1911 Encyclopædia Britannica/Monument
MONUMENT (Lat. monumentum or monimentum; from monere, to advise, bring to mind, remind; the German equivalent is Denkmal), literally that which serves to keep alive the memory of a person, an event, or a period. The word is thus applied to a column, statue, or building erected for that particular purpose, as “The Monument” (i.e. of the Great Fire) in London; to all the various memorials which man throughout the ages has raised over the buried dead, the barrows and cairns of prehistoric times, the representation of the living figure of the dead, brasses, busts, &c., or the varying forms, allegorical or otherwise, taken by the tombstones of the modern cemetery. In a wider sense “monument” is used of all survivals of a past age, in which sense it may include all the vestiges of prehistoric man, dolmens, menhirs, remains of lake-dwellings, stone-circles, and the like, buildings large and small, cities, castles, palaces, and examples of domestic architecture, which have any interest, historic or artistic, as well as movable artistic or archaeological treasures, which exist in private or public collections, or which are discovered by excavation, &c. In a more restricted sense the word “monument” is also applied to a comprehensive treatise on any particular subject—such as the Monumenta typographica, or an historical collection such as the Monumenta Germaniae historica. In the English law of conveyancing a “monument” is an object fixed in the soil, whether natural or artificial, and referred to in a document, and used as evidence for the delineation of boundaries or the situation of a particular plot of land, &c.
For a description of various kinds of monuments see such articles as Archaeology; Stone Monuments; Effigies, Monumental; Brasses; Sculpture; many particular monuments, such as Stonehenge, are treated under their respective names, or in the articles on the towns, &c., in which they stand.
The present article deals with the preservation, by government action, local or central, of the evidences and remains of past history and civilization, and, incidentally, with similar action extended to sites and places of natural beauty and interest, which the Germans call Naturdenkmäler, natural monuments. The important work of G. Baldwin Brown, The Care of Ancient Monuments, published in 1905, is practically the only book in English on this subject. It contains a most ample bibliography for each country and gives many references to various periodicals in different languages. In 1897 was issued a report (C. 8443, Miscell. Reports, 2) from British representatives abroad as to “the statutory provisions existing in foreign countries for the preservation of historical buildings.” Reference also should be made to The Care of Natural Monuments (1909), by H. Conwentz, Prussian State Commissioner for the Care of Natural Monuments.
The chief question at issue is, how far does the national artistic or historic interest of a monument, in the widest sense of the word, justify the interference of the state with the right of a private owner, whether corporate body or individual, to do what he likes with his own? Nearly every European country other than the United Kingdom has given a decided answer to this question. It may be noticed, as showing the extreme reluctance to state interference in the United Kingdom, that a clause, laying on an owner of a monument, scheduled under the Monument Act 1882, the obligation of offering it for purchase to the state if he wished to destroy it, was struck out of that act.
The main lines followed by legislation or regulation for the preservation of monuments may be briefly indicated. Central organizations of commissions and conservators, with a staff of architects, inspectors, and archaeological or artistic experts for consultation, are established. These may have large legal powers of enforcing their decisions, or may act chiefly by advice or persuasion. The national treasures are catalogued and scheduled, and the value estimated in an exhaustive inventory, in many cases supplemented by local inventories. In many cases, unfortunately, a valuable monument has been destroyed through ignorance of its value. A special form of inventory, carrying with it legal consequences, is that known as the classement system; of this form the French is the typical example. In this only the outstanding monuments find a place, and such either become national property altogether, or the protection and preservation is undertaken by the state, or may be left in the hands of the private owner; but in any case the monument cannot be destroyed, restored or repaired without the consent of the central authority. The classement system has been criticized as tending to depreciate the consideration paid to such monuments as do not appear in the list—monuments non-classés. The British Monument Acts adopt a narrow kind of classement in the schedule attached to the 1882 act. Most states have powers of expropriation or compulsory purchase of private property on grounds of public utility, and English law is no exception—as in the case of the compulsory purchase of land for railways. The majority of states have made the protection of monuments such a matter of public utility. Further, the exportation of artistic or historic treasures, i.e. movable monuments, has been controlled by the state, notably in the case of Italy and Greece, Turkey and Egypt. Connected with this side of the question is the control by the state of excavations undertaken by private persons, even on their own property. In Germany considerable protection is effected by the powers given to municipalities to make by-laws, respecting not only the preservation of the monuments, but also the erection of new buildings that may interfere with the monuments or with the general characteristic appearance (Stadtbild) of the town. This is also the case in Italy, where there are frequent regulations as to town-planning (piano regolamento).
