cultural heritage

The styles of daily and ritual clothing are among the most obvious manifestations of the identity of social groups, and components such as religious beliefs, rituals, customs, climate, weather, etc. each influence its formation or gradual changes. Covering plays an important role in the construction of identity and the social existence of groups, and this construction of identity and mediation of cover can be traced concretely and experimentally among ethnic groups and religions living in Iran. This research tries to study the veil among the Zoroastrian religious minority and its role in the cultural heritage of Yazd and their daily life. In this article, I am looking for an answer to the question, what is the role of Zoroastrian clothing? This research has been done in the descriptive-analytical method using library resources. The results show that Zoroastrians, as an ethnoreligious society, with appropriate clothing, each of which has special characteristics, and despite their religious beliefs, try to preserve their ethnic identity through clothing, and they choose clothing in terms of color They have preserved the components. Also, the results indicate that this trend towards traditional, ethnic, and religious clothing among Iranian minorities is often limited to their private ceremonies and gatherings, and they prefer to dress like other Iranians in their daily lives. The coverage of Zoroastrian religious minorities consists of different parts. Variations in color in clothing as well as customs and climate are influential in the formation and change of clothing structures of ethnic and religious minorities.

Cultural heritage, as a representation of a society's identity and culture, necessitates protection and preservation. Among the various risks that pose a threat to cultural heritage, fire stands out as one of the most significant. Fire poses diverse forms of damage to cultural heritage, making the protection of such heritage against fire a matter of great importance. To develop a fire risk management plan, one of the crucial steps is conducting a fire risk assessment, which differs in their approach when applied to cultural heritage and museums due to their intrinsic value. This article seeks to introduce two fire risk assessment models specific to cultural heritage and museums. Firstly, the CPRAM model quantitatively evaluates fire risk based on four criteria, considering factors such as usage type and accessibility for firefighters. Secondly, the ABC model qualitatively ranks fire risk by considering frequency, value lost in each affected item, and the value pie ratio. By emphasizing the significance of safeguarding cultural heritage and museums from fire, this article underscores the necessity of comprehensive programs and modeling in this particular domain.

Although documentation in the field of cultural heritage plays a pivotal role in the preservation, management, and transmission of knowledge related to tangible and intangible assets, such processes, as a key tool for identifying, evaluating, and recording various cultural and historical features and values, have received limited attention in various international instruments (such as charters, conventions, regulations, and recommendations). The lack of systematic documentation and recording of cultural heritage and the loss of data not only lead to irreparable damage to cultural heritage knowledge but also create challenges for conservation, restoration, and education processes. Therefore, this article seeks to clarify the position of cultural heritage documentation in the aforementioned instruments and to examine its tools and methods. However, the utilization of these frameworks at the national and local levels often faces challenges, including the absence of localized execution standards, a shortage of expertise in employing advanced technologies, and insufficient financial and educational resources. Methodologically, this article is based on a systematic analysis of international instruments related to cultural heritage. By employing a qualitative content analysis approach, it examines the position and emphasis of documentation within these instruments, along with its methods and tools. For greater accuracy, a correlation between key concepts and theoretical frameworks associated with cultural heritage conservation was established. The research findings indicate that, in general, international instruments emphasize the importance and necessity of documentation as a fundamental pillar for the proper preservation and management of cultural heritage. Such efforts enhance transparency in conservation activities and facilitate international cooperation, particularly in cases where cultural properties are threatened by natural or human factors. Some of these instruments highlight documentation as an integral part of education and research in the field of cultural heritage, considering it a means to transfer knowledge and experiences to future generations. This process, by providing comprehensive and accurate information, plays a vital role in preserving the authenticity, values, and sustainability of cultural properties at a global level and contributes to decision-making and policymaking related to cultural heritage.

Theaters and cinemas are important cultural centers in Tehran that, while affecting the social, family and cultural relations of citizens; They are part of the history and cultural and social identity of the city. In recent years, on the one hand, a change in the cinema economy and a change in the cultural consumption behavior of citizens; And the deterioration of movie theaters on the other hand; It has caused the closure of some theaters of the well-known name of Iranian cinema. The demolition of valuable buildings in Tehran cinemas and their conversion into economically profitable uses such as passages and commercial complexes is a danger that threatens the preservation of this part of Iran's contemporary architectural heritage. The purpose of this study is to discuss the capacity of social networks to mobilize public opinion in an effort to preserve these works of contemporary Iranian architecture. The research results emphasize the importance of "weak links" in preserving the heritage of contemporary architecture. Because people who do not even go to the cinema regularly or do not even know about a particular building, but because of being in a communication network, are willing to work on social networks to preserve valuable buildings. Large-scale social networks such as Facebook, Twitter and Instagram; They have had a great impact on the cultural consumption of the people; But the interest in preserving valuable works of contemporary architectural heritage remains. In practice, "weak links" can be considered an alternative to "strong links" in preserving the valuable buildings of Tehran cinemas. In other words, in future social theories, the role of "weak links" in preserving the contemporary architectural heritage of Iran, especially the valuable buildings of Tehran cinemas, should not be underestimated.

