A historical site for adaptation
How changes through the centuries inform the management of archaeological heritage today.
The archaeological site of Aquileia provides an insight into the millennia-long evolution of the town, a valuable narrative to understand how ancient civilizations have transformed along with their surrounding environment. Current climate changes are forcing the managing agency to adapt to increasingly rapid shifts that cause extreme phenomena. Researchers and cultural heritage experts meet and envision joint solutions to preserve the heritage for future generations through a new shared language for adaptation.
Preserving history
The impacts of climate change range from natural to those on health, to those on economic activities; less well known and studied are those on archaeological heritage. The monuments of the past tell the story of the relationship between society and the environment through the centuries. However, the speed of today’s climate change threatens to erase and damage forever the evidence of the civilizations that came before us. The cultural heritage of coastal areas is particularly sensitive to changes in temperature, rainfall patterns and sea level, hazards that are likely to become more frequent due to global warming.
The site of Aquileia
Walking through the remains of the UNESCO archaeological site of Aquileia, we discover an emblematic site for studying the impacts of a changing climate on archaeological heritage, as it is an extraordinary coastal settlement of Roman age in terms of significance and extent. Today a quiet town of about 3,300 inhabitants in the Friuli-Venezia Giulia region, Aquileia was once one of the largest cities of the Roman Empire overlooking the Adriatic Sea. The rich archaeological heritage, including the patriarchal basilica, the ancient Roman forum, the river port, the burial grounds, the domus of Titus Macro, and the Episcopal palace, are evidence of the city’s vitality from the Republican to the late Imperial period. The site is also recognized for its value in the diffusion of Christianity during the early Middle Ages. The tourist guide tells us that the remains accessible today are only a small part of the preserved ancient urban center.
A historically vulnerable area to sea level
The remains of the ancient city are found about 5 km from the inner edge of the lagoon and 10 from away from the coastline. Aquileia has been located, since Roman times, at a very low level, requiring a substantial surface water disposal system. We can imagine, thanks to historical evidence, how the runoff and drainage system evolved over time until the modern reclamation of the early 1900s, also to cope with a sea level rise of about 1.5 m. Today, mechanical drainage with water pumps ensures drainage and protects the area from infiltration, but current changes are advancing at a rate that is worrying for the site conservation. In fact, sudden flooding has occurred with an increased frequency in recent years.
Risks are increasing
Arpa Friuli Venezia Giulia is one of the agencies that for years has been producing knowledge about how climate change is affecting the coastal area of the region, where the Aquileia site is located. Thanks to the AdriaClim project, it has been possible to gather more information about the complex system of warning signals coming from the climate in this area, including changes in temperatures, changes in rainfall patterns, and sea level rise. The impacts on the Aquileia site are varied and complex, and their acceleration requires a close collaboration between managing and scientific authorities to address new and intensified hazards. Together they are able to create a deeper understanding of the issue based on the ancient knowledge preserved at the site.
The need for a common language
The one between Arpa FVG technicians and Aquileia site managers was a significant encounter, they tell us. Arpa FVG’s climate research group carries out important impact mapping work for risk analysis, thus trying to understand which atmospheric phenomena may damage the site and what their frequency will be in the future. However, the technical language of these analyses was distant from that specific to the disciplines of archaeological heritage conservation. Hence, the collaboration for the protection of the Aquileia site was born, an important path to co-creation that lays the foundation for building a common language for cultural heritage impact assessment.
Impact chains
The common knowledge creation path between Arpa FVG and the Aquileia Foundation, within the AdriaClim project, seeks to assess the multiplicity of risks related to climate change by outlining a chain that associates hazards, such as the heavy rains experienced in recent years, with the level of exposure of archaeological sites. Another example is the exposure of extensive mosaic floors to rising groundwater and how climate change may affect them. Defining these shared impact chains will allow experts to protect the site from emerging risks.
A step forward for a shared path
The coastal areas are complex environments that are particularly sensitive to the effects of climate change. The archaeological assets found in these areas are therefore among those most exposed to new risks. Risk assessment in this environment is necessarily a dialogical and multidisciplinary process. The experience of the AdriaClim project at the Aquileia site breaks new ground locally and enriches coastal adaptation pathways in the Adriatic Sea.
“Effective climate risk assessment can only result from a shared journey.”
Federica Flapp, Arpa FVG.