This paper reports preliminary results of a feasibility project developed in cooperation with National Agency for Cultural Heritage Preservation of Georgia, and aimed at envisaging the stability conditions of the Vardzia monastery slope (rupestrian city cave in the south-western Georgia). The aim is the implementation of a low-impact monitoring system together with long-term mitigation/conservation policies. A field analysis was conducted to reconstruct geometry of the rocky cliff, characteristics of discontinuities, main failure modes, and volume of potential unstable blocks and geomechanical parameters. Instability processes are the combination of causative factors such as the following: lithology, frequency and orientation of discontinuities, slope orientation, physical and mechanical characteristics of slope-forming materials, and morphological and hydrological boundary conditions. The combined adoption of different survey techniques (e.g., 3D laser scanner, ground-based radar interferometry) could be the best solution in the interdisciplinary field of cultural heritage preservation policies. The collected data will be the basis for future activities to be completed in collaboration with local authorities for a complete hazard and risk characterization for the monastery site and the development of an early warning system to allow safe exploitation for touristic activities and for historical site preservation.

Rock-carved cultural heritage sites are often developed in slopes formed by weak rocks, which due to their peculiar lithological, geotechnical, and morpho-structural features are characterized by excellent carvability, which at the same time makes them prone to weathering, deterioration, and slope instability issues. In this context the use of advanced close-range nondestructive techniques, such as Infrared Thermography (IRT) and Unmanned Aerial vehicle-based Digital Photogrammetry (UAV-DP) can be profitably used for the rapid detection of conservation issues (e.g., open fractures, unstable ledges-niches, water seepage and moisture) that can lead to slope instability phenomena. These techniques, when combined with traditional methods (e.g., field surveys, laboratory analysis), can provide fundamental data (such as 3D maps of the kinematic mechanisms) to implement a site-specific and interdisciplinary approach for the sustainable protection and conservation of such fragile cultural heritage sites. In this paper some examples of conservation problems in several rupestrian sites characterized by different geological contexts, from the mountainous regions of Georgia to the ancient city of Petra in Jordan, are presented, with the aim of evaluating the potential of the proposed integrated approach. The final aim is to provide conservators, practitioners, and local authorities with a useful, versatile, and low-cost methodology, to be profitably used in the protection and conservation strategies of rock-carved sites.

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<p>Rock<strong>-</strong>carved cultural heritage sites are often carved in slopes formed by weak rocks, which due to their peculiar lithological, geotechnical and morpho-structural features are often prone to weathering, deterioration and slope instability issues. In this context the use of advanced close-range remote sensing (RS) techniques, such as Infrared Thermography (IRT) and Unmanned Aerial vehicle-based Digital Photogrammetry (UAV-DP) can be profitably used for the rapid detection of conservation issues (e.g. open fractures, unstable ledges-niches, water seepage and moisture) that can lead to slope instability phenomena. These techniques when combined with traditional methods (e.g. field surveys, laboratory analysis), can provide fundamental data to implement a specific site-specific and inter-disciplinary approach for the sustainable protection and conservation strategies of Rock<strong>-</strong>carved cultural heritage sites. In this paper some examples of conservation problems in several rupestrian sites characterized by different geological contexts, from the mountainous regions of Georgia to the ancient city of Petra in Jordan, are presented, with the aim of evaluating the potential of the proposed approach integrated approach. The final aim is to provide conservators, practitioners and local authorities with a useful versatile and low-cost methodology, to be profitably used in management plans of rock carved sites.</p>