UIA 2021 RIO: 27th World Congress of Architects Architectural Palimpsest and Its Effect on Cultural Identity A Tool of Manipulation and Its Social Power Zhongqi Ren Beijing University of Civil Engineering and Architecture *Supported by Beijing Social Science Foundation (20LSC014) *Supported by Scientific Research Program of Beijing Municipal Education Commission (KM202110016016) *Supported by Beijing Advanced Innovation Center for Future Urban Design (X20021) Abstract paper also tries to open up a perspective for Palimpsest is a re-editing process in which researches on social dimensions of the existing layers of objects or traces were architectural heritage, and it is hoped that covered or removed, partially or this paper could raise the awareness of completely. As the architectural heritage architectural palimpsest in the past, and can be understood as accumulation of especially the ones being created at present. layers, thus palimpsest could effectively modify the interpretation of it. To achieve particular goals such as manipulating Its evil day must come at last; but let it cultural identity, by erasing and covering come declaredly and openly, and let no the “unpleasant” layers, palimpsest could dishonoring and false substitute deprive blur and twist the information and it of the funeral offices of memory. connotation that people receive from the —John Ruskin, heritage. In a way, the architectural Seven Lamps of Architecture palimpsest could cause double damages to the heritage, one is the irreversible destruction of authentic historical Palimpsest, a tool of modifying information, another one is blurring the historical layers way that people interpret the history and Palimpsest, from Greek word palimpsēstos (παλίμψηστος), which consists of palin “again” cultural identity. and psēstos “rubbed smooth”.[1] As the stemming shows, it describes a re-editing By comparing the past scenario with process in which the original existence was present, architectural palimpsest could be covered or removed, partially or completely. identified, but to explore the way that Originally, palimpsest was mainly used to palimpsest get realized, as well as its reutilize the costly parchment in the era when influence on cultural identity, one has to papyrus and paper were not widely applied. In look through the evidence to see the early era, people would write another layer of motivation and method of an architectural texts in different direction on top of original palimpsest, especially in the situation that texts. Later on, some church scholars developed the palimpsest producer deliberately tried a technique that uses mixture of milk and oat to blur the authenticity. bran to wash parchment for getting blank surfaces to write new content on. In this way, the This paper takes Mosque Cathedral of faint remains of the former writing would have Cordoba and Nuremburg historical a chance to reappear after years, and this cityscape as examples, by briefly provides a possibility that people could discover [2] overlooking the past and present and decipher the original text later on. At that existences, it tries to review the possible moment, palimpsest was more or less a neutral purpose, method, process and tool that few people would doubt the consequences of these intentional authenticity of information after the new architectural palimpsest. Meantime, the modified layers, since the techniques require considerable amount of expenses and time. PAPERS: VOLUME II of III 717 UIA 2021 RIO: 27th World Congress of Architects field. But the war was not always carried out by Considering the history as a process of swords, erasing people’s original belief was a accumulating layers, the information and its more efficient way to stabilize the conquered evidence of past would be gradually covered by people. Thus, the religious architecture became newer ones in the stream of time. Thus, witness and victims of this “war”. Some removing or modifying the historical layers of buildings were directly demolished, some others heritages would cause inevitable damages to its may still luckily stand, but were palimpsest to historical information. However, palimpsest represent the glory of another religion. could do more. Imagine when people scrape out some layers, they would have chances to decide In Cordoba, the most iconic architecture is the which layers to be taken out, “beautified” or Mosque Cathedral of Cordoba. As the title exposed, that could make another level of implies, there is a complicated history between impact to the heritage. Undoubtedly, this action the Christians and Muslims in Cordoba. Since could effectively erase the “unpleasant” layers the Roman administration, Cordoba had become and leave the wanted ones for others to read and one of the