Monuments, Memories and Decay

 


In this blog I will identify, discuss and, hopefully, entertain about all issues related to monuments and memorials and their decay and conservation. 


Monuments and memorials have a vital place in the history and identity of both communities and individuals. They can act as a focus for bringing people together as well as being divisive. Monuments and memorials can be large, grand, requiring large sums of money for their upkeep as well as small and highly personal. From public war memorials to mementos of loved ones. They all serve a purpose of allowing collective or individual remembrance of an event. They solidify a moment in time and space for communities and individuals potentially greatly removed from the original event. Understanding why monuments and memorials are so important, how their significance varies with communities and individuals, how their interpretation can vary and why they can generate such heated debates will be an important aspect for this blog. Monuments are often vital in giving a place its unique character and in projecting that to both local communities and visitors. 


Monuments and memorials are not static, they change both intangibly in their interpretations as well as tangibly as they succumb to the processes of erosion. Understanding the processes underlying these changes can be vital in designing strategies to conserve monuments and memorials. Delving into these processes and the changes they cause can require cutting edge scientific analysis and monitoring requiring specialist skills. However, such scientific analysis is also often undertaken using relatively simple equipment and concepts that can involve local communities in the conservation of their monuments and memorials. This blog will cover both and in the process, I hope, provide people with ideas about how to look at and understand local monuments and memorials.

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