Identity is one of the concepts that has a wide range of meaning in human sciences and is studied by researchers in most different branches of human sciences including psychology, sociology and philosophy. The importance of this issue is that it is impossible to find a person or an object that lacks identity. Based on this, the current article is the results of the studies conducted with the theoretical framerelic of social identity, the branch of social sciences in international documents related to the preservation and restoration of historical-cultural monuments. For this purpose, the research method of content analysis was chosen to be able to analyze a large number of related documents. The documents under review are 28 international documents related to the years 1969 to 2023. In order to conceptualize identity and its relationship with the protection and restoration of historical-cultural relics, international documents in the field of cultural heritage were analyzed. The documents were coded and categorized, this helps to extract and analyze issues related to the concept of identity faster and more accurately. The results of the content analysis carried out in these documents are in the two main branches of identity definition and the relationship between identity and protection. This issue helps to define the identity of a historical-cultural relic and use it as a tool to determine the policy of protection and restoration of historical works. used culturally. The results of the studies in this research state that there is a two-way relationship between preservation and restoration and the identity characteristics of the work. Each one affects the other, so by studying the identity characteristics of the work and its definition, it can be used as a tool to determine the policy of protection and restoration of historical-cultural works.

Iran has a significant number of cultural heritage properties, built in different periods, which have given the country a cultural and social identity and a privileged historical character. Some of these properties are unparalleled in their values so that they have been inscribed in the World Heritage List. With 26 cultural and natural WHs, Iran is among the top ten countries with the most inscribed World Heritage Sites. However, due to the conflict and multiplicity of management methods and the lack of conservation management principles based on the indigenous context, many issues and problems have arisen concerning the sustainable protection of the mentioned sites. Therefore, identifying and evaluating the Iran's world heritage challenges in the first step is one of the main priorities for the process of their conservation management. This research has tried to analyze and evaluate the challenges of Iran's world heritage preservation management using a descriptive-analytical method, and it includes library-documentary and field data. Different methods and tools of content analysis, fieldwork and statistical analysis have been applied to analyze the findings. The results from identifying and evaluating the challenges of conservation management through the distribution of questionnaires among the World Heritage Site Managers and statistical analysis indicated that out of the 54 identified main challenges, 18 challenges related to the physical, technical and executive context, 6 challenges related to the economic and financial context, 7 challenges related to the socio-cultural context, 7 challenges related to the political context, 6 challenges related to the legal context and finally 10 challenges are related to the environmental context of sites management. So that more than 50% of the country's World Heritage Sites face all challenges and more than 70% also meet many of these challenges.

Saqanefar is a wooden structure in the Mazandaran province that serves a religious function. Despite the historical and cultural significance of Mazandaran Saqanefars, they have not been precisely dated using scientific and reliable methods, with research mainly focusing on their inner paintings or architecture. In this method, first of all, the timber and columns of the two-span structure were sampled with a growth age drill and photographs of the sections were taken. Then the prepared wooden samples were measured under the LINTAB measuring device with an accuracy of 0.01 mm and the image samples were measured with ImageJ software. To evaluate thermoluminescence, samples of foundation Saqanefar bricks were prepared and transferred to the laboratory for dating. This study, for the first time, determined the age of two old Saqanefars in Qaemshahr city (Vosta-Kola and Seyd-Abusaleh) using dendrochronology and thermoluminescence methods. In the dendrochronological approach, cross-dating of the oak reference tree-ring width series in the Gorgan region with samples extracted from Saqanefars revealed that these buildings were constructed during the Qajar period (Vosata Kala, in 1856 AD and Seyd Abosaleh, in 1881 AD), with restorations and changes in dimensions occurring in subsequent periods. The results of the thermoluminescence tests conducted on the foundation bricks of Saqanefars with a five-year fluctuation revealed that Seyd-Abusaleh Saqanefar was constructed 140 years ago while the annexed part to Vosta-Kola Saqanefar is approximately 50 years old. Comparison of these two methods confirms that dendrochronology is a more accurate method of determining age of architectural structures, provided that appropriate wooden samples are available.

