Akademik Veri Yönetim Sistemi
HERITAGE AND SOCIETY, cilt.19, sa.1, ss.1-27, 2026 (ESCI, Scopus)
This study examines how displaced Syrian refugees maintain connections to destroyed archaeological heritage through the concept of “memory without monuments.” The Syrian civil war resulted in destruction of UNESCO World Heritage sites including Palmyra, Aleppo, and Bosra, and displacement of over 13 million Syrians. While existing literature documents physical destruction, how displaced communities remember heritage without physical access remains unexplored. Employing phenomenological methods with 27 Syrian refugees in Hatay, Turkey, this study reveals how embodied memory persists despite monument absence. The research synthesizes Place Attachment Theory, Social Identity Theory, and Cultural Memory Theory to develop the “memory without monuments” framework. Findings reveal that participants remember archaeological sites through multisensory, embodied memories. Spatial memory maps demonstrate emotionally significant structures are drawn 2–5 times larger than actual proportions (mean 2.8x). An 88.9% concordance between interview narratives and map emphases confirms destroyed structures persist in cognitive landscapes. The study identifies generational differences: younger participants create route-based maps while older participants produce scene-based maps. This research challenges state-centric heritage paradigms by positioning refugees as legitimate heritage stakeholders and cultural knowledge bearers. It demonstrates that heritage memory operates independently of physical sites, offering methodological innovations through spatial memory mapping for examining heritage loss in conflict contexts with implications for heritage management and refugee integration policies.