Climate change risk management in archaeological areas: the role of ICOMOS

Despite the abrupt changes and countless dangerous events it has faced over time, archaeological heritage is a “fragile and non-renewable resource”. Indeed, those called upon to protect and manage ancient artifacts must always face not only anthropogenic hazards but also natural ones, the latter amplified in recent years due to cli- mate change. Since its founding, ICOMOS has devoted part of its work to the protection of this specific heritage. The result, over the years, has been the production of a variety of documents addressed to field practitioners aimed at increasing awareness and sharing knowledge to deal with the multiple risks affecting heritage. The contribution intends to reflect on the evolution of concepts, critical issues and current state of art with respect to risk management issues in archaeological contexts. Retracing the extensive effort of ICOMOS on the topic, the paper aims to propose an examination on the issue of safeguarding archaeological heritage in face of climate related natural hazards.