On Sunday October 9th Ghent celebrated the first birthday of its City Museum, STAM. A good reason to throw a party! Many showed up around noon for the day ‘s kick-off: a cooking competition “Who makes the best Ghent beef stew?” Throughout the day, people could enjoy live opera, get a relaxing massage, have their picture taken and printed in a dedicated frame, listen to stories of Ghent and much more. To close the birthday in style, there was a big birthday cake. In total, some 3.300 celebrated with us. 

A year completed is also a moment to round up some accomplishments. Here are some statistics. 

Valletta Treaty
The Netherlands have decided to implement the Valletta Treaty by integrating it in the existing spatial law system, zoning plans and building permits. This integration of archaeology in spatial planning creates tension between the academics and creators of spatial quality, taking into account that we have a so called “polluter pays “principle. The idea behind the law is that archaeology should be one of the providers of that quality. Preconditions for cooperation are however joint goals and products. How can this be achieved? In our spatial projects we take three steps to assure that Heritage is an integrated part of the decision making as the only solution to create general involvement. We call this method Reverse Heritage®-smart heritage.

First we reverse the working process. Instead of immediately executing the administrational protocol of steps to get a building permit, we sit down and try to define the goals and targets to be achieved at the end of the project Second, we do not define our goals in an academic professional vacuum. We enlarge the decision making perspective to all stakeholders involved in spatial development. In order to create responsibility and involvement. We put them all at the decision making table (eg, the heritage professional, the administration, politics, developer and user/civilian). With this group we set the heritage ambition in general and manage this to a more specific goal after the assessment field research.

Third,  to come to a set of shared goals for all stakeholders it will be necessary to find an equal balance between the three elements of heritage management;
1. the production of knowledge
2. the long term physical protection of heritage find spots and finds
3. the utilization or commodification of knowledge in heritage

Before the implementation of the new law, the emphasis laid on academic knowledge production. Now we have two extra pieces of the pie to take into account. One may even argue that the opportunities for the utilisation or commodification of heritage in spatial developments, leisure industry or for educational purposes, should be an important selection criteria for field research.

Fourth, as professionals we have to help stakeholders to create utilisation goals. We do this by telling the story of the site and the area to be developed and transform this into the digital, virtual, and physical world. We create identity and image as a starting point for the marketing and branding of the area. We inspire developers and architects to transform the past into the future by using the history.
    
Fifth, It may be clear that using this method for defining a different heritage scope, has great impact on the control aspects of projects such as budget, finance, exploitation planning, information and quality management. There is more to do than just budgeting research and other goals for heritage and make sure the money is available for all these goals. Protection and especially utilisation should be paid out of the same budget and not afterwards, when the money is usually spent.

Nevertheless by using the Reverse Heritage method we aim to create identity in new spatial development.  To use the words of the Spanish writer Louis Aragon: “I’ve made up the past again to see the beauty of the future”.

Drs. Boudewijn Goudswaard, Archaeologist and owner at The-missinglink, Utrecht

The backbone of that quarter is a NW-SE oriented street, later known as the Korte Ridderstraat, which is now believed to be part of the medieval trade route overland from Bruges to Cologne. The occupancy along this axis shows a sophisticated balance between buildings and open space, between enclosure and perspective.

Analysis of the archaeological data gave evidence of a strong urban vision directing the spatial development of that quarter. The street intersections or enlargements functioned as small squares, which played an important role in the fabric of the medieval and pre-modern city. Only a few of them grew out to real squares (considered as such) in modern times. Those ‘small squares’ are often neglected in classical urban topography, which is rather focussed on the larger squares, with well-known economical, political or ceremonial functions. This urban phenomenon was not unique to Ghent, but appears to have been predominant in other medieval cities as well.

