temple complex. Buddhist sculptures from thefirst century BC to the eleventh century AD are on display at
the museum. There are also vestiges of the former temple
and the remains of temple railings dating from the second to
first centuries BC. The museum has a very gloomy, dull, andtedious ambience. The museum does not have any signage

Fig. 8. Remains of Railings at Site Museum, Bodh Gaya

Site Museum, Taj Mahal
The museum was established in 1982. It is housed in thebuilding near the western wall of the enclosure known as
Naubat Khana. It is a double storey building with a quadrangle
projection outside. The museum displays various exhibits
related to the period of Shah Jahan and the construction of
the Taj Mahal. It broadly consists of miniature paintings,
manuscripts, government decrees, specimens of calligraphy,
arms, utensils, plans and drawings of the Taj Mahal complex,
specimens of inlay works, marble pillars etc. The World

Heritage Site of the Taj Mahal, which is also one of theSeven Wonders of the World, is the most visited monument
in India. Still, the visitor flow to the museum is bleak,irrespective of the fact that the main mausoleum is locatedjust adjacent to it. The museum’s lighting doesn’t do justiceto the exhibits and in fact the reflection of the light on the
showcases hinders your interaction with the exhibits.
However, there are plans to open a visitor interpretation
centre in the vicinity of the site but the visitors will have to
wait until the official work materialises.

Fig. 9. Site Museum, Taj Mahal, Agra

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IndiaSite Museum, Fatehpur Sikri
The museum has been open since May 2014. To display
objects found during excavations that took place in 1976–
1977 and 1999–2000 was the primary motivation behind thisremodelling. The Treasury Building is another name for the
Fatehpur Sikri museum location. The museum now has four
galleries. The museum collection comprises of terracotta

objects, porcelain dishes, arms, coins, jewellery, layoutplans of architectural buildings at the premises, and some
sculptures of Jain Tirthankars. The museum has a richcollection of antiquities. However, it is still not visited verymuch by tourists. One reason could be that the museum
does not fulfill the needs of visitors and doesn’t cater to the
onlookers’ need for multisensory stimuli.

Fig. 10. Site Museum, Fatehpur Sikri, Agra

Site Museum, GoaThis museum has been functioning since 1964 in the conventof St. Francis of Assisi. The collection of the museum
consists of Brahmanical sculptures, hero stones and satistones of the early and late medieval periods. Portraits ofgovernors and viceroys, coins and currency, revenue andcourt fee stamps, wooden and bronze sculptures, andarmoury of the Portuguese period are also on display. A 3.10
m high bronze statue of Afonso de Albuquerque greets
visitors at the main entrance. In the visitors’ lobby, maps
showing sea routes of the early explorers are on display.
Apart from this, the museum also has a counter for the saleand display of ASI publications. The museum also has anaudio-visual show on World Heritage Sites in the lobby.
The location of the museum is very significant and caters tonumerous tourists all year round. The museum is wellmaintained and has a welcoming atmosphere. However, theaudio-visual segment in the entrance lobby can be improved
with much newer technology and equipment.

Indian art works from the 16 th century until India’s
Independence are also exhibited here. Azaadi ke Dewaane,
which was initially opened in 1995 as Swatantara Sangram
Sanghrahalaya, is dedicated to the unsung heroes of the
Indian Freedom Struggle, and was inaugurated after being

Site Museums, Red Fort
In 2019, a number of new museums concentrating on the
period from the early medieval era to the advent of the
Mughal period were inaugurated. The five existing museums
within the Red Fort complex inside the British era barracks
are Yaad-e-Jallian, Museum of 1857, Azadi Ke Deewane(earlier known as Swatantara Sangram Sanghrahalaya),
Subhash Chandra Bose Museum, and Drishyakala.
The ‘Yaad-e-Jallian’ museum and ‘Museum of 1857’ both
opened in January 2019. The former showcases the Jallianwala
Bagh incident of April 13, 1919, and the latter portrays thehistorical narrative of the 1857 war of Independence. Several

25

Fig. 11. Maritime Gallery, Site Museum, Goa

and Delhi has been well elucidated with the latest technology
in the Red Fort Visitor Centre established by the Dalmia
group, which will be open to the public soon.

India

revamped in March 2019. Another remarkable museumon Subhash Chandra Bose was opened in 2019 as well. This
museum has been established in the same barracks where
General Shah Nawaz Khan, Gurbaksh Singh Dhillion, andseveral other INA soldiers were imprisoned. This museum
houses several rare photographs, badges, medals, anduniforms of Subhash Chandra Bose and other INA officers.
Drishyakala is an art museum established by Delhi Art
Gallery (DAG) in collaboration with ASI. The earlier site
museum at Red Fort, established in 1909 and housed in
Mumtaz Mahal, has been closed. The entire story of Red Fort

The Ministry of Culture, Government of India is planning to
make Red Fort a socio-cultural hub of informal learning andresearch and thus many new museums on Jammu andKashmir, Arms and Armoury, and a design centre based on
Aatmanirbhar Bharat ideology will be established in the near
future.

Fig. 12. Colonial Barracks converted into a museum at Red Fort

Fig.13. Museum of Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose at Red Fort

26

IndiaManagement Issues of Site Museums Located at World Heritage
Sites in India
Almost all the site museums established by the Archaeological Survey of India face the same major issues. Asidefrom a lack of awareness of the museums, other key issues
in their management include the following:
Inadequate Staff – Almost every ASI museum suffers the
problem of insufficient staff. Most of them only have acurator, a multi-tasking staff member, and a few security
guards. Hence, the museum’s staff is often overworked
and responsible for a variety of duties alone, such as curation,
registration, research, display installation, site assessments.
All this work requires a proper team of museum specialists.
Obsolete Display Techniques - In site museums, the sole facilities
are permanent exhibition galleries with static displays andstorage areas. Most of the buildings are very old and needa major revamp to provide a more engaging and pleasing
experience. The vital point is that displays without storyboards
or other explanations make it difficult for visitors to understandthe significance of the site and the objects on display.
Nowadays many multi-sensory devices are being used tostimulate the interest of visitors to absorb and learn about
exhibits. Still, none of the site museums at World Heritage
Sites in India utilise these techniques. However, the visitor
interpretation centres are optimally using these techniquesand devices to their full potential.
Infrastructure Issues - Most of these museums can beclassified as depots rather than true museums because
they lack instructional facilities and temporary exhibition
galleries, both of which contribute to a museum’s dynamic
nature. Inadequate environmental controls and a lack oflaboratory space also prohibit the museums’ treasures frombeing properly preserved. There are hardly any cafés ormuseum shops as well. Most tourists arrive at an archaeologicalsite or a museum with limited information, and as a result, they
do not form a connection between the archaeological remains
and the history offered at the start of their visits. A site museumthat lacks information is difficult to understand for nonspecialist visitors.
Accessibility is a Key Issue - The majority of archaeologicalsites are located outside of cities or populated areas. The
connectivity of the site with public transport is very significant.
The site museums of Dholavira and Lothal suffer greatly
because of this issue. Access to archaeological sites andmuseums is majorly inadequate, especially during the rainyseason because of bad roads. Also, the accessibility for
differently-abled is quite questionable. While some museums
have ramps, Braille panels, and accessible washrooms, manyothers do not, which excludes a major section of society.
Insufficient Mitigating Efforts – More than eighteen percent
of India lies in Seismic Zone IV which is considered as a highdamage risk zone. Earthquakes, landslides, and floods are
India’s most destructive and devastating natural calamities.
However, a well-planned mitigation policy or efforts havenot been addressed at site museums. The most recent
example is Typhoon Amphan in 2020, which created havoc
in the eastern part of the country. The site museum at
Konark was also affected by it. The various informational

27

panels were damaged, however, reinstallation work iscurrently in progress.
Management Model for Site Museums
The management model has to be multifaceted and holistic
in approach to cater to the needs of site museums in India,
especially those which are located at sites of Outstanding
Universal Value, i.e., World Heritage Sites. The foremost
step should be taken at the government level, with the
Ministry of Culture and Tourism, formulating a collaborative
master plan for the management of archaeological site
museums together with key stakeholders such as museum
professionals, archaeologists, academics, local residents,
non-governmental organisations, and other heritage-related
individuals or organisations in India. There should be fourstages to this collaborative effort: identifying problems or
obstacles, prioritisation, suggestions, and implementation(Nevra, 2006).
Another significant issue of management is lack of publicawareness. Although archaeology is taught in school history
classes, they are mainly confined to medieval and modern
history, and the link between the classes and museums is
tenuous. Museum visits, which are currently limited tomuseum weeks, are insufficient to raise awareness. India’s
Ministry of Education, Ministry of Culture, and Ministry of
Tourism should collaborate to start public education at theschool level. Education professionals should be employedat site museums, and events for children, adults, and families
should be organised with a more engaging format, such as
school visits, guided tours, which should be interactive, andstorytelling sessions. We know that when people are awareof heritage values and understand why and what should
be protected, quality control and monitoring will occur
naturally.
Furthermore, storyboards with supporting visuals, photographs, models, dioramas, and diverse multimedia displays
should depict the cultural chronology and circumstancesof the place (Sharma, 1998). They should also urge tourists
to participate in the archaeological site and provide a stronglink between the ruins and the discoveries. This is requiredin order to convey a sense of their significance and to depict
life in an ancient society. Audio-guides (multilingual), shortfilms, or documentaries about the site and its collection, andpamphlets can all help visitors better comprehend the siteand enjoy their visit. Visitors who are well-informed are
significantly more likely to avoid destroying either a siteor its museum, as they can quickly develop an attitude ofsafeguarding a location that holds significance for them.
The museum should have a disaster management plan inplace, as well as mitigation activities against natural andhuman-made risks. Roads should be modified so that thelocation, as well as the museum, is accessible to visitors
throughout the year. Also, there is a dire need to upgrade
the public transportation system for all site museums as they
are mostly in rural settings. The visit to a site should be“pocket friendly” in terms of logistics. Moreover, apart fromcollections management, these museums should work on
content management, which means archiving metadata,
the story of the location and the artefacts, digitisation, anduse of the latest multimedia technology.

