Historical Exploration into and Chronological Order of Values in Preservation and Restoration of Historico-Cultural Monuments with Reliance on the Thinker's Opinions and Universal Documents

Value has been among the most fundamental concepts in the philosophy of preservation and restoration of historical monuments; and in various periods the theoretical bases of preservation and restoration of monuments have undergone transformations along with the transformations in the values prevailing in societies. Recognizing the chronological order of the values in preservation and restoration of monuments and its development throughout history is the basis for achievement of the concept of “cultural heritage” in various periods. In this research, the historical development of viewpoints about value and the order of its types in preservation and restoration of historical monuments are studied in three time spans: “before the 18th century AD”, “during the 18th and 19th centuries”, and “in the 20th and 21st centuries”. The objective has been to delve into the historical passage of “the thinkers’ viewpoint” and “the perspectives of universal documents” for the chronological recognition and the deduction of the values effective in making decisions for preservation, restoration, and separation in the above-mentioned three time spans and achievement of the new concept of cultural heritage. This research has been carried out with the interpretive approach and the qualitative method and by reference to the extant data and documents. Studies showed that prior to the 18th century the four religious, functional, artistic and historical values have been effective in making decisions about the preservation and restorations. In the 18th and 19th centuries AD, the development of value concept and the emergence of the post-modern idea of transforming multi-values ended up to the value of all the aspects of a monument; and besides proposing new and very numerous values, a new definition of cultural heritage based on the value of recognition of each aspect of human identity, was also proposed.