The research into the archaeological soil archive led to another, quite unexpected conclusion: the successive phases of the spatial development of the Emile Braun square from the medieval period onwards – e.g. in the 15th century, in the later 17th century, and in the early 19th century – appear to have been surprisingly well planned and carefully designed. This insight in urban planning is completely new. Until now, the loosely defined open space known as the Emile Braun square was considered to be the unintended result of successive and ill-considered clearances of building blocks, surrounded by rear facades.
 
In short, the archaeological evidence falsify some wide spread – but erroneous – ideas about spatial development at the heart of the city centre. From this experience we can learn once more that, prior to large development projects, a thorough interdisciplinary (archaeological, historical and built historical) research is needed to get fully grasp of the ‘genius loci’ and to take this into account when designing the reconstruction of old city quarters, especially in interpretive plans.

Marie Christine Laleman and Geert Vermeiren', Gent

Chester's heritage
The Chester contribution to PORTICO has centred on the City Walls particularly the towers, Morgans Mount, Thimbleys Tower, King Charles Tower and the Water Tower. New interpretation panels are being designed to help explain the significance of the Walls whilst an innovative 'App' is being developed to act as an interactive guide to the Walls. There will also be a new interpretation element at the Newgate and the Roddee.

Topics to share
During the partnermeeting, several specialists from Chester, Gent, Koln and Utrecht gave a presentation on different studies that are made in the PORTICO project. In this PORTICO newsletter October 2011, we share their topics.

Chester Tour
The PORTICO partners were also taken on a guided tour of Chester on the Heritage tours open decked bus to see all of the areas included with the project.

In her introduction speech in the course of the PORTICO Partnermeeting in Chester, Marianne Gechter presented a successfully realised Private Public Partnership model using the example of the Ubian Monument. The City of Cologne has set up a regulatory framework for such models, which has been applied several times already. Apparently, such models are also interesting for other members of PORTICO.

In Germany the “Bundesländer” (regions) are responsible for the protection of monuments. Each “Bundesland” has different laws. In North Rhine Westphalia this is regulated by the “law for the conservation of ancient monuments“. Nevertheless the City of Cologne has an exception. Here the “lex colonia” guarantees the independence of archaeology in Cologne. At the moment there are two different departments: on one hand the “Archaeological Zone”, which is responsible for the area where the new museum is being built as well as for the Ubian Monument, and on the other hand the “Romano-Germanic Museum”, which is responsible for all other parts in the city.

The legal situation of North Rhine Westphalia states that the discovery of archaeological findings has to be reported immediately to the authorities. If archaeological remains are discovered, the “Department for the Protection and Preservation of Monuments” is entitled to stop the building activities up to six months to organize the necessary excavations. The “Departments for the Preservation of Monuments” are to be involved in the planning processes and building applications. If there is any evidence from surveys or former excavations that indicate considerable findings are to be expected they can impose conditions, for excavation etc. The regulations even allow the expropriation of private owners of monuments.

In reality the department and the private investors sign contracts according to the costs-by-cause principle. The investor pays a certain amount for the excavation or hires a company for archaeological research. So the department can save money and therefore guarantees that the excavation will start when it is suitable for the investor. It is a key agreement to make sure that the excavations will not take longer than necessary.

When unexpected, important findings are revealed or when it comes to preservation of any findings this agreement can be modified or even rejected by the city. This case might be very rare but it means that the building plan has to be changed and the investor has to bear the additional costs.

During the PORTICO meeting it turned out that other partner cities have the same problems with the current regulative specifications for preserving historical and archaeological findings. However a successful implemented Private Public Partnership not only has to involve the investor/owner on one side, but also the residents and people working or living in the area. The communication agency of the Archaeological Zone “BSX Bader & Schmölzer Ldt.” therefore has developed a communication master-plan, presented by Astrid Bader.

The Ubian Monument is situated in an unusual surrounding in the basement of an apartment building. The people living in and near this building can influence the success of the project considerably. Therefore a specific communication strategy has to be developed to get in touch with this target group.

