Architectural heritage

[6] Geospatial surveys and scans can also help researchers see evidence of historic or prehistoric structures that might not be visible to the naked eye, for example if only foundations of the structures remain underground, if geological shifts or volcanic eruptions have caused the buildings to become buried under sedimentation or ash deposits, if once land based archaeological sites have become buried underwater due to rising sea levels or geological shifts, or in the event the site is simply too inaccessible to be physically accessed by researchers due to excessive vegetation cover or rough and jagged terrain.

[9][10] Additionally, excessive tourism can also pose a threat to the integrity of the historic sites if poorly managed or insufficient preventative conservation measures are in place.

[12] These ongoing assessments might include wood treatments, historic paint analyses, pest and rodent control, and monitoring of temperature and relative humidity.

[14] Smaller scale restorations might include repainting and refinishing surfaces, environmental barriers, water gilding, sandblasting fixtures, and repairing utility connections, such as electrical wires and plumbing pipes.

[19] At the international level, the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization administers the World Heritage Program to identify locations whose architectural or natural heritage, or some combination thereof, have outstanding universal value measured against a set of ten criteria, including representation of masterpieces of human creative genius, exhibiting important interchanges of human values, bearing a unique or at least exceptional testimony to a cultural tradition or civilization which is living or has disappeared, and being an outstanding example of a type of building, architectural, or technical ensemble or landscape which illustrates a significant stage in human history.