Subsequently, the site museum has to increase its presence
online in a much more vibrant form. More so after the
pandemic, the online activities should not be limited tovirtual lectures and webinars. The use of information
technology and artificial technology should be well utilised.
The pandemic brought about a dynamic shift in the working
culture of people around the world. The site museum must
adapt and become more relevant to visitors. All site museums
should digitise their entire collection and make this databaseavailable to visitors online. The website of the site museum
should be continuously updated and become more appealing
with some interactive short questionnaire tool which
inculcates the interest of the visitors. Regular evaluation ofvisitor perception about the site museum should be taken
into account to formulate strategies on museum management
and visitor participation.

India

Conclusion
The most crucial issue for all these site museums in India
that hampers their potential to serve as dynamic sociocultural institutions is lack of resources. The Ministry of
Culture, Government of India along with the Archaeological
Survey of India need to work on this. They must rework thestrategy and recruitment process to hire efficient, welltrained, and subject-specific personnel. A standardised teamof Curators, Conservators, Education Officer, Visitor Experience
Manager, Social media specialist, Volunteers, Interns,
multitasking staff, and security guards should be the staff ateach site museum. Their responsibilities should be clearly
defined with optimum output. The local community could
also be engaged to supply craftwork for museum shops,
cater to museum personnel, or perform other domestic
tasks. This will inculcate a sense of belonging among the
locals.

Abbreviations
WHS - World Heritage Sites
ASI - Archaeological Survey of India
References
Banerjee, N.R. 1990. Museums and Cultural Heritage inIndia, Agam Kala Prakashan, Delhi.
Biswas, S.S. 2011. ‘Museum in India: A Review’, (eds.)
Ancient India – Bulletin of the Archaeological Survey of India,
New Delhi: Archaeological Survey of India. pp. 369-398.
Erturk, Nevra. 2006. A Management Model for ArchaeologicalSites Museums in Turkey. Museum Management andCuratorship 21 (4). United Kingdom: Taylor and Francis
Group.
Sharma, I.K. 1998. Archaeological Site Museums in India:
The Backbone of Cultural Education, Museum International
50 (2). Oxford: Blackwell Publishers.

28

Kazakhstan
Kazakhstan

The Research of Cult Objects of the Bronze Age in the Territory of the Burabay Mountain Forest
MassifGulnaz Kulmaganbetova, Chief Researcher
Kazarchaeology LLP
Abstract: On a field expedition in 2022, archeological research
was undertaken by scientists of the Institute of Archeology
named after A. Margulan in the Burabay district of the
Akmola region of the Republic of Kazakhstan. The expedition
was focused on the Taskamal megalithic complex located in
the inner basin of the Burabay mountain forest massif. The
monument consists of three main elements that are inscribedin the landscape: two long megalithic lines made of masonrywalls and an artificial terrace with two ramps. The complex
also includes a mine for granite, a workshop, and a platformthat juts out from one of the walls. The monument contains
a bas-relief, stone stelae, and menhirs. Two burial grounds
were explored to the north of the complex. Three fenceswere excavated at the Kyzyltobe burial ground, with twoof them being funerary monuments. A “dolmen-like” object
was investigated in fence No. 50; it is a stone box with floorslabs and a round hole. In the territory of the Zhumakai
burial ground, two ritual objects were recognized—acromlech and a stone layout with a stele. Moreover, there
was an exploration and revision of archaeological sites
carried out—ore workings and developments of placers at
the foot of Mount Sinyukha, and to the north of Lake Bolshoye
Chebachye and Lake Maloe Chebachye on the Sarybulak

stream, a burial ground and a Bronze Age settlement of
Borovoe. The result of the work shows a rather peculiar societyof ancient miners and metallurgists that was formed in the
Bronze Age in the Burabay region against the backgroundof other Fedorov and Sargary-Alekseev groups.
Keywords: Bronze Age, archaeological excavation andexploration, Burabay, Fedorov culture, Sargary-Alekseev culture,
fences, megaliths
The Taskamal megalithic complex
The monument is located in the Burabay district of the
Akmola region of the Republic of Kazakhstan, 7.9 km
southwest of Burabay village, in the inner basin of the
Kokshetau mountains (Fig. 1). An ancient highway runs
through the territory of the complex, going from the
Akylbay pass, between the Zheke-Batyr mountains (826m) and the Camel mountains (690 m) to the Ablaykhan
meadow, at the foot of the Sinyukha mountain (947 m). It
is located 4.3 m equidistant to three lakes. Southwest of Lake
Borovoe, southeast of Lake Maloe Chebache and to the northeast of Lake Shuchiye. The total area of the entire complex
is about 18 hectares.

Fig. 1. The location of monuments: 1.1. The megalithic complex Taskamal; 1.2. The Bronze Age mine; 1.3. Borovoye settlement; 1.4. Borovoe burial ground; 1.5.
Workings of the Bronze Age on the Sarybulak stream; 1.6. Workings of the Bronze Age on the shore of Lake Maloe Chebache; 1.7. Workings of the Bronze Age on
the shore of Lake Bolshoye Chebache; 1.8. Kyzyltobe burial ground; 1.9. Burial ground and Zhumakai settlement29

rocky ridge oriented along the northeast-southwest line.
Two artificial zigzag lines descend in opposite directions fromeach other. From the northeast, the southwestern wall is closely
adjacent to the artificial terrace and two ramps descendingin opposite directions along the axis of the wall (Figs. 2, 3).

Kazakhstan

In the plan, the monument is represented by zigzag lines atright angles. It consists of three linear sections. The south
western and northeastern zigzag lines are artificial stone
structures made of granite blocks and slabs. They form
walls oriented along the northwest-southeast line. The central
one, perpendicular to two walls from the line, is a naturalFig. 2. Southwestern wall (view from the top): 2.1. The area with a terrace platform; 2.2. The area from the edge of the terrace to the tourist observation point

The southwestern wall, which is located on the elevation of
the natural ridge, is in the best condition. The masonry is laiddry, and large boulders, blocks, and slabs are tightly fitted
to each other. According to their position, after producing
boulders from a natural vein, they were delivered to theconstruction site in the same order and successively packed.

If the shape of the boulders did not match, stone wedges ofvarious shapes, tiles, or bedding of small stones were used
to fix the masonry. Some granite blocks have impact tubercles
and their reverse sections, proximal chips, knockouts, drillingmarks, and notches are under the wedges (Figs. 3, 4).

30

Kazakhstan
Fig. 3. The wall at the outer leveled area opposite the terrace: 3.1. View from the southwest; 3.2. View of the masonry area with a bas-relief

Along the wide aligned outer platform of the terrace and up
to the very entrance from the outer platform to the terrace
platform, stone blocks are laid one by one, 5–6 in a masonry(Figs. 4, 5.1). The average block sizes in the masonry arefrom 0.4 × 0.4 m to 1 × 1 m. There are also specimens 1.1 × 3
m in size. At the junction of the terrace and a short southeastern
ramp, an entrance was made in the wall from the outer area
to the terrace area. It has an L-shaped outline, a long sectionof 4 m and a short entrance section of 0.5 m. The width ofthe opening from the outside is 0.95 m, and the width of thelong vestibule is 0.85 m. The passage has 11 steps. The heightof the stepped spans is from 0.2 m to 0.4 m. The outer wall

31of the hallway is decked with the main masonry of the wall
the way that the attached blocks protrude outward by 0.45–
0.85 m. The length of the attached section to the opening is 2.1
m, and the width of the masonry is 0.6–0.7 m. The preserved
part has 3-4 layers of masonry. The sizes of the boulders arefrom 0.5 × 0.55 m to 0.85 × 1.2 m. The second part of theouter wall is decked with the masonry of the next main sectionof the wall at the end and side by side with the masonry of
the beginning of the inner wall of the hallway. The latter arches
into the terrace and consists of 13 stones, the dimensions ofwhich gradually decrease from 0.2 × 0.4 m to 0.1 × 0.1 m (Fig.
5.2).

Kazakhstan

Fig. 4.1. Masonry against the terrace; 4.2. Masonry at the end of the northeastern ramp

The central platform is 12 × 32 m in size and has a vague
rectangular outline in plan. It is extended along the line
northwest-southeast parallel to the stone wall, adjoining itfrom the northeastern side. On the aligned upper section,
there are the remains of a 6 × 6 m square structure. Ninestones protruding from the surface have been preserved.
The two northern stones in the structure are apparently heapedmenhirs. Small foundation stones are well fixed next to them(Fig. 5.2).