The following is a brief account of the measures adopted in the principal countries of the world for the preservation and protection of their artistic and historic treasures.
United Kingdom.—There are four acts: the Ancient Monuments Protection Acts of 1882, 1900 and 1910, and the Ancient Monuments Protection (Ireland) Act 1892. The act of 1882, due primarily to Lord Avebury, then Sir John Lubbock, provided that a list of monuments[1] in Great Britain and Ireland should be made to which the act was to apply; the number of these monuments was sixty-eight, all being of the kind known as prehistoric (barrows, stone-circles, dolmens, &c.). An owner of one of these scheduled monuments may by deed place it in the guardianship of the commissioners of works, who are then responsible for its preservation and can protect it even against the owner. The commissioners may purchase any of the scheduled monuments, but only by agreement, the compulsory clauses of the Lands Clauses Consolidation Acts being expressly excluded, though any purchase is to be made under those acts. An owner of any monument other than those scheduled may place it in the care of the commissioners. The funds for the working of the act are to be provided by parliament, and an inspector of ancient monuments was appointed. General Pitt-Rivers, the first inspector appointed, found that without compulsory powers the act was useless, and for many years did not draw his official salary. After his death in 1900 the office was left unfilled until 1910. The act of 1892 applied to Ireland only, and is supplementary to that of 1882, which applied to the whole of the United Kingdom. The Irish act gave to the commissioners of public works in Ireland powers—only to be exercised with the consent of the owner—of applying the act of 1882 to any monument possessing such public interest as might render it worthy of preservation. It is to be noticed that after the disestablishment of the Irish Church certain unused churches of artistic or historic interest were placed in the charge of the commissioners as national monuments, with a sum of £50,000 to defray expenses. The Irish commissioners have therefore monuments in their care other than those scheduled in the acts, and may apply towards the expenses of the preservation of the scheduled monuments any surplus over from the fund above mentioned. The act of 1900 applied the Irish act to Great Britain, but the powers have not been exercised by the first commissioner of works. The act also gave the powers of the act of 1892 to county councils, allowed the authorities, local or central, to make arrangements for the preservation of monuments with owners or others, including societies, and to receive subscriptions for the same object, and also provided for public access to such monuments as are in the guardianship of the commissioners under the act. The acts of 1892 and 1900, though allowing buildings of historic or other interest to be placed under the care of the commissioners, exclude buildings occupied as a dwelling-place by any person other than a caretaker and his family. The act of 1910 gives to the commissioners of works power to acquire by bequest buildings of historic or architectural interest. The act of 1900 had given power to acquire such by gift or purchase, and the act of 1882 had given power by bequest also, but only referred to prehistoric remains. The London County Council possesses powers of purchasing by agreement any building of historic or other interest under a General Powers Act of 1898, and exercised these in 1900 by purchasing a 17th century house in Fleet Street (known as Cardinal Wolsey's palace). It will be seen that the United Kingdom possesses no official commission, no conservators, no consultative official body, and no compulsory powers of expropriation. The acts dealing with the subject are entirely permissive. Towards the making of a national inventory the first step taken was the appointment in 1908 of three royal commissions, for England, Scotland and Wales respectively, “to make an inventory of the ancient and historical monuments and constructions connected with or illustrative of the contemporary culture, civilization and conditions of life of the people from the earliest times”: to the year 1700 in the case of England; 1707 in that of Scotland; for Wales no date is specified; and “to specify those which seem worthy of preservation.” The Housing, Town Planning, &c. Act 1909, §45, and the Development and Road Improvement Funds Act, 1909, excepts the sites of ancient monuments or of other objects of historical interest from compulsory acquisition for the purposes of those acts. The Finance Act 1896, §20, granted a qualified exemption from estate duty to pictures, prints, books, MSS., works of art, scientific collections and other things not yielding income, as appear to the Treasury to be of national, scientific or historic interest; this exemption only extends where such property is settled to be enjoyed in kind in succession by different persons; if the property is sold or is in the possession of a person competent to dispose of it, it becomes liable to estate duty. The Finance Act 1909 extends the exemption to legacy and succession duty, removes the restriction to settled property, and adds “artistic” to “national and historic interest.”
