The Application of Cluster Analysis and Scaling Analysis Methods for the Assessment of Dams in Terms of Heritage Preservation

Abstract

Heritage preservation is a broad topic that affects virtually all fields of human activity. One of them is industrial heritage which is, among others, represented by the construction of dams. The assessment of such constructions, which could be important from the point of view of heritage preservation and potentially be declared cultural monuments, should be based on the analysis and historical development of the particular society. It should reveal which constructions can be found in a selected area and how they are divided. Dams include hundreds of constructions. A professional heritage officer, who is to decide whether to process and submit a proposal for the inclusion of a dam in the list of cultural heritage, thus faces the problem of how to carry out the analysis effectively. This article describes a procedure for using both cluster analysis and scaling method to categorise a set of 119 dams to be able to identify exceptional, so-called iconic, structures. By comparing the selection of significant representatives of dams created by the application of the two methods, which proved to be appropriate in terms of the industrial heritage preservation, a majority concordance is reached.Heritage preservation is a broad topic that affects virtually all fields of human activity. One of them is industrial heritage which is, among others, represented by the construction of dams. The assessment of such constructions, which could be important from the point of view of heritage preservation and potentially be declared cultural monuments, should be based on the analysis and historical development of the particular society. It should reveal which constructions can be found in a selected area and how they are divided. Dams include hundreds of constructions. A professional heritage officer, who is to decide whether to process and submit a proposal for the inclusion of a dam in the list of cultural heritage, thus faces the problem of how to carry out the analysis effectively. This article describes a procedure for using both cluster analysis and scaling method to categorise a set of 119 dams to be able to identify exceptional, so-called iconic, structures. By comparing the selection of significant representatives of dams created by the application of the two methods, which proved to be appropriate in terms of the industrial heritage preservation, a majority concordance is reached.