The northwestern ramp is 80 m long, the southeastern one
is 20 m long. Between the main platform and the ramps,
step subsidence is fixed on both sides. The northwestern
ramp ends in front of the modern tourist viewing area andis not fixed on the site behind the road.
In the structure of the artificial embankment of the terrace
there are vertically set slabs or dug-in stones, which form
crepes that protect the embankment from spreading along
the slope of the ridge, and which are found along the edge

32

Kazakhstan
Fig. 5.1. The plan of the terrace area and sections; 5.2. Southwestern entrance; 5.3. Outdoor terrace area with a fallen steleof the terrace and across the ramps. On the long northeastern
ramp, 14 lines of crepes in different states of preservation
were found.
On the outer surface of one of the boulders at the base of themasonry wall in the area under the terrace, a bas-relief of abull or a cow was found. The dimensions of the image fromthe muzzle to the back are 1.75 m, from the upper to thelower part of the body 0.8 m. On the surface of the bas-relief
there are traces of chipping and processing. Several details
by which the animal can be accurately identified have been

33

preserved—the head and hind leg. The bend of the upper
back, withers, neck, and the front leg are partially visible.
The animal is in a sitting position, with its legs bent underitself. The head is oriented towards the southeastern end of
the wall and the entrance to the terrace area. The head sizeis 0.3 × 0.4 m. The almond-shaped eye, rounded ear, muzzle,
and nose are highlighted. The eye is shown as a thick ridgewith a narrow indentation in the center. The ear in the regionof the rounded forehead is marked by chipping and trimming.
The hind leg is demonstrated as anatomically correct, showing
a wide hip, narrow leg, and hoof. The size of the element

An important dating feature is the presence of a terrace inthe complex on the central platform and on the outer platform
under the wall of stone stelae. Two small fallen stelae 0.7 m
long and 0.35 m wide were found on the central site (Fig. 5.3).
Along the edges of the concave sides, traces of squeezing
are visible. Analogies to these stelae occur in late Fedorov
monuments of East Kazakhstan. In box 2 of fence No. 39 of
the Betkuduk burial ground, 0.2 m above the ceiling, there
was a 0.95 m high tetrahedral stele (Ermolaeva, 2012: p. 21,
Fig. 7; 8, 1, 4; Photo 8). Several stelae were found at theTemirkank burial ground. In barrow-fence No. 80, a stele
0.63 m high was placed on the western side and lined withsmall stone slabs. The width of the faces is 0.18–0.24 m. To
the south-west of it, at a distance of 0.5 m from each other,
there were three more stone stelae from 0.5 to 0.7 m long.
The monument on a two-blade socketed arrowhead dates
back to the 13th to 10th centuries BC. Stone stelae are known
in the late Fedorov monuments of Altai, Central Kazakhstanmausoleums of the Begazy-Dandybay culture of the
middle to second half of the 2nd millennium BC (Beisenov,
Varfolomeev, 2008: pp. 40–45, Photos 33–35). Three stelae
similar in shape and size were found during the study ofmausoleum 1 of the Begazy burial ground (Margulan, 1998:
pp. 157–159, Figs. 8, 11–12; 3, pp. 70–75).
The destination of the monument is affirmed by its planigraphy
and topography. The northwestern wall is oriented strictly tothe point of sunset on the day of the summer solstice. The
visual axis runs from the observation deck, through theramp, and onto the rocky ridge behind which the sun disk
is hidden. The main view from the terrace is directed to thesouthern sector and the area of the daytime pass of the sun.
The sunrise point coincides with the visual line that runs at
the junction of the southeastern wall and the natural rockridge connecting both long masonries. In accordance withtechnological methods and some analogies in the monumentsof the Bronze Age of Central Asia, the monument can be dated
to this period and attributed to the Fedorov or the SargaryAlekseevsky culture that came to replace it. This is the firstsuch studied object in the territory of Kazakhstan.

Kazakhstan

is 0.4 × 0.4 m. The leg is turned inward and separated fromthe body by narrow embossing. In the area of the bend of
the joint, it takes a horizontal position. The hoof is shownturned down, its width at the base is 0.1 m. According to thechipping in the lower part of the body, the second leg had
identical dimensions. The distance between the hooves isabout 0.2 m (Fig. 3.2).

Fence №50 Kyzyltobe burial ground
Within the framework of the implementation of the project,an archaeological exploration was carried out in the vicinityof the Burabay mountain forest massif, 1.5 km southeast of
the Abylaikhan village and 500 m northwest of the western
slopes of the Karabaur ridge. A burial ground of the Bronze
Age was discovered in the architecture of the burial structuresof which granite megaliths are recorded, topographicallylocated in a hollow between two ridges. In the southeasternpart of the necropolis, traces of an ancient watercourse,
about 60 m wide, are marked. The width of the grave field

Fig. 6. Fence No. 50 - Kyzyltobe burial ground: 6.1. Excavation at a level of -15 m from the modern surface; 6.2. Cleared walls of the fence and the central stonebox; 6.3. Floor slab with a knocked-out round hole; 6.4. Drawing of a petroglyph of a deer from the inner surface of the wall of the box

34

Kazakhstan

along the North-West-South-East line is 150 m and thelength along the North-East-South-West line is 250 m. The
burial ground is elongated along the west-east axis, and isoriented towards the saddle of the hill, which is part of the
Karabaur ridge system (Fig. 1). Archaeological research was
carried out to study the building and architectural principles
on fence No. 50.
The monument represents as a stone square fence in thecenter of which there was a box made of massive granite
slabs. The dimensions of the outer stone fence in terms ofplan were 4.6 × 4.6 m. Each side of the fence consisted of
3-4 granite slabs, about 1.2 × 0.6 × 0.1 m in size, mounted
on a long rib. The space between the outer fence and thestone box was laid in one layer with torn stones of various
types up to 0.25 m in diameter. The stone box was installed
in a previously dug 1.75 × 1.4 m and 1.4 m deep rectangularpit. The pit is oriented with its axis along the SW-NE line.
The box was built from two long 1.65 × 1.6 × 0.2 m granite
slabs and two small slabs arranged between longitudinalsmall slabs measuring about 1.6 × 1.0 × 0.15 m (Fig. 6.1, 6.2).
The top of the stone box was covered with two large granite

slabs. A hole was made in the large slab, forming a holewith a diameter of 0.9 m at the junction of the overlapping
slabs (Fig. 6.3). There were no burial remains; a round granite
boulder covered with white chalk powder was found at thebottom of the box. On the inside of one of the slabs of thecentral box, a petroglyph of a deer was discovered in theprocess of studying the techniques used when working
with granite slabs.
Based on the planigraphy of the burial ground and the burialrite revealed on other studied objects according to the typeof cremation, and the shape and ornamentation of the ceramic
vessels, it probably belongs to the Fedorov archaeologicalculture. Similar fences made of large slabs were investigatedin the middle of the 20th century near the village of Burabay
by A. Orazbaev (1958, pp. 216–294).
Cult complexes of the Zhumakai burial groundThe burial ground and the Zhumakai settlement are located
2 km southwest of the Abylaikhan settlement [Fig. 1]. The
settlement occupies the upper terrace of the Apakai hill
range and the burial ground is located on a slope. The
length of the grave field is 600 m, the width is 200 m, and it

Fig. 7. Zhumakai burial ground: 7.1. Stone cromlech; 7.2. Stone layout and stele; 7.3. A fallen stele

35

The cromlech with a diameter of 6 m consists of a double
row of red granite stones, laid tightly to each other. On the
inner side of the eastern sector of the cromlech three largestones are laid adjoining the ring of the fence. Behind thefence on the outside, opposite the layout, another boulder
was set. To the east of it and one meter from the laid axis,
two dark-colored boulders were set (Fig. 7.1).

the Zhumakai burial ground. According to the presence ofore mines, workings, and the remains of foundry production
on the territory of the region in the Bronze Age, groups ofminers and metallurgists settled within a vast pastoral district
inhabited by a kindred population of the Fedorov culture
and the Sargary-Alekseev culture that replaced it. The
recorded objects clearly demonstrate a developed character,not only social, judging by the presence of a complexly
organized megalithic monument, but also an appropriate
level of architecture and a complex set of worldviews.

A few meters to the north of the cromlech there is a rock fillwith a fallen granite stele. About ten large ragged stones
are fixed on the surface, oriented in a northwest-southeast
direction. The length is 5.5 m, the width is 4 m (Fig. 7.2). A
fallen stele was found near the southeastern edge of theridge. The length of the stele is 1.32 m, the maximum
thickness is 0.3 m. The thickness of the base is 0.18 m, thelength is 0.4 m. The dimensions of the upper part (the crown)
are 0.11 × 0.14 × 0.08 × 0.08 m (Fig. 7.3). Fragments of ceramic
vessels were discovered among the recovered materials at
a nearby settlement, which can be attributed to the Fedorov
or Sargary-Alekseev culture (mid-2nd millennium BC).

References
Beisenov, A., Varfolomeev, V. (2008). Burial ground Begazy.
Central Kazakhstan in the Begazy-Dandybaev era. Almaty. p.
112 (in Russian).
Ermolaeva, A. (2012). Monuments of the foothill zone of the
Kazakh Altai (Bronze Age - Early Iron Age). Almaty. p. 238(in Russian).
Margulan, A. (1998). Essays. 14 volumes. Vol. 1. BegazyDandybay culture of Central Kazakhstan / compiled by D. A.
Margulan. Almaty: Atamura Publ. p. 400 (in Russian).
Orazbaev, A. (1958). Northern Kazakhstan in the Bronze Age.
Works of the Institute of History, Archeology and Ethnographyof the Academy of Sciences of the Kazakh SSR. Volume V. pp.
216–294 (in Russian).

Conclusion
During the period of field research in 2022, several different
cult monuments of the Bronze Age were identified on the
territory of the Burabay mountain forest massif and in its
vicinity. The key object for the population of the region and,obviously, a wider area during this period was the Taskamal
megalithic complex. Besides megalithic walls, there wererecorded terraces and ramps, a bas-relief, stone stelae, andmenhirs. The cult, probably of a ritual-commemorative
nature, had a dolmen-like crypt-cenotaph at the Kyzyltobe
burial ground, a cromlech, and a stone layout with a stele of

Acknowledgements
The author wishes to thank Serazy Sakenov, Leading Researcher
at the Institute of Archeology named after A. Margulanand Sergey Yarygin, Leading Researcher at the Institute ofArcheology named after A. Margulan for making this article
possible. The work was financially supported by the Committeeof Science of the Ministry of Science and Education of the
Republic of Kazakhstan (Grant AP13068420 “Monuments ofMegalithic Architecture of the Bronze Age in Burabay”).

Kazakhstan

is elongated along the southwest-northeast axis. In the upper
part of the burial ground, two objects were found that had
cult features—a cromlech and a stone layout with a stele.

