Conservation of monuments and historic sites is one of the most challenging problems facing modern civilization. It involves various cultural, humanistic, social, technical, economical and administrative factors, intertwining in inextricable patterns. The complexity of the topic is such that guidelines or recommendations for intervention techniques and design approaches are difficult to set.
The Technical Committee on the Preservation of Monuments and Historic Sites (named TC19) was established by the International Society of Soil Mechanics and Geotechnical Engineering (ISSMGE) in 1981, is supported by the Italian Geotechnical Society (AGI), and renamed TC301 in 2010. Geotechnics and Heritage, collects relevant case histories on the role of geotechnical engineering in the preservation of monuments and historic sites, and is an addition to the Proceedings of the two International Symposia organized by the Committee in Napoli in 1994 and 2013. The contributions in the book proof the significant role geotechnical engineering plays in conservation of historic building and monuments.

Contents

Preface

Sponsors

Cultural heritage and geotechnical engineering: An introduction, C. Viggiani

Geotechnical issues of the Athenian Acropolis, D. Egglezos, M. Ioannidou, D. Moullou & I. Kalogeras

The role of geotechnical conditions in the foundation, expansion and preservation of the ancient town of Orvieto (Italy), P. Tommasi, M. Sciotti, T. Rotonda, L. Verrucci & D. Boldini

A paradise inhabited by devils? The geotechnical risks in the city of Napoli and their mitigation, A. Evangelista & C. Viggiani

The crossing of the historical centre of Rome by the new underground Line C: A study of soil structure-interaction for historical buildings, A. Burghignoli, L. Callisto, S. Rampello, F.M. Soccodato & G.M.B. Viggiani

Protective compensation grouting operations beneath the Big Ben Clock Tower, D.I. Harris, R.J. Mair, J.B. Burland & J.R. Standing

Contributions of geotechnical engineering for the preservation of the Metropolitan Cathedral and the Sagrario Church in Mexico City, E. Ovando-Shelley & E. Santoyo

The Buen Pastor Cathedral in San Sebastián, A. Gens, E.E. Alonso, J. Casanovas & L. Uzcanga

Stability problems of leaning towers on weak soil, R. Lancellotta

The Leaning Tower of Pisa, J.B. Burland, M. Jamiolkowski, N. Squeglia & C. Viggiani

Strengthening of the San Marco bell tower foundation in Venice, G. Macchi, S. Macchi, M. Jamiolkowski, V. Pastore & D. Vanni

Portus Julius: A complex of Roman infrastructures of late republican age, C. Viggiani

Author index