The Committee for the Survey of the Memorials of Greater London, supported by the London County Council, has begun a complete register and survey of the historic buildings of London. Apart from the numerous national and archaeological societies, whose proceedings contain invaluable accounts of practically every monument of interest throughout the kingdom, there are two societies directly formed with the object of monument preservation in its widest sense, the Society for the Protection of Ancient Buildings, founded in 1877, and the National Trust for Places of Historic Interest and Natural Beauty, constituted in 1894 under the Joint Stock Companies Acts for the purchase and preservation of sites and buildings, which it can hold in perpetuity for the benefit of the public. In 1907 the latter was dissolved and re-incorporated as a statutory body by the National Trust Act 1907. It possesses twenty-eight properties, amounting to 2000 acres, and twelve interesting buildings.
India.—The Archaeological Survey of Upper India was established in 1862, with a director-general at its head, and surveys for other parts of India were also begun later. The chief object of these was the making of an inventory, and the preservation of the monuments was neglected. In 1878 a curator of ancient monuments was appointed. A period of activity with regard to monument preservation set in during the viceroyalty of Lord Curzon; this culminated in the Ancient Monuments Preservation Act of 1904. The main provisions are as follows: The local government of any province may declare any monument to be a “protected monument within the meaning of the act,” and when so declared no one may injure, remove or alter it under penalty of a fine or imprisonment. This, however, does not apply to the owner, except when the government has, by purchase or gift, or by taking over the guardianship of the monument, assumed the duty of preserving it. This assumption of guardianship is by agreement with the owner. Power of expropriation under the Land Acquisition Act 1894 is given if a monument protected under the act is threatened with destruction or injury, or if an owner refuse to come to an agreement with the authority for its guardianship. The act includes movable antiquities, and the governor-general in council can prohibit their exportation. Control over excavations is also given.
Egypt.—A Commission of Egyptology (Comité permanent d’égyptologie) has the care of the monuments of early Egyptian civilization. The monuments of the Arab occupation are in the charge of a separate commission (Comité de conservation des monuments de l’art arabe). The Commission of Egyptology acts under khedival decrees of 1883, 1897 and 1891. By the first the state claims control over all antiquities and declares the contents of the Giza (Gizeh) Museum, now the National Museum of Egyptian Antiquities, and of any future collection, to be the property of the state and inalienable. The second decree penalizes any injury to monuments or attempt to appropriate a monument belonging to the state. The third deals with excavations; permission must be granted by the director-general of museums; objects discovered belong to the state and must go to the museum, but a part of the objects will be granted to the discoverer under special regulations, the government reserving the right to special objects with compensation for the expense of excavation.
