Geoheritage and Cultural Heritage—A Review of Recurrent and Interlinked Themes

Abstract

Relationships between geoheritage and cultural heritage are being increasingly explored and have become one of the mainstreams within studies of geoheritage and geodiversity. In this review paper, we identify the main and secondary themes at the geoheritage—cultural heritage interface and provide examples of specific topics and approaches. These themes include added cultural value to geoheritage sites, geoheritage in urban spaces, cultural landscapes, and the contribution of geoheritage to their identity, mining and quarrying heritage, linkages with natural disasters, history of science, and art. Intangible cultural heritage is also reviewed in the geoheritage context. In the closing part of the paper, various classifications of geoheritage—cultural heritage linkages are proposed, although it is concluded that themes and fields of inquiry are overlapping and interlinked, rendering one classification system not very feasible. Instead, a mind map to show these diverse connections is offered. The paper closes with recommendations for future studies, arising from this review and the identification of research gaps and under-researched areas.

Keywords

• urban geoheritage
• building stone
• cultural landscapes
• mining
• quarrying
• geotourism