most important cities in the region. In interpret, in order to blur and twist the the later several centuries, the domination and information and connotation that people receive jurisdiction of the city passed through Byzantine from the heritage. According to the purposes Empire and Visigoths, until it was conquered by and demands, the architectural palimpsest could Muslims in 8th Century. Because Cordoba be carried out in the forms of superimposition, locates besides the Strait of Gibraltar, it is one blur, clip and collage, etc. of the first places where Muslims from North Africa landed in Europe, and the frontier where With these fascinated advantages, in the history, cultures and religions encounter and mutually manipulating heritage or architecture by influent. palimpsest to influent cultural identity is always a cost-effective option for people who want to The site of the Mosque Cathedral of Cordoba obtain supreme social power. Because as Moha was originally occupied by a Roman temple Ennaji indicated, “culture is the content within during the Roman regime, then Visigoths which people exist, think, feel and relate to replaced it by Christian Basilica of San Vicente others. It is the glue that binds a group of people after the occupation. When Cordoba was together. Cultural identity can be described as an conquered by Muslims in 711AD, Abd al- internal power of belonging that links people Rahman I converted the church into mosque. [4] together as a unity.” [3] As the indispensable carrier of cultural identity, heritage or As the rehabilitation of Visigoths’ heritage, the architectural existences with intentional Great Mosque was not firstly built in the present modification, could also be utilized as beacon scale. At beginning, the mosque was even and weapon. Meanwhile, the intentional smaller than the previous church buildings palimpsest is commonly utilized to achieve cluster. While, some of the previous church goals in various aspects, such as religion, materials were reused in the construction, which politics and culture, with the manipulated were deliberately damaged to remove Christian restoration as tools and covers. traces. [5] Afterwards, since the Muslims’ regime got consolidated and developed, the mosque This paper thus takes two specific examples, received several expansions in the ninth and Mosque Cathedral of Cordoba and Nuremburg tenth centuries. The major part of the mosque, historical cityscape out from abundant the Prayer Room was enlarged and upgraded evidences, by overlooking the past and present three times under decrees of Abd Al Rahman II, existences, tries to review the possible purposes, Al Rahman III and Almanzor. Until the era of methods, process and consequences of these Almanzor, as previous Sultans expected, the intentional architectural palimpsest. Great Mosque of Cordoba had become extremely significant that made city of Cordoba Stratigraphy of a church. recognized as important as Baghdad, Jerusalem Cordoba and Damascus for Muslims. [6] In Medieval age, Christians and Muslims competed to acquire dominant power over In 1236, Cordoba was captured by King Mediterranean rim, so the places on the Ferdinand III and Christians. People soon boundary such as Spain inevitably became battle started to remove the influence of Muslims, not 718 PAPERS: VOLUME II of III UIA 2021 RIO: 27th World Congress of Architects Figure 1. Historical plans of the Great Mosque of Cordoba (in ages of Visigoths, Al Rahman I, Al Rahman II, Al Rahman III, Almanzor). Historical plans of the Great Mosque of Cordoba, http://archnet.org/collections/843/publications /1237, Author modified Figure 2. Plan comparison between the Mosque and Cathedral. Historical plans of the Great Mosque of Cordoba, http://archnet.org/collections/843/ publications/ 1237, Author modified surprisingly, the Great Mosque of Cordoba Around beginning of 15th century, a purge became the first priority to deal with. Because of movement was carried out in Spain. Muslims its enormous historical value and reputation in and Jews were given compulsory options, Islamic world, people decided not to demolish leaving the country or converting their belief to it. Instead, they restored it and turned it into Christianity. But for architectures, there wasn’t church by only adding chapels, burial spaces that much choices, like the mosques in Toledo, and other ritual architectural components, left Granada, Seville and other cities were the main layout of the mosque untouched. Just completely demolished and replaced by gothic as what Muslim did to Basilica of San Vicente, or renaissance churches. In 16th Century, under by the architectural palimpsest, the radical social the decree from Charles V, the central arches of and religious transformation could be