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Digging into Europe's past

01 March 2018
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The European year of cultural heritage aims to reinforce a sense of belonging to a common European space. Image credit - Shutterstock/Boris Stroujko

To mark the European year of cultural heritage, Horizon explores how science is helping to uncover more about our past and to preserve our art, landscapes, buildings and ways of life for the future. We discover why prehistoric humans chose to paint rock art where they did, and how farming techniques from hundreds of years ago could help fight climate change today. Plus, we learn how cultural heritage feeds into European identities and what can be done to prevent the destruction of historical sites during wartime.

The 'Fraternal Kiss' mural, by Soviet artist Dmitri Vrubel, emblematic of the Cold War, appeared on the Berlin East Side Gallery, Berlin Wall, 1990. Image credit - Freepenguin, licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0
social sciences
26 March 2018

Confronting cultural history leads to stronger European identity

The act of confronting a troublesome past can be challenging by itself, and the Germans even have a word for it — Vergangenheitsbewältigung. Roughly one-third of current EU Member States spent decades behind the Iron Curtain, and many experienced one-party government for decades, but researchers see confronting uncomfortable history as part of a new common European identity — a shared experience that can bring people closer together.

The Holy Aedicule in the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem was restored with the help of a high-resolution 3D model. Image credit - Flickr/Jorge Láscar, licensed under CC BY 2.0
social sciences
21 March 2018

Digital innovation can enhance cultural heritage, hears conference

Digitalisation has a role to play in the conservation and promotion of modern-day cultural heritage but should enhance real-life experiences, rather than replace them, experts say.

Dr Margarete van Ess says that educating people on the importance of cultural heritage can help preserve it. Image credit: I. Wagner, German Archaeological Institute
social sciences | interview
13 March 2018

War can destroy cultural heritage twice – in conflict and in clean-up

People can inadvertently destroy cultural heritage for a second time when cleaning up conflict sites after a war ends, according to archaeologist Dr Margarete van Ess, who says that databases and education are the best basis for safeguarding sites for the future.

Geographically defined products such as Parma ham help to assess the social and cultural value of a landscape. Image credit - Pxhere/1165797, licensed under CC0 Creative Commons
environment | social sciences
06 March 2018

Ancient farming techniques could help mitigate climate change effects

High technology is being deployed to uncover long-forgotten irrigation systems and other features concealed in landscapes that farmers developed hundreds of years ago to nurture their land.

Scientists believe that rock art sites were chosen for their visual and acoustic properties. Image credit - Curt Harrell
social sciences
01 March 2018

Shelters with echoes thought to be preferred sites for prehistoric rock art

The acoustic qualities of a rock shelter may have been a key factor in its selection as a site for rock art and indicate a spiritual significance to the practice, according to a recent study, while scientists are also looking into whether some caves were chosen as artistic sites because of the view.