France.—The Commission des monuments historiques was established in 1837. It is attached to and acts through the department of the minister of public instruction and of the fine arts, who is the president of the commission. There are thirty members, partly nominated by the minister out of names selected by the commission, partly ex officio, such as the directors of civil buildings and national palaces and of public worship. The buildings which these officials control are, however, not directly under the commission. The presence of a certain number of deputies on the commission secures its representation in the legislature. Upon the commission fall the following duties: (a) The classement or selection of the monuments of national interest, artistic, historic, or both, for the schedule of protected monuments. A particular portion of a building, such as a door, window, &c., may be alone protected. (b) The restoration and repair of the monuments so classed. (c) A general power of giving advice and watching the monuments of the country as a. Whole. The commission has the charge of the Musée Cluny, and is also the centre for all inquiries, reports, &c. The official staff of the commission consists of four general inspectors, one of whom, since the Monument Act of 1887, has charge of the movable monuments, and of forty architects, who have a subordinate staff of inspectors of works. Since 1830 a sum has been voted yearly for the finances of the commission. The largest sum (£120,000) that has appeared in the budget was voted in 1896; there are, however, other sources of revenue available.
The Monument Act of 1887.—This, together with certain administrative decrees, gave legal powers to the commission, which it had hitherto lacked, or had only been able to enforce by a difficult process of expropriation if owners, whether private or public, of monuments classé objected to the work of the commission. If a monument classé belong to the state or is under the administration of a minister other than the minister of public instruction and fine arts, or if it belong to any public body, such as a department or commune in whose hands the churches mainly lie, the consent of these controlling bodies must be given, otherwise the decision is left to the conseil d’état. If the owner be a. private person, his consent is also necessary to the classement. If he refuses, the minister may expropriate the monument by compulsory purchase, which must have the consent of the conseil d’état. Once a monument has been classé, it cannot be destroyed even partially, and no repairs or other work can be effected upon it without the consent of the minister. An action, for damages only, lies against a person infringing the law in this respect. The act deals also with the classement and protection of movable objects of national interest, historic or artistic, but only if they belong to the state, when they cannot be alienated, or to public bodies, when the consent of the minister is required for repairs or alienation. The act does not affect movables belonging to private persons. Owing to the numerous thefts from churches, museums, and other places, which attracted particular attention in 1907, proposals have been made for the better protection of such objects, as well as of those in private collections, by gathering together the objects at present scattered in churches, &c., into provincial and local museums, and also by charging an entrance fee for museums, &c. With regard to the discovery of monuments by excavation works or accident, the minister must receive immediate notice from the mayor of the commune through the prefect of the department, and will decide what is to be done. If such discovery is on private property he may proceed to expropriation. The act applies to Algeria. Here all objects of archaeological or artistic interest are reserved to the state, if on ground belonging to the government or granted by it to public bodies or private persons or in military occupation. The act is similarly extended to all French protectorates. Tunis has more stringent regulations; for by a decree of the bey, 1886, the consent of the owner to the classement of a monument is not required, and penalties under the French penal code attach to infringements. .
There is a strong feeling in France as to the protection and preservation of sites of natural beauty. A Société pour la protection des paysages was founded in 1901, and in 1904 the minister of public works issued a circular to the government engineers emphasizing the obligation of preserving and, if possible, enhancing the natural beauties of any locality in which public works were being carried out. An act (Loi organisant la protection des sites et monuments naturels de caractére artistique) was adopted in 1906, extending a protection to such sites analogous to that under the Monument Act (Appendix B in Sir R. Hunter’s Lecture, already cited, gives the regulations under this measure).
A law of 1910 prohibits the affixing of bills or advertisements on monuments and sites officially recognized as historical and in sites recognized as picturesque by the law of 1906. The prefect also fixes a zone near such sites or monuments within which advertisement is prohibited.