The goal is to involve and to inspire local residents, to identify themselves with the historical site and to be proud of it. It is also necessary winning these locals as partners to create a multiplier effect.
Locals can gain appreciation of the area they live in and get in touch with the local community and neighbours, which could help to create a new district and change the image of the area they live in. For this reason a number of activities will be organized – e.g. guided tours with local guides, discussion and information meetings, events for owners of restaurants, hotels, shops etc.

Another important element of this concept is the "Private Public Partnership", which includes a close cooperation with the owner of the building in order to upgrade the economic value of the building by installing a new bus stop, free renovation of the entrance or a special branding of the site. In the foyer visitors should be invited to a time travel and experience history by multimedia presentations, photo exhibition and other modern presentation methods.

Another important target group of our project are schools and students. Students should learn about their cultural heritage and the history of the city in a way that is interesting for them. For schools tailored projects for every age group will be arranged. Every student gets the chance to become a “student scout”, who guides other students through the historical site.

Further ideas include special multimedia presentations such as a TV-documentation about the Archaeological Zone and the Ubian Monument, the "Ave Civitas" Digital Storytelling workshop or podcasts for audioguides, as well as social media presentations on Wiki, Facebook, Archaeology-Blogs and YouTube.

Other target groups that should be reached are students, museums, journalists, archaeologists, tour guides, tourist offices, EU-sponsors and local politicians.

Astrid Bader, BSX Bader & Schmölzer GmbH

Excavations in the 11^th century sewer have brought to surface a particularly important piece of jewelry: a magnificently elaborated earring displaying distinct characteristics of Imperial gold work. The discovery of such an important piece of jewelry like the Cologne earring was totally unexpected and impressively underlines the significance of the Archeological Zone Cologne and its international importance.

The earring is made of gold and richly ornamented with gemstone, pearls and an antique gemma. It has the shape of a so called “Luluna”, in the form of a half-moon (or more accurate:  three-quarters of a moon). Similar earrings have already been found in other excavations, however, the magnificent and elaborate design suggests that the Cologne earring is indeed a unique piece of jewelry.

A remarkable feature of its design is the fact that turquoise glass pearls change with real, very large pearls, enriched by dark red decorative glass stones. Glass used to be a particularly precious material in the early and high Middle Ages. The dark red stones form an interesting contrast to the dark blue Roman gemma with the image of an Eros who tortures a butterfly with his torch, an antique symbol for the tortures of the soul through love.

The daily board of Utrecht, of Mayor and Aldermen, has determined the design for Castellum Hoge Woerd. A special construction makes it possible for the new buildings to be built on the site of the Roman Castellum, without damaging the monument. The project is developed and designed along with the National Service of Cultural Heritage. The costs are approximately 15 million euro. Several parties contributed to the financing.

Harrie Bosch, Alderman of Leidsche Rijn: ‘Castellum Hoge Woerd offers a contemporary program full of culture, nature and archeology in a historical setting: a unique combination in the Netherlands and an enrichment of the cultural offer in Utrecht.’

Design

The design of the Architecture Studio Skets is an interpretation of the old Roman fort that used to be at the Hoge Woerd. The approximately six meters high and broad wall, covered in wood, will be constructed around a rectangular courtyard of about 90 x 100 meters. Visitors can walk on the rampart while looking through the battlements to what is happening outside, just like the Romans soldiers did, 2000 years ago. The four entrances to the Castellum have a massive and heavyset virtuosity with towers of 10 meters high.

The new building for the Castellum is designed in a way that several cultural activities can take place in the ramparts and gate buildings. Also, there will be a place for the animals of the centre of Nature and Environment Communication (NMC). There will be a theatre with 260 seats, an archeology museum and a restaurant in the big pavilion. Here the Roman ship will be exhibited that was excavated with great public interest in De Meern.

