UNESCO recognises ancient building method

Описание: (15 Dec 2018) LEADIN
The ancient building method of dry stone walling in Croatia has been recognised by UNESCO,  which has listed it as an intangible cultural heritage.
The practice dates back hundreds of years and involves the careful selection and stacking of stones to build a structure without adding other materials.
STORYLINE
This stone building in a field in the village of Vodnjan is known as Kazun.
The one room, dry stone and mostly round structure is a common sight in Istria, a peninsula in the northern Adriatic of Croatia.
There are more than 3000 kazuns in the Vodnjan area where they were used as shelters and storage for farmers and shepherds in remote fields.
Kazuns were erected in the areas where the stone had to be removed from the soil to obtain fertile land.
As a result, the leftover stone was used for building walls and shelters
Architect and conservationist, Branko Orbanic says: "Dry stone walling is the oldest invention of civilization, older than fire. Dry stone walling survived until nowdays because it is folk architecture without an architect, very applicable. It has always been only what was a must, only necessary, without aesthetic, only functionality."
The practice was passed down through the generations and became more widespread as agriculture took off, meaning there was an abundance of stone lying around.
"After medieval times and bad times for Istria, because of emigration, exoduses, diseases, and when the demographic picture was stabilized, when the number of inhabitants started to increase, there were more needs for agriculture, survival and shelters," says Orbanic.
It takes careful placement of the stones to ensure the stability of the structure because no other materials are used to bond the stones together.
UNESCO has now recognised the significance of the practice, adding it to its list of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity.
"Similar shelters to these we have all over the Mediterranean. However, there are variations depending on building material, local resources, signatures of builders who adopted it throughout history. Today it is recognized for its ethnographical and architectural value, while actually functioning as a shelter doesn't exist anymore because we all have cars and mobile phones," says Orbanic.
Valter Medancic has been building kazuns for years using the traditional methods.
He says the technique is more time consuming than modern construction.
"If the internal size is up to three meters, four of us need 18 to 20 days to build a kazun," says Medancic.
"It is hard work. Stone is heavy, walls are lower, but we have problems lifting stone to build a roof," he adds.
In November, the Intergovernmental Committee for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage met in Mauritius and added the art of dry stone walling, knowledge and techniques in Croatia, Cyprus, France, Greece, Italy, Slovenia, Spain and Switzerland to its list.

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