Societies, both national and local, are numerous and active in France, but the centralizing policy does not favour any close working with the commission. The most important are the Société nationale des antiquaires de France, founded in 1804, and the Société française d’archéologie pour la conservation et description des monuments historiques, founded in 1834, by the archaeologist Arcisse de Caumont (1802–1873). Its publication, the Bulletin monumental, is extremely valuable. In 1887 was founded the Comité des monuments français, which confines itself more particularly to the practical side of monument preservation and protection, and publishes an illustrated periodical, L’Ami des monuments. Of the numerous local societies the semi-official Commission du vieux Paris and the private Société des amis des monuments parisiens and the Commission municipale du vieux Lyon may be mentioned.
Germany.—Legislation and administration with regard to monuments and their protection are not imperial, but are matters for the various states. Of these Hesse-Darmstadt alone has a Monument Act (1902), but in nearly all the states the system adopted for monument preservation and protection has been the appointment of conservators (Denkmalpfleger), with commissions attached, and a careful system of inventory. There are also in many of the states decrees and administrative orders. In Prussia provincial conservators and commissions, appointed in 1891, assist the central conservator. The general absence of special legislation leaves private owners of monuments amenable only to advice and persuasion and to the pressure of public opinion. The official and legal control exercised by the conservators and commissions is restricted to those monuments which belong to the state. The wide powers, however, given to local and municipal authorities in Germany, enable much to be done without state legislation. Many towns have powers to make by-laws regulating building and street-planning with a view not only of the preservation of the actual monuments but also of what is known as Stadtbild, the characteristic appearance given to a town by its ancient buildings, walls, gateways, &c. The regulations of many of the Bavarian towns are excellent examples of what can be done in this way.
The final control of the monuments of Hesse-Darmstadt is in the hands of the minister of the interior, who presides over a Denkmalrat, or council on monuments, consisting of owners of historical monuments, members of societies interested in such objects, and representatives of the Catholic and Protestant Churches. There is also a general conservator. The act protects Naturdenkmäler, such as water-courses, rocks, and even trees. No excavations can be carried on without permission, and all finds must be reported to the local authority.
The principal German society is the Gesamtverein der deutschen Geschichts- und Altertumsverein, founded in 1852. This is a general association of all the various societies throughout Germany. There are also many societies in the various towns, as well as local associations more directly concerned with the practical protection and preservation of monuments. The chief periodical—perhaps the most important of any dealing with the subject in Europe—is Die Denkmalpflege, published first in 1899. It is connected with the society known as Heimatschutz, the “defence of home.”
Italy.—There is a long history of monument regulation, dating back to a provision against the destruction of monuments in the statutes of the city of Rome of the 14th century and to the appointment of Raphael by Leo X. as controller of the city's monuments. Throughout the various states of Italy during the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries till the unification of the kingdom, stringent regulations by decree or statute were in force to preserve the relics of the past in which the country is so peculiarly rich. Mariotti (La Legislazione delle belle arti, 1892) gives a full account of many of these regulations. It must suffice here to mention the Doria Pamphili Edict of 1802 and the Pacca Edict of 1820, named after the two Cardinal-Camerlenghi subscribing the same. It was not until 1902 that an act was passed for the whole of Italy. This act, with a supplementary act of 1903, and the code of regulations (Regolamento) of 1904, has been superseded by the acts of 1907 and 1909 and the Regolamento of 1910, which constitute the whole body of the provisions in force for the protection of monuments. The minister of public instruction is the final authority, and under him the director-general of antiquities and fine arts.
The Superior Council of Antiquities and Fine Arts, created by the law of 1907, consists of 21 members; it is divided into three sections of 7 members each for antiquities, medieval and modern art, and contemporary art respectively. All the members of each. are nominated by royal decree, and so are three members of the third, being elected, one by the architects, one by the sculptors, and one by the painters of Italy. This is an advisory body. The minister presides, and the director-general can be present and has a vote. The administrative organization under the director-general consists of the divisional superintendencies (each having a group of provinces under it) divided into three categories: (a) 18 superintendencies of monuments (preservation, administration, and surveillance of monuments even in private hands); (b) 14 superintendencies of archaeological excavations and museums (with control of objects in private hands and of the offices for exportation); (c) 15 superintendencies of galleries, medieval and modern museums and objects of art. Under each superintendent is a staff of directors of monuments, museums and galleries, of inspectors, architects, secretaries, custodians, &c. The nominations to the superior grades are by competition. There are offices for the examination of objects before exportation in those towns in which there reside a superintendent of monuments or a director of a gallery or a museum in which it is necessary. The official organizations are assisted by (a) honorary inspectors, nominated by royal decree in any commune or circondario where it may seem advisable; (b) provincial commissions, meeting in the chief town of each province, composed of not less than 7 members, nominated by royal decree, and including of right the superintendents, and meeting normally twice a year.