36

NepalNepal

Rehabilitation of Cultural Heritage: Challenges and Opportunity
Suresh Suras Shrestha, Joint Secretary / Head
Culture Division, Ministry of Culture, Tourism and Civil Aviation
Introduction
The Nepal Earthquake 2015 on 25th April 2015, magnitude
7.6 on the Richter scale, badly affected 14 districts with ahuge amount of physical destruction as well as humancasualties, and impacted 31 districts overall. Another shock
was felt on 12th May 2015 and after-shocks kept occurring
for around a year continuously and frequently, and thatmade the general population extremely frightened. Things
settled down after about a year and post-earthquake
reconstruction and rehabilitation activities have gradually
been implemented by the related authorities.
1.1 Earthquake 2015
The Nepal Earthquake 2015 on 25th April, magnitude 7.6
on the Richter scale, and another big shock on 12th May
2015, badly affected 14 districts with huge physical destruction
as well as human casualties in 35 districts. These earthquakes
damaged several significant cultural heritages of Nepal,
including many cultural and historically significant monuments
within the Kathmandu Valley World Heritage property.
Seven protected monument zones were severely damaged
and many monuments collapsed completely. In total, 140
monuments were affected by the 2015 earthquake: 33
monuments completely collapsed and 107 monuments werepartially damaged, with some of them partially collapsed(DoA, 2015). Conservation, renovation, and rehabilitation of
the damaged and collapsed monuments started immediately
after the earthquake through temporary protection measures
such as salvaging and documenting the artifacts from thesites. The Department of Archaeology of the government of
Nepal started the renovation and rehabilitation of monuments,
but in Hanumandhoka Durbar area, Hanumandhoka Durbar
Museum Development Committee and Kathmadu Valley
Preservation Trust (KVPT) were also involved in the
rehabilitation of this significant cultural heritage, having
permission or approval from the government of Nepal/
Department of Archaeology (DoA). Currently, many of thedamaged monuments have been rehabilitated by thegovernment of Nepal in coordination with local governments
and other stakeholders as well.
1.2 Post Earthquake Recovery and Emergency Situation
It has been the practice worldwide that human beings
should be the first priority for recue in any kind of disastersituation, followed by everything else (SHRESTHA, 2009).
In the same way, there were several rescue teams fromdifferent agencies either from the government of Nepal or
non-government agencies within an hour immediately
after the earthquake (SHRESTHA, 2016). The Department ofArchaeology inspected the site as much as possible inorder to find and identify collapsed or damaged monuments
within an hour immediately after earthquake.
Within a week however, a preliminary assessment was
carried out, and the Department of Archaeology deployeda team consisting of an archaeological officer, an engineer/37

architect, and a photographer as an EMERGENCY HERITAGERESCUE TEAM at the various sites. The rescue team worked
jointly with a battalion of the Nepal Army and Armed Police
Force as well as the Nepal Police. The main objective of thisjoint team was to salvage the art objects and other elements
scattered around the collapsed and damaged structure at thesite; therefore, the team salvaged all elements and stored themin proper places with onsite documentation - photographs,
listing, or detailing the name and number of objects salvaged,
the storage place, custodian, and other required data.
At the same time, immediately after earthquake, the Departmentof Archaeology published a public notice in the national
daily newspapers for support to protect every kind ofcultural heritage and its elements during this situationfrom vandalism, theft, and other harmful activities, and thatall such activities would be punished as per the national
legislation, which made people very much aware of theneed to protect their cultural property (DoA, 2015). In thisway, the Department of Archaeology played its role in the
post-earthquake situation in coordination with several otheragencies.
1.3 Salvaging the Scattered Elements of Damaged Heritage
The Department of Archaeology did its best, however, theearlier situation was dreadful and very difficult to emerge
from and control; but due to its leadership and enthusiastic
staff in support and coordination with national experts andother government agencies, it was possible for all heritage
sites to come under the Department’s control. Then it waspossible to prepare as much documentation as possible
through the preliminary assessment.
Department of Archaeology formulated a NATIONAL EXPERTTEAM immediately in that situation, which consisted mostlyof structural engineers, architects, archaeologists, earthquake
engineers, legal experts, and other necessary experts. The
expert team visited sites as and when necessary in theprocess of detail assessment of the entire sites (DoA/GoN,
2016a). The expert teams were also involved in proper
instruction for the stabilization of vulnerable and remaining
structures for their rehabilitation or conservation, or
renovation after proper planning had been carried out(SHRESTHA, 2016 & 2017).
In the case of the Hanumandhoka Durbar area, as a leading
governmental authority in close cooperation with andreceiving support from UNESCO Kathmandu Office, the
DoA actively led in preparing documentation, and in therecording, reassembling and storage of salvaged artifacts
and all kinds of materials collected from scattered heaps in
the area within Hanumandhoka Durbar PMZ; which wasvery useful later on during the renovation and rehabilitationof monuments.

The major authorities responsible for these sites were the
DoA, Durbar Protection and Maintenance Offices, Museums
and Museum Development Committees, related municipalities,
the Metropolitan Police, the local Nepal Army base (Garrison
Gun), various local clubs, social organizations, and local people.
The DoA, in coordination with the local community, mobilized
the all-volunteer groups; actually, the UNESCO Office in
Kathmandu supported the DoA in salvaging, documenting,re-assembling, and storing the elements recovered from thesites and also raising the awareness of local people andorganizations that secured the sites and remains (DoA/GoN,
2016a). ICOMOS Nepal and the Earthquake Response
Coordination Office (ERCO/DoA) also played a vital role inthis regard, and without their coordination it would not havebeen possible to carry out the project mobilizing UNESCO’s
support and the expertise of national experts as well.
The DoA is the sole authority of the government regarding
cultural heritage conservation and management, and anyone
must obtain permission or approval before conservation,
renovation, or rehabilitation of cultural heritage; therefore,
KMC has been working collaboratively, especially since theearthquake, and even before. The DoA/Government of
Nepal granted permission to KMC to renovate the monuments
in close coordination with the DoA, local communities, andall other stakeholders as necessary. In this way, the coordination
among all the national authorities and stakeholders in the
post-earthquake rehabilitation process has been going smoothly
without any problems.
2. Rehabilitation of Cultural Heritage: Planning and Implementation
During the post-earthquake response and recovery process,very short-term emergency planning was adopted for the
temporary protection of the monuments as well as of the sites,as the rainy season was due very soon after the earthquake.
Before launching a mid- or long-term plan, this temporary
type of planning was implemented, which worked very well;
however, during the period of mass destruction, all efforts
tended to be inadequate, but all those involved performed
very tactfully and helped to protect and preserve the remaining
heritage components, and this was seen to be a vital andsignificant task.
Soon after this, mid-term planning was also adopted, prioritizedon the basis of vulnerability, and vulnerable monuments
were conserved and/or rehabilitated during that time,
including the rehabilitation of prioritized monuments, withdetail documentation being prepared as well as the assessmentof monuments and preparation of drawings for monuments
which did not have any kind of document or drawings as
well.

Nepal

1.4 Coordination
Coordination plays a vital role in any activity, especiallyduring a disaster or fulfilling any mission. The coordination
among almost all stakeholders at many sites (Hanumandhoka,
Patan, Bhaktapur, Swayambhu, Bouddha, Pashupati,Changunarayan, Sankhu, Bungamati, etc.) was of high standard
during the salvaging and storing of the artefacts, which
achieved a significant result in terms of smoothness in the
post-earthquake rehabilitation. From the very beginningof the post-earthquake salvage and storage of all elementsfrom the site, the local people were very aware and verymuch interested in the salvage and securing of storage incoordination with the DoA and other local authorities andinstitutions (DoA/GoN, 2015a).

Regular plans were also formulated and prepared as part ofthe long-term planning for special implementation to carryout the rehabilitation activities completely.
2.1 Priority
In the beginning, the most vulnerable monuments hadpriority in terms of rehabilitation, specifically for temporary
protection and their sustainable rehabilitation. Many of themonuments were at great risk or in a most vulnerable condition
due to the first and second quakes, and were later affectedby the several aftershocks. Therefore, these vulnerable
cultural heritage properties had first and top priority inboth the short-term and long-term rehabilitation plans.
Similarly, less vulnerable but partially collapsed monuments/
cultural heritage had second priority, and cultural heritage
properties which were completely collapsed had lastpriority for their long-term rehabilitation (DoA/GoN, 2015b).
In prioritizing cultural heritage, a six-year recovery plan
was prepared, however, it was subsequently not followed.
The projects were carried out differently, however, withslightly different priority (DoA/GoN, 2015a), and therehabilitation of cultural heritage is still being carried out
continuously.
The government’s annual plans were also prepared regularlyas previously, focusing on rehabilitation of all earthquakeaffected structures including cultural heritage. Selection ofprojects for each annual plan was scheduled from the initial
as well as the detail assessment of the earthquake-affected
cultural heritage list, which was very appreciated, but thedifferent interests and conflicts of interest resulted in thepriorities being different from the six-year rehabilitation
plan (DoA/GoN, 2016; 2016a; 2017; 2018; 2019). Priority was
first given to the rehabilitation of collapsed monuments,
instead of vulnerable cultural heritage, however, all theearthquake-affected monuments are being rehabilitated
one after another, which is very good and achieving a world
record in this regard.
The projects have been implemented continuously as per
the annual plan of DoA (GoN) and are being carried out
without any obstacles, however, some priorities are different
than in the initial plan. The implementation of rehabilitation
projects has been carried out with outstanding achievement,
however, the efforts have been faced with several issues andchallenges (SHRESTHA, 2017).
2.2 Challenges
Several difficulties or challenges were faced during the response
and rehabilitation stages. The magnitude of the disaster andthe extent of damage covering a large part of the country
impacted the overall system of government. The mostchallenging part, in fact, was that the government wasgoing through a phase of transformation, with a constitutionthat had not been finalized. The Constitution was adopted
on 20th September 2015, slightly less than five months after
the earthquake, which led to political unrest and a blockadethat hindered rehabilitation for the following four months

38

Nepal(DoA/GoN, 2020). The National Reconstruction Authority(NRA) was established only in December 2015. Furthermore,in many areas, particularly within the Kathmandu Valley,
local government bodies had recently been restructured, but
hadn’t managed to establish themselves as new municipalities.

disaster and its rehabilitation. There was no provision
regarding post-earthquake rehabilitation of cultural heritage
in the AMPA and there was no way beyond the tendering
process to carry out all these massive activities; however, it
is being carried out.

