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Nomination of the Monastic City of Clonmacnoise and Its Cultural Landscape for Inclusion in the WORLD HERITAGE LIST

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Nomination of the Monastic City of Clonmacnoise and Its Cultural Landscape for Inclusion in the WORLD HERITAGE LIST DRAFT Nomination of The Monastic City of Clonmacnoise and its Cultural Landscape For inclusion in the WORLD HERITAGE LIST Clonmacnoise World Heritage Site Draft Nomination Form Contents EXECUTIVE SUMMARY .................................................................................................III 1. IDENTIFICATION OF THE PROPERTY ......................................................................1 1.a Country:..................................................................................................1 1.b State, Province or Region:......................................................................1 1.c Name of Property: ..................................................................................1 1.d Geographical co-ordinates to the nearest second ..................................1 1.e Maps and plans, showing the boundaries of the nominated property and buffer zone ........................................................................................................2 1.f Area of nominated property (ha.) and proposed buffer zone (ha.)..........3 2. DESCRIPTION..............................................................................................................4 2.a Description of Property ..........................................................................4 2.b History and development......................................................................31 3. JUSTIFICATION FOR INSCRIPTION ........................................................................38 3.a Criteria under which inscription is proposed .........................................38 3.b Statement of Outstanding Universal Value...........................................40 3.c Comparative analysis ...........................................................................43 3.d Integrity and Authenticity ......................................................................52 4. STATE OF CONSERVATION AND FACTORS AFFECTING THE PROPERTY.......55 4.a Present state of conservation ...............................................................55 4.b Factors affecting the property ...............................................................57 5. PROTECTION AND MANAGEMENT OF THE PROPERTY......................................62 5.a Ownership ............................................................................................62 5.b Protective designation ..........................................................................63 5.c Means of implementing protective measures .......................................65 5.d Existing plans related to municipality and region in which the proposed property is located ...........................................................................................73 5.e Property management plan or other management system...................74 5.f Sources and levels of finance...............................................................78 5.g Sources of expertise and training in conservation and management techniques.......................................................................................................78 5.h Visitor facilities and statistics ................................................................78 5.i Policies and programmes related to the presentation and promotion of the property .....................................................................................................80 5.j Staffing levels (professional, technical, maintenance) ..........................81 6. MONITORING.............................................................................................................83 6.a Key indicators for measuring state of conservation ..............................83 i Clonmacnoise World Heritage Site Draft Nomination Form 6.b Administrative arrangements for monitoring property ...........................86 6.c Results of previous reporting exercises................................................87 7. DOCUMENTATION ................................................................................................88 7.a Photographs, slides, image inventory and authorization table and other audiovisual materials.......................................................................................88 7.b Texts relating to protective designation, copies of property management plans or documented management systems and extracts of other plans relevant to the property ...................................................................................89 7.c Form and date of most recent records or inventory of property............89 7.d Address where inventory, records and archives are held .....................96 7.e Bibliography..........................................................................................97 8. CONTACT INFORMATION OF RESPONSIBLE AUTHORITIES ............................110 8.a Preparer..............................................................................................110 8.b Official Local Institution/Agency..........................................................110 8.c Other Local Institutions.......................................................................110 8.d Official Web address ..........................................................................110 9. SIGNATURE ON BEHALF OF THE STATE PARTY...........................................111 APPENDICES APPENDIX A: PHOTOGRAPHS APPENDIX B: DRAFT MANAGEMENT PLAN FOR CLONMACNOISE ii Clonmacnoise World Heritage Site Draft Nomination Form Executive Summary This information, to be provided by the State Party, will be updated by the Secretariat following the decision by the World Heritage Committee. It will then be returned to the State Party confirming the basis on which the property is inscribed on the World Heritage List. State Party Republic of Ireland State, Province or Region COUNTIES OFFALY, ROSCOMMON AND WESTMEATH Name of Property THE MONASTIC CITY OF CLONMACNOISE AND ITS CULTURAL LANDSCAPE Geographical coordinates to the nearest The centre of the site is Lat 53 deg 19 min 40 second sec N / Long 7 deg 58 min 43 sec W Textual description of the boundary (ies) of Existing designations have been consulted the nominated property when drawing the proposed core and buffer zones. These include the Archaeological Registered Area (around the monastic site), SAC, NHA and SPA designations, along with the data on eskers (including the esker study undertaken by Offaly County Council). However, in some cases (especially the eskers) the existing designations do not fully cover the proposed core zone and the proposed zone covers areas which do not currently have protected designations. In addition, the cultural landscape of Clonmacnoise is not just confined to County Offaly but naturally extends into parts of Counties Roscommon and Westmeath. Including the callows in the core zone presents the challenge of deciding upon boundaries to the area south and north of the site along the River Shannon. To the south a boundary at the river crossing at Shannonbridge is suggested as there is a narrowing of the callows at this location. To the north the boundary is suggested at the north end of Long Island as this represents the limits of extensive callows around Clonmacnoise and is also the limit of recent grassland mapping by the Parks and iii Clonmacnoise World Heritage Site Draft Nomination Form Wildlife Service. A4 (or “letter”) size map of the nominated See Attached property, showing boundaries and buffer zone (if present) Justification The monastic city of Clonmacnoise is the finest example in the world of an early medieval Statement of Outstanding Universal Value Insular city. Unlike Iona or Lindisfarne, that (text should clarify what is considered to be the were abandoned after Viking raids, outstanding universal value embodied by the Clonmacnoise continued to develop. However, nominated property) it did not grow into a modern metropolis like its medieval rival, Armagh, declining in the late twelfth century, leaving a superb example of a relict monastic city. Archaeological excavation has revealed evidence of craft and metal working, nucleation, and planned urban or semi-urban development of eighth/ninth century date on a larger scale than is apparent today in any other non-Viking Irish context. The urban development of Clonmacnoise is relatively early in the chronology of urban development outside the boundaries of the Old Roman Empire. No other locality can provide such an understanding of the development of urbanism generally in Atlantic Europe, as well as clarifying non-Viking urbanisation in an Irish context. The relict monastic city of Clonmacnoise contains superlative examples of Insular art and architecture, exemplified by the stunning Cross of the Scriptures. Its archaeological and architectural importance is matched by an exemplary documentary record. The landscape is one shaped by geological, glacial, fluvial and climatic events that have created a hugely diverse environment including active raised bog, fenland, eskers, callows and raised limestone pavement over a remarkably small area. This unique landscape includes many of the most important yet fragile and vulnerable habitats for the preservation of biodiversity in situ. Rare and endangered flora iv Clonmacnoise World Heritage Site Draft Nomination Form and fauna exist here. One essential reason for the survival of these species has been that this landscape has been maintained by human agency for hundreds of years. The unique, flat and open landscape of Clonmacnoise with its small-scale variation
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