The monuments within the purview of the act of 1909 and its administration comprise all movable (including MSS., incunabula, rare engravings and coins) and immovable objects of historical, archaeological, palaeo-ethnological or artistic value and interest, so long as they are not less than fifty years old nor the work of living persons. Such objects, if they belong to the state, a province, a commune, a religious corporation or any recognized corporation (ente morale), cannot be parted with at all, except as from one such body to another, and this only with the leave of the ministry; and the authorities of such bodies must present to the ministry an inventory of such objects. Nor may repairs or alterations be made to them without the consent of the ministry, which has the right to interfere by regulations (such as, e.g., the prohibition of the use of tapers, &c., which are liable to damage a picture) for the preservation and restoration (and in extreme cases even the removal) of such objects, if necessary, the latter being at the expense of the body to which they belong in so far as it can afford it. Any private person owning or possessing any object falling under the law, the importance and interest of which has been notified to him as the regulations provide, cannot transfer his property in or abandon his possession of it without informing the ministry, which has the right of pre-emption within two months (or four in case of financial pressure owing to many simultaneous offers) at the price for which he has contracted to sell it; and, if it is subject to damage and the proprietor will not provide for its repair, it may be expropriated by the state, by a province or commune—or even by bodies which have legal personality and aim at the preservation of such objects for the public enjoyment. It has not yet been possible, however, to secure the right of search nor of public access; so long as an object is well kept up by the owner, he may refuse the right of access except to the officials.
The exportation of objects of importance is forbidden, even if their importance has not been notified to the owner, who is under the obligation to advise the government of his intention to export, it having the right of pre-emption within two or four months, as the case may be; and even if the government does not purchase the object, it may still return it to the proprietor, forbidding him to export it. The objects exported are subject to a progressive tax, with a maximum of 20%. Objects temporarily imported from foreign countries, and re-exported within five years, are not subject to tax. Temporary exportation, if permitted, is allowed on deposit of the tax; and if objects of importance are allowed to be sent from one part of Italy to another (especially to the islands), this is done by the government at the owner’s expense.
As to excavations, in every case application to excavate must be made to the minister, who has a general supervision over the work and may stop it temporarily or assume the conduct of it. The state can excavate on private ground, but pays compensation; and can expropriate ground on which it wishes to excavate or on which discoveries have been made, the “archaeological value” not being reckoned. As to finds, if the state conducts the excavation, the owner retains one-fourth of the value or of the objects discovered at the choice of the state, the rest belongs to the state. In other cases, and in the case of chance discoveries (notice of which must be given immediately), the state takes one-half, but if the excavation is conducted by foreign institutions or persons, then the discoveries must be given to a public museum, or if part is handed over to the finder, it must be kept in such a way as to be accessible to the Italian public. The ministry gives periodical reports of all work carried out by the authorities in the Notizie degli Scavi and the Bollettino d’arte, both of which appear every month. The funds at the disposal of the ministry for purchases include (a) a sum of £40,000 already invested, (b) the interest upon £160,000 rentes regularly paid in, (c) other sums from sales of publications, fines, &c.; (d) an annual credit voted in the budget (£12,000 in 1909–1910), forming an account called the monte di belle arti.
