Natural Stone and World Heritage

This is a series of short books on specialized topics that fall under the overarching theme of geological and cultural heritage of stone, the built environment, and the geological and engineering characteristics of the dimension and ornamental stones. The books deal with well documented case studies of construction and restoration works at one or more specific sites and/or monuments related to World Heritage, providing detailed overviews of construction techniques, documentation of the materials utilized during the historical period in which the monuments were built, and specific conservation / preservation works that have been carried out. The books highlight the importance of natural stone in the preservation of cultural heritage in a sustainable way: moreover, natural stones (heritage stones) often represent the tangible trace of culture development in specific areas, including important activities like quarrying. The books are closely linked to UNESCO World Heritage sites around the world.

OBJECTIVES
Preservation of historic buildings, monuments and historic sites is one of the most challenging problems facing modern civilization. It involves various cultural, humanistic, social, technical and economic aspects in inextricably complex relationships and patterns. The complexity of the topic is such that a shared framework of reference is still lacking among art historians, archeologists, architects, geologists, structural and geotechnical engineers, chemists and biologists. This is proved by the fact that, despite there being exemplary cases of the preservation of structural components with retention of their static and architectural function, as a material witness of the knowledge and the culture and the construction techniques of the original historical period, there are still examples of uncritical confidence in modern technology which leads to the replacement of previous structures with new ones, which only preserve an iconic appearance of the original monument.

For this reason publishing short books on specialized topics, such as well documented case studies of construction and restoration works using natural stone at one or more specific sites or of a specific monument, or detailed overviews of construction techniques, intended to provide detailed information on the historical period in which the monuments was built, or specific conservation/preservation works, will be of great value.

MAIN FIELDS COVERED BY THE BOOK SERIES
Geology, geotechnical engineering, architecture, art history, archaeology, cultural heritage management, restoration and preservation.

ADVISORY EDITORIAL BOARD
Brian Marker, Consultant, UK
Giovanna Antonella Dino, University of Torino, Italy
Gurmeet Kaur, Center of Advanced Study in Geology, Panjab University, India
Patrick N. Wyse Jackson, Trinity College Dublin, Ireland

READERSHIP
The audience for these books will consist of professionals and academics in the wider fields of Geology, Architecture, Cultural Resources Management, and particularly those involved in Art History, History of Architecture, Geotechnical and Mining Engineering, Archaeology, Restoration and Cultural Heritage management, and will be written in terms that are accessible by the interested wider public.