Pile dwellings listed by unesco
Pile dwellings on Ljubljana Marshes were entered onto UNESCO's World Heritage List on 27 June 2011.
Years of work and co-operation by numerous experts and institutions came to fruition in Paris on Monday 27 June 2011. At the annual meeting of the World Heritage Committee, unanimous approval was given to the entry of the serial transnational nomination of the 'Prehistoric pile dwellings around the Alps' onto the World Heritage List.
Thus Slovenia has its first cultural nomination on the list, on the 25th anniversary of the Škocjan Caves being entered under natural criteria.
The entry onto UNESCO's World Heritage List gives the pile dwellings on Ljubljana Marshes outstanding universal value by the best-recognised international standards and is a contribution to the understanding of prehistoric pile-dwelling cultures that existed in the broader geographical area more than 4,500 years ago.
There are about 1,000 known pile settlements around the Alps, found in Switzerland, southern Germany, Austria, northern Italy, eastern France and Slovenia. Mainly, they lie on the shores of lakes that are today covered by marshes and, occasionally, in the backwaters of rivers. The fact that they were sunk into soil that is permanently wet has enabled wooden constructions, food leftovers, wooden tools and even clothes to be preserved. These relics afford us a deeper insight into life as it was then. Prehistoric pile dwellings and wetland settlements are a special phenomenon characteristic of Alpine regions. They have been exceptionally well preserved in numerous lakes and wet areas of the Alpine world. They are artefacts of unique significance and research value.
Nowhere else in the world is the development of settlement communities from the Neolithic and Iron Ages so clearly visible. Research can illuminate in detail their culture, commerce and environment from the 5th to the 1st centuries BC. The most south-easterly of the Alpine prehistoric pile settlements are found on the wet ground of the Ljubljana Marshes, which is one of the most important archaeological areas in Slovenia and now also worldwide. It is a valuable element of human history, the history of archaeological science in this part of Europe and simultaneously an inexhaustible archaeological source in the mosaic of the collective memory of mankind.
At the invitation of Switzerland as leading partner, the preparation of the serial transnational nomination of the 'Prehistoric pile dwellings around the Alps' for entry onto the UNESCO World Heritage List brought Slovenia together with France, Germany, Austria and Italy. The prehistoric pile dwellings on Ljubljana Marshes are represented and showcased by two sites near Ig. Their complexity represents all the richness and diversity of pile-settlement heritage in this part of the Alpine fringes.
Even prior to its formal foundation, Ljubljana Marshes Landscape Park was actively involved in preparing the dossier for the nomination, while its role became even more important later, as the setting up of a protected natural area at this site assured UNESCO's World Heritage Committee of the area's active management. Moreover, the environmental protection regimes that are in force on the archaeological sites (the first protected area of the landscape park) represent an almost ideal form of archaeological heritage protection in the area. Ensuring sustainable agricultural land use in this location, the prohibition of agro- and hydro-remedial work and construction enables the preservation of the sufficiently wet nature of the marshy soil, in which the remains of the pile settlement civilisation can be preserved for succeeding generations.