The difficulties initially faced, particularly during the
response phase, was also linked to natural circumstances.
The aftershocks continued, making it dangerous to workaround damaged structures (DoA/GoN, 2020). The earthquake
took place at the end of April, two months before the heavy
monsoon rains began. The initial concern was to protect thedamaged structures, as well as the salvaged material fromcollapsed structures, from the rains (DoA/GoN, 2015). Good
collaboration developed between community members andthe security forces, with regular coordination from the
Department of Archaeology (SHRESTHA, 2017; KVPT, 2017).

Lack of adequate documentation (including drawings, photographs, etc) was another challenge in carrying out therehabilitation work, challenges were exacerbated by theinadequate budget allocated by the government in the
beginning. The budget issue was settled later, but still thischallenge has not been eliminated; it exists in a different
way.

There was political pressure to implement reconstruction
projects in a hurry. The implementation of projects needed
to follow the Public Procurement Act. This meant the restoration
projects were tendered out, usually to the lowest bidding
contractor, who would often further subcontract the work
(DoA/GoN, 2020). The standard system did not make funds
available for adequate research, documentation and design,and therefore the projects were often not clearly defined.
Furthermore, arrangements and funding for proper supervisionof the projects were lacking.
Collaboration with international partners has been afurther challenge. Since the earthquake, there have been
discussions annually at the World Heritage Committee of
placing the Kathmandu Valley on the List of World Heritage
in Danger. The government has been against this and has
defended its position, particularly since danger listing was
not going to help with the required rehabilitation works(SHRESTHA, 2019). The partnership with international
agencies and organizations has been through bilateral andmultilateral agreements. Most of Patan Durbar Square has
been rebuilt through international funding. Individual projects
in Hanuman Dhoka have been carried out by foreign
agencies or through foreign funding. Lack of clarity on working
procedures with international partners has led to complications
with certain projects.
Challenges have been faced from the initial post-earthquake
emergency and recovery phase to the implementation ofrehabilitation projects of earthquake damaged cultural heritage
in different situations. The identification and assessment ofmonuments without any documentation was a big challenge;
sometimes the locals’ voice was only the way to identify
them and list them in the initial assessment report. Several
monuments were identified without any documentation,
which created a big problem in carrying out their rehabilitation.
But finally, in coordination with locals, experts, and kindhearted donors (providing their records—photographs,
drawings etc), this process was able to proceed.
Similarly, as mentioned above, the legal provisions in theAncient Monument Preservation Act (AMPA) for disasteraffected rehabilitation on one hand and the provisions of the
Public Procurement Act on the other also created a big
challenge during the massive destruction caused by the39

The lack of human resources, especially in terms of traditional
techniques and skills, was another challenge faced in thisprocess. The number of traditional craftsmen, skilled masons,carpenters, etc. is still very low and even the number ofconservation experts within the department is also inadequate;
due to which managing the proper conservation andrehabilitation of cultural heritage was very difficult.
2.3 Opportunity
As mentioned under the lessons learned, there are somecritical aspects of monument rehabilitation that need to beamended. There are several issues regarding the conservation,
rehabilitation, and management of cultural heritage that
could be opportunities for heritage key stakeholders, as they
have so far been detrimental to the process of monument
rehabilitation.
The governance system for cultural heritage needs to beclarified within the parameters of the 2015 Constitution of
Nepal and linking this to the required legislation. The
Department of Archaeology must always be the responsible
technical authority, the primary key authority, for protecting
cultural heritage. It must be provided with the required
legal backing, as well as the expertise and procedural
flexibility to carry out cultural heritage conservation,
rehabilitation, and management as well. This will need afurther amendment to the Ancient Monument Preservation
Act, 2013.
Research is required that allows for the promotion of traditional
knowledge, customs, rituals, skills, and materials and quality
issues. This would encompass the fields of history, architecture,
structural engineering, archaeology, living heritage, customs,
traditions, rituals, etc. This kind of research needs to be doneon traditional knowledge, skills, and construction materials
as well. There should be a separate section in the National
Building Code for the establishment of norms and standards
specific to historical buildings, in detail, with much clearer
provisions.
Conservation of cultural heritage requires detailed documentation, which goes together with the preparation of detailed
inventories, assessment of physical condition, and establishingprotocols for their protection as well. The prepared information
should be linked to a database that would be used for
integrated management of the sites, monuments, objects,
and many other aspects, linkages, or dimensions of cultural
heritage.

Similarly, each and every activity involved challenges, however,they could also be taken as opportunities depending on theirnature. For example, the salvage and storage of the elementsfrom the damaged heritage was a big and unimagined issue.
This issue accelerated the efforts to think in a different way
about their proper documentation even for salvage including
their future use during rehabilitation, as well as about theirsafe storage. It enabled us to produce a good documentation
system during the post-earthquake emergency response andrecovery phase, which provided the best way to reuse thosefragments with proper identification during the rehabilitation
phase.
The earthquake scenario also provided a good opportunity
through the assessment of damage, which led to various
innovations in capacity building through training andplanning in several aspects. The post-earthquake rehabilitation
guidelines are another example of an opportunity provided
by the situation of the earthquake, as they had not existed
before Earthquake 2015. This also provided a very good
opportunity for reliable coordination and support withsolidarity among several stakeholders regarding cultural
heritage conservation and management. Furthermore, several
opportunities have been provided by this unique situation tounderstand the various aspects of cultural heritage in detailthrough carrying out specific research, which could be secured
for future use or to transfer to future generations. For example,
rescue archaeological research including excavation was
carried out in the three core city areas of Kathmandu Valley
World Heritage Property, aiming to find out the antiquity of
the Durbar Square area of the entire area of the cities. It wasevident that the Kasthamandap area has been continuously
cultivated since the 6th century (Conningham, 2017), whichis the latest information on Nepalese history to the world.
Most of the monuments damaged by the earthquake comprisesignificant cultural heritage constructed at least two or threehundred years ago and not studied much regarding theircharacteristics in terms of aspects like disasters (earthquakes)
etc. It was the best opportunity to learn about the character,nature, and craftsmanship of our ancestors and their creativity.

which was initiated by the community led by the Bouddha
Area Development Committee. It is an example of an achievement
led by the community with technical support from the Departmentof Archaeology, Government of Nepal, which is also a world
record in that there is no record of such a large monument
being rehabilitated by the community within a year and half
after such a big disaster (BADC/GoN, 2017).

Nepal

Putting in place an effective procedure for the protectionof cultural heritage, which includes the maintenance of sites,
monuments, and objects, enabling the practices of intangible
heritage.
The community within this system of ownership, responsibility,
and use of cultural heritage is to be involved as stakeholders.
This would include the traditional artisans, those carryingout rituals, priests, and persons who are repositories ofknowledge. They must be provided with support, certification,and reputation.

Rescue archaeological research and excavation was carriedout in the three core city areas of Kathmandu Valley World
Heritage Property. The aim of this research was to find out
the antiquity of the Durbar Square area of the three cities. It
was evident that the Kasthamandap area has been continuously
cultivated since the 6th century (Conningham, 2017), whichis the latest information on Nepalese history.
Most of the monuments damaged by the earthquake comprisesignificant cultural heritage constructed at least two or threehundred years ago and not studied much regarding theircharacteristics in terms of aspects like disasters such as
earthquakes, etc. It was the best opportunity to learn about
the character, nature, and craftsmanship of our ancestors.
It was also a lesson for not only professionals but also thecommunity that most of the monuments and surrounding
settlements had access to a large and adequate open space,which could be used by the community either in their daily
life or during the disaster; therefore, the important lesson
is to keep all of the open space intact in this context.
The several states parties to the World Heritage Convention
as well as Nepal's friendship circle countries showed theirsolidarity in the rehabilitation of cultural heritage of Nepal
damaged by the earthquake and also gave either financial or
technical support in this regard (DoA/GoN, 2016, 2017,2018).
The community are now in self-aware situation; however, they
were not interested in the conservation of heritage before
Earthquake 2015, but after they are strongly aware of it andwere very interested in rehabilitating heritage by themselvesin many cases (DoA/GoN, 2019; Shrestha, 2017), which is a
big achievement in heritage conservation (DoA/GoN, 20152018; Shrestha, 2016).
As such, however, a disaster is not a good term in connection
to human society or even for this whole universe, but it
could sometimes be a big opportunity to learn about thepast to step forward to all humankind. The Nepal Earthquake2015 was such a big challenge; in the meantime, it provedthat it was also a good opportunity in several ways.