Meaning of Castellum Hoge Woerd

In the ancient Roman Empire a Castellum was an army camp with a defensive wall and towers, where 500 to 1000 soldiers stayed, horses included. The special feature of Hog Woerd in relation to other Castella in the Netherlands is that the remains are still there in the landscape. In other parts of the country they are overbuilt.

The definite decision-making on the necessary resources will take place when the Spring policy document is made in June. The development plan is expected to be determined in June by the council. At the 31st of May there was a council information evening on location, where the design was presented to council members and other interested people.

You can find more information about the activities on  www.castellumhogewoerd.nl

Prior to the third phase of the rebuilding of the central pedestrianized city squares and surrounding streets in Gent, the so-called KoBra-project, archaeological research was carried out at the Botermarkt and Belfortstraat. In November and December 2010 the Department of Urban Archaeology researched this area, located on the top of the Zandberg, through open area excavation. Traces of deep sand extraction pits, with fillings dating from the 12th, 13th and 14th century, were found. The extracted sand was probably used for preparing construction material.

Profile samples at the crossing of the Botermarkt and Hoogpoort gave evidence of a medieval street made of small timber posts, similar to the ones found earlier beneath the former Korte Ridderstraat (now Emile Braunplein) and the small square called Te Putte (now Goudenleeuwplein). Along with these, the timber road of the Hoogpoort was identified as a major traffic artery in medieval Gent. The road was built on top of a black layer made of organic material, typical for this area located just outside the oldest part of the medieval city.

The Belfortstraat (initally called Borluutstraat) was only built around 1900 in order to connect Botermarkt and St Jacob’s Church. The construction of this new street, wide and straight, fitted in the large scale urbanization campaign of mayor Emile Braun (in charge 1895-1921) in order to “modernize” the typical dense street layout of the medieval city center. This plan entailed also the demolition of the houses that stood in that part of the Hoogpoort that enclosed the Botermarkt. The excavation of wall remnants in Tournai limestone, a typical feature of the patrician stone houses from the 12th to the early 14th century, may be linked with this former building line.

There is no better way to appreciate Chester’s wonderful heritage than to walk its magnificent City Walls. This Scheduled Ancient Monument, which is of international importance, is the only complete city wall circuit in Britain and has a rich and eventful 2,000-year history. Legend has it that on 24th of September 1645, King Charles stood on a tower (now bearing his name) and watched his army defeated in the battle of Rowton Moor. The 4km circular route provides glorious views of the city and links to other important heritage sites such as the Roman Amphitheatre, Chester Castle, Riverside Groves, and Chester Cathedral.

The vision for the Portico ‘Explore the Walls’ project is to deliver ‘one of the best historic city trails in Europe’. This article demonstrates the comprehensive heritage interpretation process that has been undertaken and gives a taste of the projects that will result. Currently the project is at the detailed design stage and is on track to be completed on time by December this year.

An exemplary approach
Explore the Walls is part of a Chester Renaissance programme to make the city a ‘must see’ European destination by 2015. With David Masters as Lead Consultant, Imagemakers produced a Heritage Interpretation Masterplan for the Chester in 2009, providing a strategic framework for telling Chester’s dramatic story across the city.  During this project, Portico funding was secured for the City Walls and Towers. 

Research and Evaluation
In 2010 the Portico City Walls and Towers project began with a detailed research and planning stage, determining the aims, themes, media and budgets for the interpretation. This work was undertaken in close liaison with the appointed architects, historic building specialists Donald Insall Associates.

We profiled visitor groups to identify the target audiences and referenced data from the Competitiveness Study about how visitors use the Walls and Towers. We also identified the physical, intellectual, cultural, attitudinal and sensory barriers that impact the visitor experience, and are mitigating these as far as possible. Provision for a younger audience was also an important consideration. 

The research involved detailed consultation with key stakeholders, residents, businesses, schools, local government and partner agencies.  Input was also gathered from expert heritage and tourism staff.