Identity is one of the concepts with a broad range of meaning within the humanities. Its importance lies in the fact that it is impossible to find an individual, person, or object that has no identity. For this reason, it has been a subject of study across most of the different branches of humanities. It is also important in the field of cultural heritage, which is directly linked to the cultural identity of communities, and for this reason many documents have been prepared in this regard. Due to the importance of the issue, this article conducts a content analysis of international documents related to cultural heritage. For this purpose, the concept of identity was selected from several international documents related to cultural heritage. Based on the content analysis, the concept of identity in these documents can be examined under two main categories: the definition of identity and the domains of identity. Each of these categories has subcategories, that are classified in this article under the title of category and subcategory. However, how each of these categories and subcategories is prioritized within these documents, along with recommendations for improving the handling of the issue of identity in future documents, is addressed in this article. The importance of using the hierarchical analysis of subcategories in these documents is that, in addition to being effective in decision-making, it will also be helpful in compiling newer documents about identity. After identifying the categories and subcategories related to the concept of identity, they were prioritized. This means that after analyzing the content of the documents, their rank analysis was conducted, to determine the ranking of each category.

One of the most important international tools for conserving, identifying, and managing humanity's shared heritage is the World Heritage Convention of 1972. This convention is the outcome of years of international efforts to safeguard humanity's shared heritage. Several factors have influenced the processes of the convention over time. These factors aid in understanding the primary purpose of the convention and, eventually, the proper direction for its policies. The present paper presents a descriptive-historical study of the events surrounding the development of the World Heritage Convention through three periods (early twentieth century until World War I, World War I to World War II, and post-World War II until the adoption of the World Heritage Convention in 1972) to identify and explain the factors that influenced it. The findings reveal that conserving humanity's shared heritage has been the basis of all efforts since the convention's adoption. Identification of heritage properties has been at the center of these efforts and has followed three factors: threats, heritage definition, and the link between cultural and natural heritage. According to historical studies, the conservation of this shared heritage is based on three components: each country’s internal conservation structures (including laws and institutions), international conservation bodies, and international financial assistance.

In the protection of places with cultural significance, the identification and assessment procedure is the basic phase and generally the first step. Considering the specific characteristics of Modern and contemporary heritage, a framework for this procedure is necessary. The purpose of this research is to propose a framework based on the activities, documents and research done in this field in the global context.

This research is based on the descriptive-analytical method with library-study and logical reasoning in the three areas of registration, identification and assessment of modern works.

In this study, while reviewing the activities and researches, the criteria of the world heritage guidelines effective on the registration of modern heritage, the historical thematic identification frameworks of this heritage and a method for assessment the buildings of the era have been introduced. At the end, based on these cases, a model and framework of the assessment process of modern architectural heritage is proposed. Also, it’s usage has been investigated in a domain of Iranian heritage works.

A framework for the assessment process of the modern architectural heritage provides the possibility of clarifying and facilitating the registration, identification and assessment of these works. Such a framework, taking into account the nature of Modern and contemporary heritage and its commonalities in the global context, has the possibility of being formulated as a general framework. To use in a national or regional context, it is necessary to adapt it considering the historical, cultural and social characteristics of the context.