The regulations issued in 1910 for the execution of the new law consist of some 200 articles in three divisions—one dealing with the artistic and historical patrimony of Italy and its internal administration, a second with the question of exportation, and the third with financial matters. (T. As.)
Greece.—The earliest regulations are those contained in the law of 1837, promulgated by royal decree. This has been replaced by the Monument Act of 1899, but the principles of the earlier law remain, and the later act still lays down “the most extensive claim that any state has ever put forward in the matter of monuments,” viz. that “all objects of antiquity in Greece, as the productions of the ancestors of the Hellenic people, are regarded as the common national possession of all Hellenes.” The department in charge of the administration of the act is that of the minister of religion and public instruction. There is a central commission working with local, commissions and a body of conservators, The control of this executive is in the hands of the ephor-general of antiquities. The act protects medieval monuments as well as those of classical Greece. All immovable monuments are public property, but compensation is to be paid to private owners if such monuments are to be preserved. Movable antiquities, if worthy of preservation by the state, must be placed in public museums. If discovered on private property the owner receives half the value, and may keep those not removed to a museum; all, however, must be registered. Excavations can be made anywhere by the state, and permission for private work must be first obtained. Expropriation is allowed. The export of antiquities is strictly forbidden under severe penalties, and the infringement of the various provisions of the act can be punished by heavy fines or imprisonment.
Austria-Hungary.—There is no legislation for the empire as a whole. In Austria there is a central commission, established 1850, whose authority is regulated by rescripts of 1873 and 1899 of the minister of religion and education. It consists of twenty members selected from experts in history, art and archaeology; there is also a numerous body of conservators who have districts covering the country assigned to them. They have no executive powers, but report on all new works likely to injure monuments, make inventories, influence public opinion, and work with archaeological societies for the general protection of ancient monuments. Hungary, on the other hand, has a Monument Act of 1881. With regard to any existing monument, the minister of religion and education decides whether it is worth preserving. Then the owner, whether public or private, must preserve it at his own cost. If that is impossible the minister may expropriate it. Compulsory purchase may also be resorted to for the purpose of excavation.
Belgium.—There is no monument legislation, but there is a royal commission, resembling that of Austria, founded in 1835, and a royal decree of 1824 prevents alienation of objects of interest contained in churches or alienation or reconstruction of churches without state permission. An inventory has been in progress since 1861, and the commission publishes a Bulletin. By a communal law of 1836 local administrations have to submit proposals for the destruction or repair of monuments to the committee of the provincial council, and must obtain royal approval. Expropriation on the ground of public utility may be resorted to for the protection of a threatened monument in the hands of a private owner.
Holland.—A state commission (Rijkscommissie) was established in 1903, and began an inventory of all monuments, movable and immovable. Any proposed alteration or demolition of buildings of interest in a town must be reported by the burgomaster to the minister of the interior. The annual budget of the minister of the interior contains sums to be allotted for the repair of specified monuments.
Switzerland.—Legislation is in the hands of the cantons; Vaud, Neuchatel and Bern have passed Monuments Acts, modelled on that of France. The federal government may allot an annual grant for the acquisition and upkeep of national monuments and for excavations. There is a federal commission, established in 1886, whose functions, mainly those of other countries, are exercised by the Swiss Society for the Preservation of Monuments of Historical Art.
The preservation of scenery and of natural monuments is considered a matter of great importance, and in 1905 was founded a Swiss society which has a branch in the United Kingdom, La Ligue pour la conservation de la Suisse pittoresque—Die schweizerische Vereinigung für Heimatschutz. The special object of the society is the prevention of the defacement of Alpine scenery by funicular and other railways, mountain-lifts, power-stations, &c. It was successful in protecting the falls of the Rhine at Schaffhausen from a Zurich electric-power scheme.
