A Multi- and Interdisciplinary Methodological Approach for Monitoring Cultural Heritage Built Assets: The HERACLES Experience

Current trends for the protection and safeguarding of Cultural Heritage (CH) support cautious and continuous documentation and monitoring of monuments as well as their surroundings with the aim to identify the origin of any alteration and make informed decisions before applying any mitigation action. To that end, a methodological approach and the related guidelines for predictive and cost-effective monitoring of the alterations observed on a CH-built asset are being proposed. This methodology considers the characteristic of the monument and its surroundings, with a thorough risk analysis, in a holistic approach which spans different historical eras, materials and environments. The methodology was based on specific test-beds within theHERACLES(H2020-DRS-2015, GA700395) project, focusing on Climatic Change (CC) related events. The test-beds presented visual damages affected by CC that can be generalized to many other CH assets all over Europe. The concept follows protocol creation, defined in the form of checklists, aiming to estimate and classify the assessed alteration, in correlation with the factors affecting them. The overall goal is to incorporate the proposed methodology into everyday practice which will enable the creation of monitoring reports according to the needs and specificity of each monument/structure/material, supporting the total management cycle, ranging from the initial evaluation of the condition of the monument to specific mitigation actions. This methodology supported by scientific data enables stakeholders or CH managers to prioritize mitigation actions based on informed decisions.