The World Heritage Convention was set up in 1972 and was welcomed by many countries, becoming an international instrument for identifying, preserving, and managing common heritage of mankind. However, after a few years, significant gaps in the World Heritage List emerged due to imbalances in geographical distribution or specific subjects. For instance, Europe, historic cities and religious buildings, and Christianity compared to other parts of the world, other relics, and other religions, respectively, had far many inscriptions. Furthermore, there were far too many historical periods in comparison to the prehistoric period and the twentieth century, and “Elitist” architecture was inscription far too often in comparison to indigenous architecture; in general, traditional and alive cultures were given very few places on the list. Therefore, the World Heritage Committee launched a plan known as the Global Strategy in order to identify and bridge the gaps in the List in an attempt to create a representative, balanced, and credible World Heritage List. In this regard, ICOMOS and IUCN reviewed the World Heritage List using specific methods to identify the gaps. ICOMOS used typological, chronological-regional, and thematic frameworks to analyze the World Heritage List and the Tentative List until 2004. The typological analysis analyzed the properties based on form and structure, just as the World Heritage Committee has done since the World Heritage List was established. ICOMOS classified the world into various regions and identified historical periods in each region using a chronological-regional framework. The relationship between man and his surrounding environment was highlighted in the thematic framework, and his response to his surroundings was analyzed in the formation of tangible properties in historical periods. As a result, after ICOMOS and IUCN presented their reports on the gaps in the World Heritage List to the World Heritage Committee, the Committee imposed a restriction on annual inscription by countries, and countries were asked to identify the gaps in their World Heritage List using the evaluation methods introduced by ICOMOS and IUCN, and propose new nominations with the goal of filling the gaps in the overall list as well as each country's list. Using the ICOMOS's method and focusing on cultural heritage, this study reviewed the World Heritage List and tentative list of Iran to identifying the gaps in the lists. In doing so, all Iranian inscriptions on the World Heritage List as well as Iran's tentative list, were reviewed, and all ICOMOS's classifications were applied based on the information in the case of these works. The analysis in the typological framework was carried out for Iran and the world through analytical comparison of the status of each category in order to make a comparison between Iran's status and the current situation in the world, using the most recent information published by the Committee. The results showed that the World Heritage List of Iran has significant gaps in categories such as natural heritage, transnational and transboundary properties, geographical distribution, and special types of heritage such as industrial heritage, 20th-century heritage, or subjects such as utilizing natural resources, movement of peoples, and developing technologies.

One of the most destructive disasters of cultural heritage that can quickly and widely damage these structures is fire. In recent years, fire accidents have been devastating immovable cultural assets both nationally and internationally. The crucial and irreparable damages of these accidents have emphasized the necessity of considering preventive actions and solutions to deal with the issue of fire in architectural heritage. This research aims to propose guidelines to conserve architectural heritage in fire accidents by applying an analytical approach and based on investigating existing international experiences in this field, along with studying the standards of developed countries. These conservation guidelines can be implemented to conserve architectural heritage before, during, and after fire accidents. Accordingly, the National Museum of Brazil, the Glasgow School of Art (Scotland), the Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris (France), and the Shuri Palace in Japan are investigated as international experiences of fire accidents in this research. Finally, general guidelines have been proposed for international experiences with a focus on conserving architectural heritage from fire disasters. The results indicate the importance of integrated architectural heritage documentation in all stages of fire accidents in the conservation of architectural structures, including preventive actions, firefighting, and post-fire conservation plan. According to the studies conducted in previous research in the field of cultural heritage protection, international experiences, codes, and instructions, it is necessary to provide two categories of instructions appropriate to the characteristics of each building and the context in which it is well constructed. In the first category, general instructions can be used for all architectural heritage. In this category, basic instructions are used in each historical site. The second category includes instructions that are provided directly depending on the context of the building. In this article, the goal was to provide an introduction to protecting historical monuments against fire in the form of instructions. In the private category of this recipe, it is an obligatory issue to understand each building and its specific condition. Therefore, to have a complete understanding of each building, it is recommended to prepare a database for the building. In the preparation process of the building documentation and registering it in the database, it is possible to know the condition of the building during the fire. This knowledge increases accuracy during the accident and improves the protection measures of the building during the fire. This database also increases the possibility of reconstructing the building after the fire. Also, it can increase the efficiency of reconstruction even more. If there is a lack of documentation, it may not be possible to reconstruct the building. Thus, this study suggests that a database be created for architectural heritage to protect them in such accidents and it is always possible to reduce degradation and reconstruction. The database can contain all maps, historical documents, photographs, videos and registration documents. This data is categorized in a database and provides a comprehensive source of information for any historic building. The database should be available to search in different formats and types.

