Archaeology · Heritage, Conservation & Controversy
A topic within Heritage, Conservation & Controversy, itself one of 9 topics in that field and part of Archaeology.
No prior grounding assumed.
The Nara Document on Authenticity
ICOMOS, ICCROM & UNESCO · 1994
Argues that authenticity cannot be judged by a single universal standard of original material, and that each culture's own criteria for judging a…
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The Venice Charter
International Council on Monuments and Sites · 1964
Sets out the principle that a restored monument must remain legible as old and new, arguing that conjectural reconstruction destroys the historical…
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ICOMOS, ICCROM & UNESCO
Argues that authenticity cannot be judged by a single universal standard of original material, and that each culture's own criteria for judging a heritage place genuine must be respected.
International Council on Monuments and Sites
Sets out the principle that a restored monument must remain legible as old and new, arguing that conjectural reconstruction destroys the historical evidence it claims to preserve.
5 pageslink checked 17 Sept 2026English Heritage
Argues that conservation decisions should weigh a heritage asset's significance against the public benefit of change, rather than presuming that all change to historic fabric is loss.