CONTEMPORARY EURASIA VOLUME VI (1) Contemporary-Eurasia-VI-1-engl | Seite 62
SUBRAMANIAN KRISHNAN MANI
society without a culture is like a car without wheels. When we
preserve the facts in museums, people visit those places and learn
about our cultural heritage which leads to peace and prosperity. It also
shapes a person’s thinking towards the society. It helps distinguish
between good and bad.
Every place has a history. There isn't any monument which doesn't
have some or other value. If something was destroyed in war, it is a
reminder for the people that wars lead to misery and thus we should
try to solve all the disputes by discussion. Kangra Fort in Himachal
Pradesh, India was destroyed by an earthquake in early 1900’s but still
after all the repairs remain one of the places which wasn't captured by
the Mughals and thus attracts people from all over the world.
The art and architecture of any country are the indicator of its
historical and cultural wealth. They tell the story of the evolution of
mankind and reflect the values, traditions, and sensitivity of the
society. Monuments or buildings are engraved with the time and space
in which they are located and are representatives of collated memory.
As the monuments grow old, they become important carriers of our
history and important cultural resources. They br ing us the messages
from the past, and are the living witnesses of the age of traditions. If
we trace the history of a conscious conservation, we find that the need
to preserve the Greek ruins as markers of cultural heritage was first
realized by the early Romans. The fundamental rules and principles of
conservation were set up as early as the 8 th Century AD. However, the
practice became a law only in the middle of the 19 th century in
European countries.
Definition
What exactly is a monument? The term Monument is very general,
and - according to Wikipedia - is commonly used for all kinds of
structures. This definition is not specific enough. We would like to
differentiate monuments from a memorial statue or a rune stone.
The main features of a monument include:
It is considerably larger than a memorial statue
It is very important
One can walk on or through it
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