3. Conclusion
The progress that Nepal has made in the rehabilitation ofcultural heritage might be a world record, with 673
significant monuments (among 920) being rehabilitated totheir previous state (DoA/GoN, 2022) within six years after
this kind of big earthquake or any other disaster. There is norecord of this elsewhere in the world; therefore, it can be said
to be the best achievement in the history of conservation
after a disaster. In the same way, Bouddhanath Stupa was
the first monument rehabilitated after Earthquake 2015,40

NepalFig. 1. Kashthamandap, Hanumandhoka Durbar Protected Monument Zone, KVWHP (DoA)

Fig. 2. Trailokya Narayan Temple, Hanumandhoka (DoA)

Fig. 3. Gaddi Baithak, Hanumandhoka Durbar Protected Monument Zone, KVWHP (DoA)

Fig. 4. Khauma Gate, Bhaktapur Durbar Protected Monument Zone, KVWHP Fig. 5. Tava Sattal, Bhaktapur Durbar Protected Monument Zone, KVWHP (Author)(Author)41

NepalFig. 6. Sundari Chowk, Patan Durbar Protected Monument Zone, KVWHP (DoA)

Fig. 7. Mani Mandap, Patan Durbar Protected Monument Zone, KVWHP (Author)

Fig. 8. Anantapur Temple, Swayambhu Protected Monument Zone, KVWHP (Author)

Fig. 9. Pratappur Temple, Swayambhu Protected Monument Zone, KVWHP (Author)

Fig. 10. Bouddhanath Stupa, Bouddhanath Protected Monument Zone, KVWHP Fig. 11. Guhyeshwori Sattal, Guhyeshwori, Pashupati Protected Monument(DoA)
Zone, KVWHP (DoA)42

NepalFig. 12. Gaurighat Sattal, Pashupati Protected Monument Zone, KVWHP (DoA)

Fig. 13. Nanak Math, Pashupati Protected Monument Zone, KVWHP (DoA)

Fig. 14. Bhashmeshwor Sattal, Pashupati Protected Monument Zone, KVWHP (DoA) Fig. 15. Capacity Building Training for Professionals (Author)

43

Fig. 16. Capacity Building Training for Professionals (Author)

Fig. 17. Conducting Traditional Technical Training for locals - Sankhu (DoA)

Fig. 18. Conducting Traditional Technical Training for locals - Sankhu (DoA)

Fig. 19. Conducting Traditional Technical Training for locals - Sankhu (DoA)NepalFig. 20. Manakamana Temple, Gorkha (DoA)

Fig. 21. Pangboche Monastery, Solukhumbu (DoA)

Fig. 22. Tsarang Gumba (Monastery), Mustang (DoA)

Fig. 23. Technical Training on Documentation / Photography for Professionals by ACCU
Nara in Kathmandu, Nepal (ACCU Nara)

References-	BADC/GoN (2017). CHINTAMANI BOUDDHAMAHASTUPA;
Bouddhamahastup Jirnoddhar: Ek Addhyayan (The Bouddha
Stupa Renovation 2016 - A Brief Study). Kathmandu: Shri
Bouddhanath Kshetra Bikas Samitee.
-	DoA/GoN (2015). Preliminary Report of Monuments
Affected by Earthquake April 25, 2015. Kathmandu: DoA/GoN.
-	DoA/GoN (2015a). Preliminary Assessment of Monuments
Affected by Earthquake 2015 in Patan. Kathmandu: DoA/GoN (Unpublished Reports)-	DoA/GoN (2015b). 6 Year Rehabilitation Plan. Kathmandu:
Department of Archaeology, Government of Nepal (DoA/GoN).
-	DoA/GoN (2016). State of Conservation: Kathmandu Valley
World Heritage Property. DoA/GoN (Unpublish Reports).
-	DoA/GoN (2016a). Assessment of Monuments Affected by
Earthquake 2015 Kathmandu Valley World Heritage
Property. Kathmandu: DoA/GoN (Unpublished Reports)-	DoA/GoN. (2017). 2072 salko bhukampabata kshatibhayeka
Lalitpur jillaka sampadaharu (The Monuments of Lalitpur
District Damaged by Earthquake 2015). Kathmandu: DoA/GoN.
-	DoA/GoN (2018). State of Conservation: Kathmandu Valley
World Heritage Property. Kathmandu: DoA/GoN.
-	DoA/GoN (2018a). Photo Inventory on Progress Status of
Post-Earthquake Conservation, Reconstruction andRehabilitation of Cultural Heritage of Kathmandu Valley
World Heritage Property. Kathmandu: DoA/GoN.

-	DoA/GoN (2015-2018). Disseminated Information.
Kathmandu: DoA/GoN (Unpublished)-	DoA/GoN (2019). State of Conservation: Kathmandu Valley
World Heritage Property. DoA/GoN.
-	DoA/GoN (2020). Post-Earthquake Rehabilitation of Cultural
Heritage. Kathmandu: Department of Archaeology(Unpublished Report of DoA)-	KVPT (2017). Earthquake Response Campaign Overview ofProjects. Kathmandu: Kathmandu Valley Preservation
Trust.
-	SHRESTHA, S. S. (2009). If Hundreds of People Work for
Rescuing People, Only One Person Can Do for Heritage
rescue. In Research, Analysis and Preservation of ArchaeologicalSites and Remains. Nara: ACCU Nara, Japan.
-	SHRESTHA, S.S. (2016). Post-Earthquake Conservation,
Reconstruction and Rehabilitation in Nepal: Current Status.
In The International Correspondent Regular Report No. 17.
September 2016; Nara: Cultural Heritage Protection
Cooperation Office, Asia-Pacific Cultural Center for UNESCO(ACCU) Nara, Japan.
-	SHRESTHA, S.S. (2017). Post-Earthquake Response to
Cultural Heritage: Tradition of Cyclical Renewal. In The
Cultural Heritage of Nepal, before, during and after the2015 Earthquakes; Current and Future Challenges. Kathmandu:
Oriental Cultural Heritage Sires Protection Alliances(OCHSPA).
-	SHRESTHA, S.S. (2019). khatarako suchi: Kathmadu
upatyaka bishwa sampada sthal. In Ancient Nepal, No.
203. Kathmandu: DoA.

44

New Zealand
New Zealand

Te Papa Atawhai Cultural Heritage Conservation Projects, Southern South Island 2022-2023
Matthew Schmidt, Senior Heritage Advisor / Kaitohu Matua Taonga Tuku Iho
Southern South Island, Te Papa Atawhai Department of Conservation (DOC), New ZealandIntroduction
In my last report I presented some examples of heritage
conservation projects and initiatives underway in theSouthern South Island (“SSI”) over the 2021-2022 year. This
report provides an update on those projects and new
projects where conservation work has been undertaken
and/or where a first stage to conservation planning has
occurred. These projects have been identified through FourYear Heritage Plans for each of the six Operations Districts
which make up the SSI Region.
Historic Backcountry Huts – Freeman Burn, Caswell Sound,
Martins & Big Dam/Turnbull’s Dam Huts
The Freeman Burn Hut, built in the 1930s of corrugated ironand native Rimu timber by the Murrell family, has had
conservation work undertaken on the structure by the Back
Country Trust guided by its Conservation Plan and Works
Specification. Works are set to continue over the next few
months. In Figures 2 to 5 can be seen the hut as it was in
2021, in 1960 and then during restoration works undertaken
this year. Unfortunately, it was found during the restorationthat more of the framing timbers than expected were borer
ridden and had to be replaced. It was decided that theframing timbers would be replaced with modern treatedtimber to ensure the longevity of the hut in the damp Fiordlandenvironment. As these timbers would be hidden from viewby the interior walling, this was seen a good compromisefor the overall conservation of the structure. Interior timbers
were replaced like-for-like with re-purposed Rimu to matchthe timber originally used in the hut. The end result will bea hut aged back to what it was like in the 1960s which is theperiod of its history where the internal layout is known. The
hut will be available to any person who visits Fiordland
National Park when the project is completed.
Three huts have had their Conservation Plans and Works
Specifications completed but are waiting on the restoration
work to commence which is dependent on available funding.
These are the 1949 Caswell Sound Hut, the 1910 Martin’s
Hut, and Big Dam Hut (Turnbull’s Dam Hut) possibly built
ca. 1898 but could be earlier.
Murihiku Kaitiaki Monitoring Guide Update
This writing of this guide is underway but has been delayed
due to more pressing conservation work. Its reach is planned
to be extended to now include the wider Southern South
Island region rather than just Murihiku. The equipment for
the key Te Papa Atawhai people who will most often comeacross heritage in their day-to-day work has been sourced
and purchased so once the guide is competed, training andimplementation can commence.
McMeeking’s Historic Farmstead, Otago Peninsula, Dunedin
This small farmstead on the Otago Peninsula dates back to
the 1870s and provides a continuous history of small-scalecolonial dairy farming that spans 125 years. Two of the key

45

tasks to be achieved over the last year as recommended in
the Conservation Plan was to ensure the heritage buildings
were water-tight and that encroaching vegetation was removed.
This work was completed with the most challenging work
being the removal of huge Macrocarpa trees located next toheritage dry stacked stone walls (Figures 6 to 10).
William Rathbun’s Grave, Bowen Falls, Milford Sound,FiordlandConservation work has progressed well on this grave, whichdates to 1894. The broken headstone was removed andtaken to a monumental mason to measure up to produce a
new headstone (Figures 11). Marble, which is in keepingwith the stone type used for headstones during the late
Victorian period, has been ordered for the new headstone
and this should also last better in the dynamic environment
under which the grave is located i.e., under the wash of alarge waterfall and in a flood zone area. Vegetation was also
cleared from around the grave which was covering theironwork and obscuring the grave itself (Figure 12). The
ironwork will be able to dry out aiding in its conservation
until funds can be sourced to restore the fragile parts of theironwork. During vegetation clearance, a plaque was foundnoting details of Rathbun’s burial (Figure 13). It is unclear
when exactly the plaque was placed on the grave but could
have been in the 1990s.
Star of the South Cannon Recovery, Chalky Inlet, Fiordland
In July 2021, a cannon was found on the beach in Chalky
Inlet in the Fiordland National Park by two members of the
public who were looking for signs of a rare native bird
which may be locally extinct. The find was reported to DOC
and so DOC managed the cannon’s recovery. The cannon
likely came from the steamer called the Star of the South
which hit a rock in Chalky Inlet and ran aground in 1865.
According to two newspaper articles in the Otago Daily
Times from 1865 and 1867, after the ship was grounded twopassengers from the Star of the South took the cannon toa small beach with the intention of taking it to higher
ground and signal for help. After realising how difficult it
was to move the cannon once it was brought ashore, it wasabandoned on the beach. By good fortune, the passengers
and crew were rescued only a few days after the grounding
and the ship was re-floated going back into service until ca.
1884.
By the time that the appropriate consents were obtained forthe recovery of the cannon, a number of persons who had
visited the area since its discovery reported that it could not
be found. Fortunately, in April 2022 a small team found thecannon (Figure 14) and with the help of a local helicoptercompany, the artefact was flown out of Fiordland andeventually made its way to the conservation lab at the
Maritime Archaeology Association of New Zealand (“MAANZ”)
headquarters in Wellington (Figure 15). The cannon willtake ca. 2-3 years to conserve and then it will come back

