PROTHEGO

PROTection of European Cultural HEritage from GeO-hazards

Funded in the framework of the Joint Programming Initiative on Cultural Heritage and Global Change (JPICH) — HERITAGE PLUS, under ERA-NET Plus and the Seventh Framework Programme (FP7) of the European Commission, the project PROTHEGO aims to make an innovative contribution towards the analysis of geohazards in areas of cultural heritage in Europe.

PROTHEGO makes an effort to fill this gap, and applies novel space technology based on radar interferometry (InSAR) to monitor monuments and sites in Europe which are inscribed on UNESCO’s World Heritage List (WHL) and are potentially unstable due to geohazards.Remotely sensed information on ground stability and motion are combined with geohazard datasets available for Europe to identify the most endangered sites across Europe.

Local scale geological interpretation, advanced modelling and field surveying will be carried out for these sites, to determine the causes and the extent of the observed motions and to provide an enhanced understanding of any geological processes affecting the heritage properties. At least one site in each project partner’s country (i.e. Italy, UK, Cyprus and Spain) is used to demonstrate the methodological approach.

PROTHEGO’s goals are to:

• enhance cultural heritage management practices at national level
• reinforce institutional support and governance through knowledge and innovation
• identify, assess and monitor risks
• strengthen disaster preparedness at heritage properties in the future