308
develop the initiative. An ICOMOS publication (Wolfschmidt, 2009) and two
ICOMOS–IAU Thematic Studies on the Heritage Sites of Astronomy (Ruggles &
Cotte, 2011, 2017) have been published. The success of the work in respect to
UNESCO applications is described in the following paragraph.
In 2019, UNESCO listed 1121 World Heritage Sites of which 869 were cultural,
213 natural and 39 mixed properties. However, very few of these are connected to
astronomy. Science heritage, especially astronomical heritage, is poorly represented
on the World Heritage List (e.g. Jokilehto, 2005, e.g. also sacred sites). There are
some archaeological and cultural sites, which have an established or postulated connection with astronomy such as Newgrange in Ireland, Stonehenge in the UK, the
Great Pyramids of Giza in Egypt, and some Mesoamerican ceremonial centres in
Guatemala and Mexico (e.g. El Caracol at Chichén Itzá, part of Pre-Hispanic City
of Chichén Itzá). Some more archaeoastronomical sites should be mentioned here,
recently named for the WH List: Cheomseongdae observatory, Gyeongju, Republic
of Korea (WHL since 2000); Astronomical timing of Aflaj Irrigation Systems of
Oman (WHL 1207); Dengfeng observatory, Henan, China (Historic Monuments of
Dengfeng; “The Centre of Heaven and Earth” (WHL 1305). In 2019, two additional
sites were included in the UNESCO World Heritage List: the Chankillo pre-Classic
archaeological astronomical complex in Peru, referred as the first observatory of the
Americas (WHL 5792), and Risco Caído and the sacred mountains of Gran Canaria
Cultural Landscape in Spain (WHL 1578)—the land- and skyscape interaction in
the different components of the property was a must for the success. The Talayotic
Culture of Minorca in Spain will be the Spanish candidate for WHC in 2021 (WH
Tentative List 3433).
The following sites are related to astronomy, but the UNESCO emphasis is different (they are not on the list as observatories, but as part of something else): Ulugh
Beg’s observatory in Uzbekistan (part of the historic city of Samarkand—Crossroad
of Cultures, WHL 603), Pulkovo Observatory of St. Petersburg (WHL 540 “Historic
Centre of Saint Petersburg and Related Groups of Monuments”), the Royal
Observatory at Greenwich (WHL 795 “Maritime Greenwich”), and Strasbourg
(Grande-Île, inscribed in 1988, and Neustadt, new town, extension 2017, WHL
495). Buenos Aires and La Plata (including La Plata Observatory) with a geometric
city layout were included in the Tentative List (6296) in 2018 by Argentina.
The first property, to have been explicitly inscribed because of its astronomical
significance along with its importance for the history of earth sciences and topographic mapping, is the “Struve Geodetic Arc” (WHL 1187, inscribed in 2005).
Wilhelm von Struve (1793–1864) organized the triangulation project between 1816
and 1855, stretching from Hammerfest to the Black Sea—over 2820 km. Ten countries were involved: Norway, Sweden, Finland, Russia, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania,
Belarus, Ukraine, Republic of Moldova (265 main surveying points). Although
developing ideas for cooperation for a “serial transnational application” is not
onerous, the realization is particularly challenging. Suitable ideas could be for
example, a group of solar physics observatories or observatories, which cooperate
in projects like star catalogues, or a group of observatories equipped with the same
G. Wolfschmidt
develop the initiative. An ICOMOS publication (Wolfschmidt, 2009) and two
ICOMOS–IAU Thematic Studies on the Heritage Sites of Astronomy (Ruggles &
Cotte, 2011, 2017) have been published. The success of the work in respect to
UNESCO applications is described in the following paragraph.
In 2019, UNESCO listed 1121 World Heritage Sites of which 869 were cultural,
213 natural and 39 mixed properties. However, very few of these are connected to
astronomy. Science heritage, especially astronomical heritage, is poorly represented
on the World Heritage List (e.g. Jokilehto, 2005, e.g. also sacred sites). There are
some archaeological and cultural sites, which have an established or postulated connection with astronomy such as Newgrange in Ireland, Stonehenge in the UK, the
Great Pyramids of Giza in Egypt, and some Mesoamerican ceremonial centres in
Guatemala and Mexico (e.g. El Caracol at Chichén Itzá, part of Pre-Hispanic City
of Chichén Itzá). Some more archaeoastronomical sites should be mentioned here,
recently named for the WH List: Cheomseongdae observatory, Gyeongju, Republic
of Korea (WHL since 2000); Astronomical timing of Aflaj Irrigation Systems of
Oman (WHL 1207); Dengfeng observatory, Henan, China (Historic Monuments of
Dengfeng; “The Centre of Heaven and Earth” (WHL 1305). In 2019, two additional
sites were included in the UNESCO World Heritage List: the Chankillo pre-Classic
archaeological astronomical complex in Peru, referred as the first observatory of the
Americas (WHL 5792), and Risco Caído and the sacred mountains of Gran Canaria
Cultural Landscape in Spain (WHL 1578)—the land- and skyscape interaction in
the different components of the property was a must for the success. The Talayotic
Culture of Minorca in Spain will be the Spanish candidate for WHC in 2021 (WH
Tentative List 3433).
The following sites are related to astronomy, but the UNESCO emphasis is different (they are not on the list as observatories, but as part of something else): Ulugh
Beg’s observatory in Uzbekistan (part of the historic city of Samarkand—Crossroad
of Cultures, WHL 603), Pulkovo Observatory of St. Petersburg (WHL 540 “Historic
Centre of Saint Petersburg and Related Groups of Monuments”), the Royal
Observatory at Greenwich (WHL 795 “Maritime Greenwich”), and Strasbourg
(Grande-Île, inscribed in 1988, and Neustadt, new town, extension 2017, WHL
495). Buenos Aires and La Plata (including La Plata Observatory) with a geometric
city layout were included in the Tentative List (6296) in 2018 by Argentina.
The first property, to have been explicitly inscribed because of its astronomical
significance along with its importance for the history of earth sciences and topographic mapping, is the “Struve Geodetic Arc” (WHL 1187, inscribed in 2005).
Wilhelm von Struve (1793–1864) organized the triangulation project between 1816
and 1855, stretching from Hammerfest to the Black Sea—over 2820 km. Ten countries were involved: Norway, Sweden, Finland, Russia, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania,
Belarus, Ukraine, Republic of Moldova (265 main surveying points). Although
developing ideas for cooperation for a “serial transnational application” is not
onerous, the realization is particularly challenging. Suitable ideas could be for
example, a group of solar physics observatories or observatories, which cooperate
in projects like star catalogues, or a group of observatories equipped with the same
G. Wolfschmidt