What does “heritage” mean to you?
By Jane Robb, on 18 April 2012
Columnar basalts from the Isle of Mull in Scotland
I would be willing to guarantee that this image is not what first springs to mind, but for me it is. This is a picture of columnar basalts from the Isle of Mull in Scotland, a photo I took on one of my field trips while studying geology as an undergraduate. The concept of heritage may at first seem far flung from this image of cooled molten lava but I would like to demonstrate the ties between these disciplines and why we need to ensure that this, too, is part of our sustainable heritage.
As a geology student, you are primarily taught about the scientific importance of these sites for education, however equally crucial are the links to the people, places and accomplishments associated with these sites. Many of these have been vital to the evolution of science and without them we would not have been able to make many of the technological and scientific advancements we have today.
Take Siccar Point in Berwickshire, Scotland as an example. This location was of seminal importance and built the foundation for evolutionary and geological science as we know today. It was here where James Hutton (often referred to as ‘the father of modern geology’) discovered ‘deep time’. At this site in 1788 Hutton noticed an odd sequence of rocks that proved the need for unfathomable amounts of time and forces to erode the layers and rotate them by 90° from their original position.
Our understanding of the several thousand million year history of the Earth in contrast to the religious standards of the time revolutionised our view of the world and the sciences.
It is my opinion that this site is an intrinsic part of our national, and global heritage. There are lots of areas similar to this across the world, many of which are in the UK with a significant set of the geological periods named after British ‘type’ localities.
Sustainable heritage should not only encompass the physical preservation of an object or historically important locality, but the preservation of the knowledge that it has entreated us with. In the case of Hutton’s Unconformity, along with many other natural landscapes, access to and preservation of the site is difficult. What we can do however is to ensure that we sustain the knowledge associated with that locality through a range of media, to make it permanently available for future generations to be continually inspired and educated.
[...] this blog I was asked to write a piece (http://blogs.ucl.ac.uk/bartlett/2012/04/18/heritage-scotland/) where I tackled my view of sustainable heritage, with a [...]
What a great picture! It also clearly demonstrates conflict! The top is nicely weathered, something that really enhances the columnar jointing making it a classic! However, the lower left shows fresh faces, perhaps evidence of hammering by geological visitors. The result apart from the damage is the jointing is less visible, indeed, it is difficult to pick out the columnar structure!
Very informative and great pic. Geology is a very interesting subject, basically dealing with the earth and its inside. Heritage actually means what has been inherited from previous generations up to this day and what in turn will be passed on to future generations.
I think heritage is things that we value from the past. Buildings and sites are, of course, very evocative. But there are landscapes, ships, trains, and cars. These are all aspects of our shared memory and collective consciousness of the past. It’s very important to preserve a range of things that speak to the representation of our history.