The sense of place and diminishing living heritage in the World Heritage site of Galle Fort

Abstract

The study is on the World Heritage site of Galle Fort in Sri Lanka, its authentic sense of place anddiminishing living heritage. The Galle Fort was inscribed as a World Heritage site in 1988 on the basisof criterion IV of Outstanding Universal Value (OUV), having to meet the condition of authenticity,focusing on the “physical” exceptionality of the site.The Galle Fort is and has been a living heritagesite for the past three and a half centuries. Its identity is also characterized by the people living thereand the natural processes involved in inhabiting the place. The site faces issues related togentrification since gaining World Heritage status. Excessive gentrification could disrupt the authenticsense of place of this living heritage site. Even though the sense of place of Galle Fort is not definedas a dimension of its heritage as of now, the concept of ‘sense of place’ or ‘spirit of place’has beenunderstood as a critical component of “authenticity” and a representation of the authentic identity incommunitiesmaintaining tradition and cultural continuity of a historic place (UNESCO OperationalGuidelines 2012: 22).The study incorporates the concept of “sense of place” as a theoretical construct to analyse the GalleFort by developing a framework based on the definitions and components of“place identity”. Historicaldata were collected; structured questionnaires and in-depth interviewswere conducted with a crosssection of the community; and, cultural practices and social tempos observed and analyzed for thispurpose. The “Core dimensions” in the identity and sense of place and prevailing threats or “Riskdimensions” to the authentic sense of place of Galle Fort were established,to enablea sustainableconservation and heritage management approach to conserve the place for posterity.