day2, workshop 5

A case study analysis

based upon the

ICOMOS Ename Charter

Daniel Pletinckx

CEO

Visual Dimension bvba

Ename, Belgium

DISH Conference: workshop

5

Visual Dimension bvba

! Visual Dimension bvba is a company that specialises

in the use of ICT in Cultural Heritage on international scale

! Consulting

! Digitisation of museum objects, monuments, archaeology

! Virtual reconstruction of ancient structures and landscapes

! Design of innovative presentation methods and systems

! Applies existing guidelines (London Charter, Ename

Charter, copyrights)

! Through European projects, major efforts are done for creation

and application of guidelines in cultural heritage

! EPOCH (2004 - 2008)

! CARARE (start : Feb 2010)

! Europeana

The Venlo mikwah

The Venlo mikwah

The Venlo mikwah

The Venlo mikwah

The Venlo mikwah

The Venlo mikwah

! Excavated in 2004-2005 in Venlo, Netherlands

! Identified as a Jewish ritual bath

! Dated by archaeological finds and historical research to be

build around 1300 and taken out of use around 1350 (1349

pogrom)

! Oldest mikwah in the Netherlands, only a few mikwahs

preserved in Europe that are older

! Only lower part of the structure preserved (destroyed by

building activity in the 50’s and 70’s)

! Had to be removed from its original spot (to build parking

garage)

P. 1: Access and Understanding

Interpretation and presentation programmes, in whatever form

deemed appropriate and sustainable, should facilitate physical

and intellectual access by the public to cultural heritage sites.

! Physical access

! Is possible to give access to the monument ?

! Should we allow visitors in the monument ?

! If not, what alternatives can be provided ?

! Intellectual access

! What is a mikwah ? How is it used ? Why is it used ?

! How do we know it is a mikwah ?

! How does a mikwah look like ?

! How did it end up as an archaeological find ?

P. 1: Physical Access





P. 1: Intellectual Access


This photo comes from the book by Lloyd Wolf

"Jewish Mothers: Strength, Wisdom, Compassion,"



P. 1: Villa di Livia (Rome)

P. 3: Context and Setting

The Interpretation of cultural heritage sites should relate

to their wider social, cultural, historical, and natural contexts

and settings.

! Social context

! What is the importance of a mikwah in Jewish society ?

! Cultural context

! How is ritual cleaning perceived in general ?

! What makes it specific within the Jewish culture ?

! Historical context

! Why does Venlo have a mikwah this old ?

! What is the story behind the mikwah ?

P. 3: Social Context




P. 3: Cultural Context

"We made from water,

every living thing"

(Sura of Al-Anbiya)

“Then I will sprinkle clean water on you,

and you will be clean;

I will cleanse you from all your filthiness

and from all your idols.”

Ezekiel 36:25

P. 3: Historical Context

Pogrom of 1349

P. 3: TimeFrame Storytelling

TimeFrame Saint-Laurentius church Ename, Belgium


TimeFrame Municipal Museum, Tervuren, Belgium


TimeFrame Born, Netherlands

P. 4: Authenticity

The Interpretation and presentation of cultural heritage sites must

respect the basic tenets of authenticity in the spirit of the Nara

Document (1994).

! What if the context is completely gone ?

! How do we preserve the authenticity of archaeological remains

that have been taken out of context ?

! How to restore the notion of ‘monument’ to a 2 x 90 ton object ?

! Is it possible to turn this mikwah into a touristical landmark ?

! Can we integrate it next to the archaeological remains of the

19th century synagogue in Venlo ?

P. 4: Authenticity - Context

Q4 city renovation project


Q4 city renovation project


P. 4: Authenticity - Monument

Köln, GermanySpeyer, GermanyFriedberg, Germany

P. 4: Authenticity - Archaeology

Sint-Catharinakerk, Eindhoven, Nederland

P. 4: Recreated context

P. 2: Information Sources

Interpretation and presentation should be based on evidence

gathered through accepted scientific and scholarly methods as

well as from living cultural traditions.

! Interpretation process ongoing

! Chapter 15 in new book “Venlo aan de Maas: van vicus tot

stad”

Spatial reconstruction : Bart Klück

P. 2: EPOCH 3D Webservice

P. 2: EPOCH 3D Webservice

P. 5: Sustainability

The interpretive plan for a cultural heritage site must be sensitive

to its natural and cultural environment, with social, financial,

and environmental sustainability among its central goals.

! What is a sustainable environment to preserve, manage and

present this mikwah ?

! How do we create an environment that supports, promotes,

explains, educates in the long term ?

P. 5: Sustainability

! Costs (financial sustainability)

! Conservation & restoration

! Transport !

! Housing !

! Preservation (conditioned space)

! Protection

! Presentation & Interpretation

! Political and social support (social sustainability)

! Long term support

! Image building

! How does the Venlo mikwah remains relevant ?

P. 6: Inclusiveness

The Interpretation and Presentation of cultural heritage sites must

be the result of meaningful collaboration between heritage

professionals, associated communities, and other stakeholders.

! How can we engage the general public for an object that is

known and identified only by the Jewish part of society ?

! How can this mikwah have a meaning in the society of today ?

! How can this mikwah stimulate understanding and respect

between religions and parts of society ?

P. 6: Inclusiveness

! The Venlo mikwah brings us

! A story about integration and expulsion of another culture,

which is very actual

! A story about ritual cleaning, purity, transitions

which is actual is nearly all religions and also outside

religion

! A story about the Jewish cultural values, which have close

analogies for the other ‘Religions of the Book’

! Strong educational potential

! Needs storytelling systems

! Needs educational support for classroom projects

P. 7: Research, Evaluation,

Training

The Interpretation and Presentation of cultural heritage sites must

be the result of meaningful collaboration between heritage

professionals, associated communities, and other stakeholders.

! Research

! Historical

! Archaeological

! Cultural

! Educational activities

! Tourism

! Art

Conclusion

! The Venlo Mikwah, its complexity and the questions it raises,

show the necessity of a set of guidelines on

Presentation and Interpretation

! The political decision process is ongoing

! These guidelines are adopted by the worldwide cultural

heritage community through worldwide consensus (2008)

! But need to be recognised and implemented by local levels

! Technology will need to

! fill in the lost physical, cultural and social context

! allow to experience again the monument

! stimulate the discussion about intercultural understanding

Knowhow Book on Ename

Charter

Available at http://www.enamecenter.org/

Other EPOCH Knowhow Books

! Interactive Landscapes –How to read and understand historical landscapes

! Interpretation Management –How to make sustainable visualisations of the past

! Presenting The Hidden Past –Highlights and impressions from the lowlands

! Monitoring Monuments –A low-cost digital early warning systemfor preventive conservation of built heritage

! Electro Bacchanalia –A peep box and interpretive tool for Old Master’s paintings

! Interactive Storytelling Exhibition –How to produce a virtual interactive storyto engage visitors with the real world

! Touch of Kandinsky –How to make a carpet into an interactive or storytelling tool

! Virtex –A multisensory approach for exhibiting valuable objects

! The ARC 3D Webservice –How to turn images of an object or sceneinto 3D models for exhibitions and archives

Digitally available at http://www.epoch.eu/