‘Thorough research and consultation ensures the interpretation will meet the needs of all users and fit seamlessly with other historical sites and the wider interpretation of Chester. The planning process also elicited a very positive response and a sense of ownership from stakeholders, which has had real benefits as the project becomes implemented’.  David Masters, Lead Consultant, Imagemakers

The research provided the information we needed to establish the strategic aims for the interpretation. It also helped us identify the main themes and stories. The aims are to promote the walls as an enjoyable yet flexible route around the city, to encourage visitors to discover more, to create a ‘wow’ factor, to increase civic pride, to help raise the profile of the walls and their economic value, and to ensure there are strong linkages with other important sites in Chester. The main interpretive theme centres on Chester as a historic regional stronghold and the role of the Walls and Towers for ‘defence, protection, power and control’; as ‘a living monument’; and as an exciting ‘route to explore’ the city’s heritage offer. 

The Interpretation Plan also specified emotional, behavioural and learning objectives to be delivered by the interpretation, from making visitors feel amazed to ensuring they can find their way around easily.

Projects to be implemented
The Interpretation Plan details a range of interpretation projects that will meet the needs of a wide audience.

Map-based orientation panels, produced in hard wearing vitreous enamel, will enable visitors to find their way around. Interpretation panels in enamelled lavastone, a natural material, will tell site specific stories at key locations, and include zinc rubbing plates for children. A cutting edge smartphone app, with a strong gaming element, CGI animations and high definition AV sequences, will target those comfortable using new media. A beautifully designed guidebook will also be produced for those who like a more traditional but contemporarily styled way of accessing information.

An augmented reality digital binocular viewpoint, the first of its kind in the UK, will take visitors back in time, revealing layers of history when the landscape was dramatically different. Thematic arts installations, conceived by artist Patricia MacKinnon Day, will visually take the roof off a tower, introduce ‘wishes’ into the public realm, provide a reflective resting point, and relate to a true story of romance and escape.

We will also install a replica Civil War canon on an old gun battery platform, and create immersive audio experiences and medieval backdrops in some of the Towers.
 
A new website is also in development and this will integral to the promotion of the experience. It will act a digital hub, enabling visitors to find out more pre and post visit and link to other Chester heritage and tourism on-line facilities.
 
Conclusion
By taking a robust, research-based, and thoroughly consulted approach to planning the interpretation, the project team have been able to devise a coherent and compelling scheme that has the support of a wide range of partners and stakeholders. 

We are confident the resulting interpretation will significantly enhance the visitor experience and, together with the architectural interventions, successfully deliver the Portico ambition for Chester. We hope that his impact can then be quantified as clear evidence of the benefits of investing in and using archaeology and the built heritage for economic development.

[Image captions: Reconstruction illustrations of the medieval Water Tower and Eastgate, commissioned as part of the Portico scheme.]
 
David Masters, Lead Consultant, Imagemakers Interpretive Design and Consulting. Tel (+44) 1837 840717 Email davidm@removethis.imagemakers.uk.com Website www.imagemakers.uk.com

In february 2011 the first phase of the construction of the coin trail has started on the Korenmarkt. Within the next few years the coin route will be built across the city centre from the Grasbrug (river Lys) to the Brabantpoort (river Scheldt). The trail visualizes the medieval trade route from Brugge to Köln, which was at that time a major trunk route connecting the North Sea and the Rhine.

Altogether the coin trail will count on one thousand brass coins grouped in clusters. Every coin has a differrent image engraved, which is based upon an iconographic or historical source (photograph, drawing, text, etc). Each cluster of coins is devised as a snapshots comic strip, which tells a piece of the history of Gent. Every cluster contains a special identification coin with a QR-code that will enable smarthphone and tablet users to inquire information on the coin images and the stories they relate to.

The first hundred coins are laid down in the pavement of the Korenmarkt, Donkersteeg, Goudenleeuwplein and Emile Braunplein. This first stretch of hte coin trail is fully financed by the PORTICO-project. The remaining six hundred coins will be built later.