One of the most dramatic examples of the concept of heritage over the past twenty years has been the implementation of the 1972 UNESCO Convention concerning the protection of the world cultural and natural heritage, better known as the World Heritage Convention. From its hesitant beginnings, when a handful of what were in effect universally recognized monuments and sites were inscribed on the World Heritage List, the concept and interpretation of “World Heritage” has expanded greatly. As of today there are no fewer than 981 “properties” (to use the UNESCO jargon) on the List. Of these, 759 are classified as “cultural,” 193 as “natural,” and 160 as “mixed” (i.e. qualifying under both cultural and natural criteria), and they are located in 160 countries worldwide.
The largest of these is undoubtedly the Great Wall of China, which has been on the List since 1987, but recent years have seen work on two other exceptional heritage monuments that are linear, though discontinuous. The Silk Route is slowly being put together, from sites and monuments stretching from central China to the Mediterranean, a task that will require several decades for completion. Equally ambitious (and likely to be equally lengthy) is the process of putting together the elements that make up the Frontiers of the Roman Empire World Heritage Site, from Scotland via Europe and the Near East to North Africa.
Unlike the Silk Route the Roman Frontiers are relatively clearly located and identifiable. A good deal of work has been carried out for many years, and this has been reported at the three-yearly International Congresses of Roman Frontier Studies (best known as Limeskongresse) since the first, which took place in Newcastle-upon-Tyne in 1949. The present volume, edited by Nigel Mills, is based on the meeting held in 2009, once again at Newcastle, which surveys the Roman frontier sections that are already on the World Heritage List (Hadrian’s Wall in the UK and the Upper Rhaetian Limes in Germany), as well as those which are under active preparation in countries such as Austria, Croatia, Hungary and The Netherlands. Discussions have been in progress for a number of years regarding the eventual incorporation of other significant sections.
The Introduction by the editor (Nigel Mills) is an admirably cogent overview of the present situation, which brings together the many strands treated by the contributions from scholars from a number of European countries. These present the different approaches that have been taken in, for example, presentation, interpretation, and reconstruction, involving the wide range of tools and techniques now available, from museums to archaeological parks. Of especial value is the paper by Christopher Young on the UNESCO standards for reconstruction, which are being applied with increasing stringency by the World Heritage Committee.
There is also a series of papers on different techniques of presentation aimed at giving a rounded picture of the Roman state and way of life, ending with two important papers that present the development and application of the intensively researched Hadrian’s Wall Interpretation Framework. It is fitting that this important volume contains a paper by its current editor, David Breeze that traces the history of what may with some justification claim to be the oldest archaeological guidebook, Collingwood Bruce’s monumental Handbook to the Roman Wall, from its first edition in 1851 to its 14th in 2006.