There is a strong argument among conservation architects that the concept of heritage itself means using the past for present and future needs. Hence, the adaptive reuse of heritage buildings has become one of the most important goals of conservation. Reuse planning requires solving complex problems and deciding how to preserve valuable tangible and intangible features while meeting the current needs of society. To solve these problems, researchers have chosen several methods to reuse architectural heritage. However, in Iran, especially by government agencies in charge of protection, these methods have not been well studied and introduced. Therefore, the present study has investigated the multi-criteria decision-making method to find the most appropriate function in the reuse process by studying the case of Nima Yooshij's house in Tehran. The research method is qualitative when reviewing the literature of the subject and studying the case, which has been done through interviews with experts and library and field studies. A quantitative approach was adopted using questionnaires and Expert Choice software for evaluation of the proposed criteria and alternatives. This research indicates that the conservation of heritage values and increase the lifespan and durability are the most important criteria that should be considered when choosing a new function for Nima Yooshij’s house. Also, according to the evaluations, it was determined that the most suitable use for this building is house-museum. Also, the results show that using this heritage building as a house-museum leads to the fulfillment of economic and environmental criteria to the least extent. According to the case study, this research indicates that multi-criteria decision-making method can help conservation architects as an optimal tool in adaptive reuse of heritage buildings. Based on the opinions of experts, "Nima Gallery Cafe", "Nima Book House" and "Nima House Museum" have been introduced as three proposed alternatives for reusing this house. Regarding a multi-criteria decision-making method based on cultural, architectural, social, economic, and environmental factors, the "Gallery-Cafe," the "Book House," and the "House Museum" scored 6.10, 6.66, and 7.38 of 10, respectively. As a result, among the proposed options, "Nima House Museum" is the most suitable use for this heritage house. According to the analysis of questionnaires regarding the cultural and architectural criteria, this new purpose will preserve its authenticity and is the most compatible option with Nima Yoshij's house with the least intervention measures. In addition, the use of the museum house is more suitable in terms of "social criteria" due to providing services to the community, helping to participate and raising awareness, and increasing the level of interaction between different segments of society compared to two other alternatives. However, the results show that the use of the museum house is less effective in terms of economic and environmental criteria. Eventually, based on the evaluations, this option will keep tangible and intangible heritage alive and indicate contemporary ideas and approaches to adaptive reuse. This house will narrate Nima's life in Tehran, his literary identity, and the socio-artistic activities of his lovers from the past to the future.

Protecting and improving values is among the major purposes pursued by cultural heritage conservation and requires a proper understanding of cultural heritage. The Persian Qanat is a valuable heritage inscribed on the World Heritage List. Because of their close ties with human settlements and the environment, Qanats have many values associated with them. Although there are different classifications of heritage value in national and international documents and research findings, little or no research is yet conducted on the values of Persian Qanats, a comprehensive classification, and a theoretical framework that could be applied to conservation practices. This research aims to identify and classify the values of the Persian Qanat and develop a theoretical framework. Three questions were posed in this study: a) What are the principal values of the Persian Qanat? b) How are these values related to the classification of values in national and international literature? c) What are the relationships between these values in the theoretical framework? This study adopts the qualitative approach and content analysis strategy to explore existing research. It later draws on logical reasoning to develop a theoretical framework.  The Persian Qanat was nominated for inscription based on two of the six criteria of the World Heritage Center; however, its true values excel well above those and are associated with the sociocultural context of Iran. Optimal conservation of Qanats calls for an understanding of all these values. According to the findings of this study, seven value groups for the Persian Qanat are presented and defined: aesthetic, sociocultural, economic, technical and engineering, ecological, and functional, and their related sub-categories are also explained.

Iran, with a history spanning over 7,000 years, is considered one of the pioneers of ancient mining and metallurgy in the world. Ancient mining and metallurgy, as part of Iran's engineering and cultural heritage, play a crucial role in understanding the history of these technologies and advancing related knowledge. The study of this field contributes to the preservation of this historical and cultural legacy. Since the 1990s, organized efforts in the field of ancient mining and metallurgy have been initiated in Iran, leading to significant achievements, including the implementation of national and international projects. This research reviews key studies conducted in the field of ancient mining and metallurgy, presenting the outcomes of activities in this area. Moreover, it highlights the values embedded in the heritage of ancient mining and metallurgy, emphasizing the need to preserve this valuable legacy and register significant ancient mining and metallurgy sites as national heritage assets.

Cultural heritage, as a mirror of human ingenuity, reflects the diversity of human civilization and serves as a bridge between the past and present, shaping our collective understanding of our shared history. The protection and maintenance of this rich and valuable treasure is a vital responsibility that requires comprehensive and multilateral strategies, as well as the joint efforts of all relevant experts and specialists. In this context, the principles and practicesof health, safety, and environmental engineering (HSE) can significantly contribute to the protection of cultural assets and the individuals involved in their preservation. HSE engineering plays an essential role in risk assessment and management during restoration projects and develops specific safety practices and procedures for safeguarding cultural heritage. By implementing risk management strategies and taking appropriate measures, potential risks to cultural works can be mitigated to an acceptable level. In this article, after identifying and evaluating the threats facing cultural relics, the application of HSE engineering and risk management tools will be explained, along with innovative suggestions and strategies for ensuring the safety and protectionof these invaluable treasures.