Impacts of climate change on cultural heritage; the case of the Greek theatre of Dionysus

Abstract

Climate change is an ongoing fact with evident impacts on earth, humanity and our heritage. The management and protection of heritage from the effects of climate change should be taken into consideration, so as to act dynamically and immediately, since the effects of climate change are rapidly evident in all aspects of life. The objective of this research is to study the vulnerability of the ancient Greek Theatre of Dionysus, as it forms a monument with embedded heritage values exposed to the climate change. This case study is the tangible result of a particular cultural and historic research, bearing historic knowledge, cultural meanings via a recognizable architectural structure and it reflects the conjunction of culture with society and nature. Materiality and its pathology combined with the condition of the natural landscape and the altering pattern of cultural tourism can lead to the study of climate change imprint on this kind of heritage, which should be examined as a wholeness of culture and nature. The uniqueness in the Theatre's identity and historic path deserves interpretation of the effects of climate change, so as to manage adaptation, proactive planning, mitigation and dissemination of the discovered results.