Denmark.—The means adopted are an excellent example of what can be done without legislation by appeals made by a central authority working with expert knowledge to an enlightened public opinion and to national sentiment. The authority consists of an inspector of ancient monuments and the directorate of the Museum of Northern Antiquities at Copenhagen, exercising the functions of a royal commission that was established in 1807 and dissolved in 1849. The successful preservation of antiquities is also due to an old law, modified by royal decrees of 1737 and 1752, by which all finds of gold, silver and precious objects belong to the state, and to a declaration of 1848 that all monuments on the Crown domains are national property and are to be specially reserved in case of sale. Many private owners have followed the example of the Crown. G. Baldwin Brown (op. cit. p. 188 seq.) gives some interesting examples of the success of the directorate of the museum in preserving monuments by appeals to ecclesiastical owners, projectors of railways and other works, and companies engaged in reclaiming land.
Sweden.—There is a state antiquary (Riksantikvar), appointed first by Gustavus Adolphus; the functions of a, commission are exercised by the Royal Academy of Science, History and Antiquities, founded in 1786. There is an elaborate and stringent code of regulations protecting monuments, contained in royal decrees of 1867, 1873 and 1886. These are based on the edict of, Charles XI. (1666), declaring all ancient monuments under royal protection. Sweden possesses one of the fullest inventories contained in the antiquarian topographical archives.
Norway.—Here there is also a state antiquary, and a state-subsidized society, Foreningen til norske Fortidsmindesmaerkers Bevaring, founded in 1844, which acts much as a commission, and advises the state official.
Russia.—The care of ancient monuments is in the charge of the ministry of the imperial court, of which the Imperial Archaeological Commission, founded in 1859, is a department. The Imperial Academy of the Fine Arts is joined in this charge with the commission, whose duties resemble in the main those of the commissions of other countries. By a circular of 1901 a complete inventory of the monuments of the country was ordered to be made by the local authorities.
Spain.—A monument commission was established in 1844; it works under regulations issued in 1865. It is composed of the Royal Academies of Fine Arts and of History, corresponding members of which form commissions for the provinces of the kingdom. A complete inventory of all monuments is being made. The minister in charge is that of public instruction and of the fine arts.
Portugal.—A decree of John V. (1721) protected the monuments of ancient times; in 1840 this protection was extended to medieval monuments. An inventory was begun in 1841. A council of national monuments was established in 1901 by a royal decree, with a code of regulations. The French system of classement is adopted, and the regulations under the French act of 1887 are generally followed. The minister responsible is that of public works, commerce and industry.
Turkey.—The regulations, as embodied in an irade of 1884, are very stringent, and the principle adopted is that of Greece, that all objects of antiquity belong to the state. The private owner of such has no power of disposition, and must not injure nor destroy them. All excavations are under the control of the government, and permission must be first obtained. The exportation of finds is forbidden, and all movables discovered belong to the Imperial Museum. If these finds are the result of excavations, one-twentieth of the value goes to the discoverer; if of accidental discovery, the owner of the soil and the state divide.
United States.—With regard to the remains of prehistoric man, earthworks, barrows, &c., some of those states, such as Ohio, which are specially rich in such monuments, have particular laws protecting individual remains, e.g. the earthworks in Warren county. The state exercises control over other remains of interest, e.g. the Eagle earthworks in Licking county. There is also an archaeological and historical society, partly maintained by the state, with the object of the better preservation of the evidences of the prehistoric occupation. In North Dakota a state historical commission was created in 1895 “to collect and preserve the records and relics pertaining to the early history, settlement and development of North Dakota.” The sites of the battle-fields, and statues, &c., erected in commemoration of the War of Independence or the Civil War, are preserved by various methods—by state or municipal regulations, by the action of incorporated bodies or trustees, &c. Most of the states rely on statutory prohibitions of malicious damage to protect their monuments and old buildings, &c. (C. We.)
- ↑ The names of the monuments so scheduled are given in an appendix to Sir R. Hunter’s Lecture an the Preservation of Places of Interest and Beauty (1907).