Māori Cultural Heritage Sites Record Upgrades & Island Hill
Homestead Repairs, Mason Bay, Stewart Island/Rakiura
As noted in my previous report, the erosion of the hugedune system in Mason Bay on the west coast of Rakiura has
seen the exposer of numerous Māori archaeological sites
over many years (Figures 1). Climate change causing
increased high wave activity has been accelerating thiserosion and this will continue. Dune restoration work by DOC
is also seeing sites become exposed which are required tobe monitored and managed if possible. In February 2022,
a DOC heritage team as well as a volunteer from the
University of Otago looking for heritage sites with bone forpotential DNA analysis, attempted to relocate fifty-six known
heritage sites in Mason Bay. Thirty-three sites were relocated,
and their condition recorded. It was found many of thesesites had been affected by wind erosion where they were on
the open dune plain areas and coastal erosion (Figure 16).
Twenty-three sites could not be relocated due to either
erosion destroying them or vegetation growing over andhence obscuring them since they were first recorded in2015. Six new heritage sites were identified, all thesebeing Māori sites. The site record forms for these sites arebeing updated and new site records for new sites created.
The Island Hill Homestead in Mason Bay, Stewart Island/
Rakiura dates to 1884 and was built by the runholder
William Walker. By 1926 an extension was added to thebuilding and today the homestead is as it was from this timewith a mix of late 19th and early 20th century fabric. Over several
years DOC has restored and managed the homestead andits associated buildings which include a woolshed and yards,
historic fence lines, and a large equipment and workshop
outbuilding. Restoration work was carried out on thisPakeha (European) homestead in February 2022 and aphotographic record taken of all the buildings (exterior andinterior) in the farming complex (Figures 17 and 18). The
restoration work focused on the wall papering of one of thehomestead rooms using traditional papering methods
involving placing scrim on the timber walls, then gluing
newspaper over the scrim and then gluing on heritage
wallpaper.

sites. Heritage conservation tasks are undertaken during thewider pest eradication work on Auckland Is’s by rangers
with experience in heritage maintenance work. Heritage
conservation work undertaken included: The boardwalk to
the Hardwick Cemetery was cleared of encroaching vegetationand seedlings were cleared from within the cemetery fence;a section of the 1868 Amherst ships spar at Hardwicke
which had lay on the ground on small blocks in 2020 to aid
conservation, had fallen off its blocks and so was placedback on the blocks and then treated with a single coat of
Metalex timber preservative (Figure 19); overhanging
vegetation was trimmed back from Transit of Venus
monument site and plants removed from encroaching onmonuments themselves; the Sandy Bay finger post was
not secure and was blowing in the wind. With the best ofintentions someone had previously added a piece of wood(with bent galvanized nails) to the post to allow guy ropes
to be attached. These guy ropes were made of twine andwere not improving the posts security. This additional
wood, nails, guy ropes and associated pegs were removed.
The post hole was re-dug, and the post was lined withboulders to better secure the post in the soft peat. Additional
boulders were placed around the post above the groundand the post treated with preservative (Figure 20).

New Zealandto Fiordland for display in the Te Anau Visitor Centre whichis the closest town to where the cannon was found.

Astronomers Point Conservation & Management Plan & the
Homeward Bound Conservation Plan & Battery Restoration
Methodology
Funding has been received for a Conservation and Management
Plan to be developed for Astronomers Point in Dusky Sound,Fiordland (https://www.doc.govt.nz/parks-and-recreation/
places-to-go/fiordland/places/fiordland-national-park/heritagesites/astronomers-point/). In April 1773, this was the mostaccurately located place on earth. It was here that Capt.
James Cook anchored his ship the Resolution for five weeks
during his second voyage to New Zealand. William Wales of
the Board of Longitude built an observatory on the small
headland to test the accuracy of Larcum Kendall’s copy ofJohn Harrison’s chronometer H4. From these tests, Wales
was able to measure Longitude accurately and hence determine
Cook’s exact location on earth. The area of forest cleared by
Cook’s men can be seen today as well as the tree stumps
left behind. This is one of the most visited heritage sites in
Fiordland but requires advice on the management of theheritage and risk to the site from visitors.

Ned and Phil Callery Cottages, Golden Point Reserve, Macraes
The DOC Golden Point Historic Reserve at Macrae’s isimportant for the story is tells about alluvial and hard rockmining for the Macrae’s area from the 1860s through tothe mid-20th century. The cottages of Ned and Phil Callery,
who were hard rock miners at Golden Point, were built in
the 1920s and are of an unusual build material for this time
being built of sod and mud brick. The cottages requirevarious works guided by a Conservation Plan and Works
Specification which includes repair of their roofs and better
drainage around the cottages installed. This key work is
hoped to commence in 2022-early 2023.

The Homeward Bound Stamper is the best example of atext-book gold stamp mill to be found in the New Zealandgoldfields (https://www.doc.govt.nz/parks-and-recreation/
places-to-go/otago/places/macetown-historic-reserve/
homeward-bound-stamper-battery/). Although a Conservation
Plan, mill blueprint, engineering methodology etc. havebeen developed to guide preservation of the mill over theyears, these reports are outdated. A comprehensive plan andmethodology incorporating modern approaches andtechnology is now required to stabilise and conserve thishugely complicated structure.

Subantarctic Heritage Conservation Work
The Hardwicke settlement site (1849-1852), German Transitof Venus site (1874) and Sandy Bay, Enderby Is. 19th century
fingerpost were visited by the DOC National Eradication
Team in February 2022 to undertake conservation on these

Conclusions
The above projects to conserve and manage cultural heritage
sites in the SSI Region of DOC are only a small part of theheritage conservation work undertaken annually by the Region.
Other than these projects, heritage rangers continually46

New Zealandmaintain and conserve numerous heritage sites as part oftheir day-to-day operations. This work could not be undertaken
without contributions from external parties.
Acknowledgements
The heritage conservation work in the SSI can only be achieved

through the dedication of the DOC Heritage Rangers andOperations Managers in the Region, Iwi and the input
from the DOC Heritage Advice Team. Key to the success ofthese projects is also the contributions made by external
parties.

Fig. 1. Locations of heritage sites discussed.

Fig. 2. Freeman Burn Hut built in the 1930s (Photo: NZHP Ltd).

47

Fig. 3. Freeman Burn Hut in the 1960s (Photo: DOC archives).

New ZealandFig. 4. Freeman Burn Hut during restoration (Photo: Rob Brown).

Fig. 5. Freeman Burn Hut during restoration (Photo: Rob Brown).

Fig. 6. Vegetation around the 1870s McMeeking’s Cottage (Photo: DOC).

Fig. 7. McMeeking’s Cottage 1870s after surrounding vegetation is removed (Photo:
DOC).

Fig. 8. Huge macrocarpa trees endangering buildings and stone walls at McMeeking’s Farmstead (Photo: DOC).

Fig. 9. Huge macrocarpa trees endangering buildings andstone walls at McMeeking’s Farmstead (Photo: DOC).

48

New ZealandFig. 10. Stone walls exposed after macrocarpa trees were removed at McMeeking’s Fig. 11. One of the two pieces of broken headstone being removed from the 1894
William Rathbun grave, Milford Sound. Note the water fall mist (Photo: DOC).
Farmstead (Photo: DOC).

Fig. 12. Built up soil and vegetation removed from the 1894 William Rathbun grave, Fig. 13. Grave plaque found under soil and vegetation at Rathbun’s grave (Photo: DOC).
Milford Sound (Photo: DOC).

Fig. 14. Star of the South 1865 cannon being recovered from Chalky Inlet (Photo: DOC).

49

Fig. 15. The Star of the South 1865 cannon in its conservation
bath at the Maritime Archaeological Assn of New Zealand(“MAANZ”) conservation laboratory in Wellington (Photo:
Kevin Jones).

New ZealandFig. 16. Māori oven recorded in restored dune area, Mason Bay, Stewart Island/ Fig. 17. The 1884/1926 Island Hill Homestead, Mason Bay, Stewart Island/Rakiura
Rakiura. Native dune grass pikao can be seen around the oven, invasive exotic which has been restored over a number of years by DOC (Photo: DOC).
marram grass species having been removed (Photo: DOC).

Fig. 18. The Woolshed at Island Hill built in 1953 from a mish mash of timbers recovered from the beach and around the homestead area and recycled 19th century
windows.

Fig. 19. The 1868 Amherst spar which has been placed Fig. 20. The Sandy Bay, Enderby Is. finger post before (left photo) and after (right photo) conservation workon small wooden blocks and wood preservative applied in undertaken in February 2022 (Photo: DOC).
February 2022 (Photo: DOC).

