Coastal heritage vulnerability in NW Iberia: implementing diagnosis and building solutions

Comunicación presentada en el International Congress on Science and Technology for the Conservation of Cultural Heritage (Research Advances for the Conservation of Cultural Heritage), celebrado en Santiago de Compostela del 2 al 5 de octubre de 2012.Unlike other European regions, dedicated approaches to coastal archaelogy and coastal heritage in Galicia (NW Spain) are not fully consolidated. The analysis of the human occupation of the coastal and marine environments has traditionally been done from strongly terrestrial perspective, failing to address a series of revelant issues inherently connected to them. Among thosem the question os coastline evolution and the implications it has for the preservation and management of coastal heritage was never perceived as a priority. Since June 2009 a research line on this subject has been launched at the Institute of Heritage Sciences (Incipit-CSIC) in Santiago de Compostela. A series of projects have already been initiated in cooperation with French colleagues from the Universities of Rennes1 and Rennes2. As a result: - Specific surveys of the coastline an the intertidal zone have been performed in Galicia`s Atlantic Islands National Park (province of Pontevedra). - A methodology for the vulnerability assessment of archaeological sites, based on the ALERT Project in Western France, has been applied to several areas of the Galician coast. Vulnerability scores have so far been obtained for 19 sites. - Subsequent analysis of the survey results has led to specific action at certain sites. Near-object photogrammetry has been tested as low-cost monitoring solution on two aechaeological sites. The excavation of one site at high risk is planned for summer 2012. This research opens news perspectives in the way coastal archaeology and coastal heritage can be managed and understood in the region. We now need to extend the scope of the project to effectively involve local managers, associations and the wider public. This will be the only way of guaranteeing both sustainable research and management strategies for this coastal heritage.Peer Reviewe