ABSTRACT

This entry defines site museums and monuments and identifies the most commonly existing subtypes that fall within the definition of site museums and monuments. Examples of cultural patrimony from different regions of the world representing each type are included. The entry then provides a brief historical background, with specific reference to the role of site museums and monuments as agents of cultural unity and their subsequent vulnerability, particularly during times of war. This entry will also address legislation passed and organizations founded in the effort to protect the world’s sites of cultural heritage. The entry then proceeds with an overview of some of the controversial issues concerning interpretation and preservation faced today by site museums and monuments and those charged with administering them. It ends by touching on the future prospects of site museums and monuments in an environment of globalization.