General Building

General Building Heritage
Course Objectives, competencies

and contents
Introduction
What is Heritage?
• What really is “heritage?” According to the Oxford English Dictionary (1989),
heritage is defined as “property that is or may be inherited; an inheritance”,
“valued things that have been passed down from previous generations”, and
“relating to things of historic, cultural and other values that are worthy of
preservation”.
According to UNESCO cultural heritage can be defined as

• Monuments: architectural works, works of monumental sculpture and painting,
elements or structures of an archaeological nature, inscriptions, cave dwellings
and combinations of features, which are of Outstanding Universal Value from the
point of view of history, art or science;
• Groups of buildings: groups of separate or connected buildings which, because of
their architecture, their homogeneity or their place in the landscape, are of
Outstanding Universal Value from the point of view of history, art or science;
• Sites: works of man or the combined works of nature and of man, and areas
including archaeological sites which are of Outstanding Universal Value from the
historical, aesthetic, ethnological or anthropological points of view.
The Criteria for Selection
To be included on the World Heritage List, sites must be of outstanding universal
value and meet at least one out of ten selection criteria.
(i) to represent a masterpiece of human creative genius;
(ii) to exhibit an important interchange of human values, over a span of time or
within a cultural area of the world, on developments in architecture or
technology, monumental arts, town-planning or landscape design;
(iii) to bear a unique or at least exceptional testimony to a cultural tradition or to
a civilization which is living or which has disappeared;
(iv) to be an outstanding example of a type of building, architectural or
technological ensemble or landscape which illustrates (a) significant stage(s) in
human history;
(v) to be an outstanding example of a traditional human settlement, land-use, or
sea-use which is representative of a culture (or cultures), or human interaction
with the environment especially when it has become vulnerable under the impact
of irreversible change;
(vi) to be directly or tangibly associated with events or living traditions, with
ideas, or with beliefs, with artistic and literary works of outstanding universal
significance. (The Committee considers that this criterion should preferably be
used in conjunction with other criteria);
(vii) to contain superlative natural phenomena or areas of exceptional natural
beauty and aesthetic importance;
(viii) to be outstanding examples representing major stages of earth's history,
including the record of life, significant on-going geological processes in the
development of landforms, or significant geomorphic or physiographic
features;
(ix) to be outstanding examples representing significant on-going ecological
and biological processes in the evolution and development of terrestrial,
fresh water, coastal and marine ecosystems and communities of plants and
animals;
(x) to contain the most important and significant natural habitats for in-situ
conservation of biological diversity, including those containing threatened
species of outstanding universal value from the point of view of science or
conservation.
• Ethiopian World Heritage List
1. Aksum (1980)
Criterion (i): The exquisitely
carved monolithic stelae dating
from the 3rd and 4th centuries
AD are unique masterpieces of
human creative genius.
Criterion (iv): The urban
ensemble of obelisks, royal tombs
and churches constitute a major
development in the cultural
domain reflecting the wealth and
power of the Aksumite Civilization
of the first millennium AD.
2. Rock-Hewn Churches, Lalibela (1978)
Criterion (i): All the eleven churches represent a
unique artistic achievement, in their execution, size
and the variety and boldness of their form.
Criterion (ii): The King of Lalibela set out to build a
symbol of the holy land, when pilgrimages to it were
rendered impossible by the historical situation. In
the Church of Biet Golgotha, are replicas of the
tomb of Christ, and of Adam, and the crib of the
Nativity. The holy city of Lalibela became a
substitute for the holy places of Jerusalem and
Bethlehem, and as such has had considerable
influence on Ethiopian Christianity.
Criterion (iii): The whole of Lalibela offers an
exceptional testimony to the medieval and post-
medieval civilization of Ethiopia, including, next to
the eleven churches, the extensive remains of
traditional, two storey circular village houses with
interior staircases and thatched roofs.
3. Fasil Ghebbi, Gondar Region (1979)
Criterion (ii): The characteristics of
the style of “the Gondarian Period”
appeared from the beginning of the
17th century in the capital, Gondar,
and significantly influenced the
development of Ethiopian
architecture for over 200 years.
Criterion (iii): Fasil Ghebbi,
Qusquam and other sites bear an
exceptional testimony of the
modern era of Ethiopian civilization
on the highlands, north of Lake
Tana, from the 16th to 18th
centuries.
4. Harar Jugol, the Fortified Historic
Town (2006)
Criterion (ii): The historic town of Harar
Jugol exhibits an important interchange
of values of original Islamic culture,
expressed in the social and cultural
development of the city enclosed within
the otherwise Christian region. Such
influences have been merged with
traditions that relate to the inland of
Africa and particularly to southern
Ethiopia, giving a particular characteristic
form to its architecture and urban plan.
Criterion (iii): Harar Jugol bears exceptional testimony to cultural traditions
related to Islamic and African roots. It is considered “the fourth holy city” of
Islam, having been developed by a holy missionary from the Arabic Peninsula.
Though a trading place and thus a melting pot of various influences, Harar has
been in relative isolation in its region, contributing to a cultural specificity,
expressed in its characteristic community structure and traditions, which are
still alive.
Criterion (iv): Harar Jugol is an outstanding example of a type of architectural
and urban ensemble which illustrates the impact of African and Islamic
traditions on the development of specific building types. The building types
and the entire urban layout reflect these traditions, which give a particular
character and even uniqueness to Harar Jugol.
Criterion (v): Harar Jugol with its surrounding landscape is an outstanding
example of a traditional human settlement, representative of cultural
interaction with the environment. The social and spatial structure (afocha) and
the language of the people all reflect a particular and even unique relationship
that there developed with the environment. The cultural and physical
relationships with the territory have survived till today, but they are also
vulnerable to irreversible change under the impact of the modern globalizing
world.
5. Konso Cultural Landscape (2011)
Criterion (iii): The Konso Cultural Landscape
integrates spectacularly executed dry stone
terrace works, which are still actively used by
the Konso people, who created them. They
bear testimony to the enormous efforts
required to use the otherwise hostile
environment in an area that covers over 230
square km, an effort which stands as an
example of major human achievement.
Criterion (v): The relation of the stone
terraces and the fortified towns of Konso
Cultural Landscape, and its highly organized
social system, illustrates an outstanding
example of a traditional human settlement
and land-use, based on common values that
have resulted in the creation of the Konso
cultural and socio-economic fabric.
6. The Gedeo Cultural Landscape (2023)
7. Tiya (1980)
8. Lower Valley of the Awash (1980)
9. Lower Valley of Omo (1980)
10. Simien National Park (1978)
11. Bale Mountains National Park (2023)
Heritages on Tentative List
A Tentative List is an inventory of those properties which each State
Party intends to consider for nomination.
• Dirre Sheik Hussein Religious, Cultural and Historical Site 2011

• Holqa Sof Omar: Natural and Cultural Heritage (Sof Omar: Caves
of Mystery) 2011
• Sacred Landscapes of Tigray 2018
• Melka Kunture and Balchit 2020
• The Cultural Heritage of Yeha 2020
• Lake Tana Island Monasteries and its Adjacent Wetland Natural
and Cultural Heritages 2021
• Simien Mountains National Park (SMNP) 2023

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General Building Heritage

Course Objectives, competencies

According to UNESCO cultural heritage can be defined as

• Dirre Sheik Hussein Religious, Cultural and Historical Site 2011

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