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Philippines
Philippines

Biblioteca del Convento de San Pablo de Agustinos-Manila: A Digital Repatriation of a Lost
Archive
Louella Revilla-Baysic, Head of Conservation
San Agustin Museum, Intramuros, Manila
Historical background
The San Agustin Convent and Monastery in Intramuros, Manila
originally named Convento de San Pablo, is a UNESCOWorld Heritage Site run by the Augustinian Fathers of theOrder of Saint Augustine, under the Province of the Most
Holy Name of Jesus in the Philippines. The San Agustin
Church, as it is most popularly known, was assigned byMiguel Lopez de Legazpi to the Augustinian Friars in 1571
upon the order of King Philip II of Spain. The church displays
outstanding features such as the baroque style retablos, thecrypto collateral chapels that act as buttresses, and thetrompe l’oeil murals on the walls and ceilings. The former
monastery, which was transformed into a museum in 1973,
is now a premier repository of the treasures of the Augustinian
Order, and of the rich centuries-old colonial and ecclesiastical
art in the Philippines. At present there exist an Old Biblioteca
on the second floor of the Convent and a Monastery containing
rare books from 1552 to the present.
Since 1571, San Agustin had the most significant library in
the Philippines. It experienced a series of misfortunes throughthe years. The first building of San Agustin suffered great
losses in 1574. During the attack of Limahong, the city wasset on fire and many houses were burned, including themonastery of San Agustin with all its supplies as well as books
and ornaments, since everything was kept there, and therecently founded monastery was made of bamboo, andnipa.1The second building, made of bamboo posts, slabs, andnipa, was burned again during the funeral rites of Governor
General Gonzalo Ronquillo de Peñalosa in 1583. The third
structure, made of wood and bamboo, was destroyed by fireon Palm Sunday, on March 30, 1586, (thus) destroying theirhouse again. The losses included the rich private library, which
was one of the best in Manila.2
The present building, built in 1587 and made of sturdiermaterials, withstood the strongest earthquakes, calamities,
and invasions. Originally, the library was located in the cloisterof Santa Potenciana. Except for this section, the rest has
undergone many changes, especially after 1701.3 According
to Fr. Agustin Maria de Castro, OSA, “For some time, theAugustinian Friars enjoyed complete peace and abundancein spiritual and temporal goods and there was no specificfear that things would change; but it happened that, becauseof the wars declared in Spain against England in the lastdays of December 1761, two warships sailed from Englandand promptly reached Madras, and there was formed asquadron of fifteen ships that reached and entered this bay
1

Rodriguez, Isacio, O.S.A. The Augustinian Monastery of Intramuros. CSA, Makati, 1976. p. 6

2

Rodriguez, The Augustinian Monastery. p. 8

3Rodriguez, The Augustinian Monastery. p. 35

of Manila on the 22nd of September 1762.”4
Fr. Agustin Maria de Castro, OSA further mentioned that “Theconvent and church was also plundered and embargoed.
This was publicly announced on the 3rd day of November of1762. On the 8th of December they again inspected the convent;they went to the Library and took all the books to the houseof Don Santiago Orendain, Lawyer and resident of Manila;
he sold them little by little. They also took the two Archivesof the convent and the Province and delivered them to the
Lawyer for him to inspect, and after the processes werecovered and returned them to the convent, but many
pages of the province were missing. They left the convent ina bad state that when we returned to recover it, which was
in January of 1764, or a bit before, we did not find a benchor board to sit or a nail to hang the hat.”5
The British Soldiers of Admiral Samuel Cornish looted morethan 5,000 old books. After being reconstructed by theAugustinian friars, the library was again damaged during the
Spanish-American War of 1898. The third big wound was
the bombing of Manila by the United States in February
1945, which caused many of the Library’s treasures (around
20,000 volumes) to be destroyed. Today’s Library of the San
Agustin Convent is only a shadow of what it once was.6
The project: A Digital Repatriation of a Lost Archive
The project “A Digital Repatriation of a Lost Archive” cameabout when Dr. Patricia Maria Araneta, the Southeast Asia
Programme Manager of the Prince’s Foundation School of
Traditional Arts, suggested the collaboration with San
Agustin to Dr. Cristina Martinez Juan of the University of
London School of Oriental and African Studies. The fundingof the entire project will come from a NEH-AHRC Digital
Humanities grant. The Augustinian Community of San
Agustin Convent and Monastery recognized the importanceof the proposed work and expressed their support for the
project proposal for the Digital Repatriation of the Lost
Archive of the Spanish Pacific. The San Agustin Museum
Director, Rev. Fr. Ricky B. Villar, OSA, after a series of dialogues,
an actual meeting at San Agustin, and email conversations,finally signed the project agreement last June 10, 2021, on
behalf of the Augustinian Community, where it is stated that
the San Agustin Convent and Monastery will provide full accessto study the remaining manuscripts, books and materials in
the library; give access and share any photos or documentation
about the library that may help in the digital reconstructionof the library’s contents and also its history; and work withspecialists and help administer any grants that might comethrough to help catalogue and digitize the materials in thelibrary.

 De Castro, Agustin Maria, O.S.A. The Augustinian Convent of San Pablo, Manila. San Agustin in 1770. Museo San Agustin Manila, 2015. p. 4

4

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5

De Castro, The Augustinian Convent of San Pablo. p. 61

6

Caption at the present San Agustin library (Old Biblioteca)from 1762-1764. The books will be catalogued, scanned,
and digitized. As part of the agreement, a senior personfrom San Agustin is presently assisting in the cataloguingof the selected books and manuscripts. The inputs will beplaced in a custom metadata spreadsheet created by the
project manager so that in-depth information can be madeabout each of the books. Among the oldest books that still
exist today in the Old Bibliotheca of San Agustin are thosepublished in 1552, 1567, 1568, 1589, 1591, 1594, 1596, and
1597.

Fig. 1. Cross section: “Convento de San Pablo Manila” by P.U. Solis

Fig.2. The old Biblioteca, 1865

Fig. 3. Convento de San Agustin, Manila

Fig. 5. Present library, the second floor of the Convent and Monastery

Philippines

Last June and July 2022, those involved in the project, Dr.
Cristina Juan of SOAS and the Project Head, Dr. Cristina
Lee of Princeton University and archivist Dr. Regalado Trota
Jose, rummaged through the books at the library and thebook storage area at San Agustin. The target was to check if
there were any books that survived the British invasion. It isremarkable that there exist books as early as the 16th up to
the 18th century, with proof of ownership of Convento De San
Pablo de Manila. All of this will help to digitally repatriate
books and manuscripts looted during the British invasion,

Fig. 4. This shows the location of the previous library parallel to Santa Potenciana St.

Fig. 6. Cataloguing books at the present library. Some of the books will be eventually restored.

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Philippines
Figs. 7-14. Ongoing project and present cataloguing of books at the present libraryFig. 15. Year 1552 book53

Fig. 16. Archival book dated 1567

Philippines

Fig. 17. Augustinian seal found among the old books

Figs. 20-21. Book dated 1591

Figs. 18-19. Archival book cover and the title page dated 1568

Figs. 22-23. Book dated 1594

Fig. 24. Archival book dated 1597

Figs. 26-27. Book dated 1611

Fig. 25. Notes on some books signifying the ownership

Fig. 28. Book dated 1667

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Philippines
Fig. 29. Contemporary painting at the San Agustin Museum portraying the Historian and Librarian of San
Agustin Convent, Fr. Agustin Maria de Castro (1740-1801)

Figs. 30-32. Title page, cover page, and notes about the librarian. The book dated 1656.

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Philippines

Figs. 33-34. Book dated 1735 with notes by the former librarian, Fr. Agustin Maria de Castro, OSA stating several volumes of this book exist in the San Agustin
Convent of Manila.

Further reference and details about the project“Towards the end of the British occupation, the majorityof the materials from the San Pablo library ended up in thehands of the Scottish Hydrographer, Alexander Dalrymple(1737-1808) who very briefly became the Governor Generalof the Islands as he replaced the notorious Dawsonne
Drake. When Dalrymple died without an heir, his hugecollection of books and manuscripts was auctioned off,among them what are now called the Manila Papers. From
this mother lode began the slow dispersal coming out of theUnited Kingdom through a series of auctions that caused thecollection to be fragmented in three continents. Today only
about a hundred items are located in the original site. The
rest of the San Pablo collection can be found interspersed
among the Lilly Library at Indiana University, the Lopez
Museum in Manila, the British Library, SOAS University of
London, and King’s College.”7“This digital humanities project seeks to repatriate the books
and manuscripts that were taken from the archives of theConvent of San Pablo. Using the original index of the contentsof the library of San Pablo, the Spanish and British accountsof the use and dispersal of the library’s contents, the recordsof auctions, library acquisitions and provenance records, theproject will piece together a virtual reconstruction of thematerials in the library as close to as it might have been in1762.”8
Acknowledgements:
Augustinian Fathers of the Province of the Most Holy Nameof Jesus in the Philippines, San Convent and Monastery, San
Agustin Museum, San Agustin Museum Director Rev. Fr.
Ricky B. Villar, OSA, Dr. Patricia Maria Araneta, Dr. Cristina
Martinez Juan, Dr. Christina Lee, and Dr. Regalado TrotaJose.

 https://library.philippinestudies.uk. Repatriating a Lost Archive in the Spanish Pacific: The Library of the Convent of San Pablo (Manila, 1762). This public prototype is generously funded by a7-8

November 2020 Seed Corn grant from SOAS, University of London and by an Everrett Helm Visiting Fellowship to the Lily Library.

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Published by
Cultural Heritage Protection Cooperation Office,Asia-Pacific Cultural Centre for UNESCO (ACCU)
437-3, Somanouchi-cho, Tenri, 632-0032 Japan
E-mail: nara@accu.or.jp
URL: https://www.nara.accu.or.jp© Cultural Heritage Protection Cooperation Office,Asia-Pacific Cultural Centre for UNESCO (ACCU) 2023

Kazakhstan / Nepal

New Zealand / Philippines