In Memoriam: Challenges in Historic Burial Ground Conservation

Summary

This is a poster submission presented at the 2020 annual meeting of the Society for Historical Archaeology.

Gravestones and monuments from settler burial grounds penetrate the North American landscape; early cemeteries function as historic resources in a myriad of ways, serving as records of ancestry, vernacular art, sociocultural and religious sentiments, and demography. Despite public interest in these sites, most struggle to preserve, maintain, and rehabilitate their spaces and markers. Volunteer groups often take gravestone repairs into their own hands without practicing safe conservation techniques, because they often do not have access to such information.

This poster will discuss common challenges in conservation of gravestones, such as time investments, money, access to knowledge, and gatekeeping within both academic and volunteer organizations, and then propose means to overcome these issues. Through a discussion with monument conservators and volunteer organizations, we strive to open a dialogue within the field of gravestone conservation, and to facilitate broader community access to resources in order to preserve gravemarkers for future generations.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Society for Historical Archaeology 2020   •
• 2020 SHA Poster Submissions

Keywords

Spatial Coverage

Individual & Institutional Roles

Contact(s): Society for Historical Archaeology

Record Identifiers

PaperId(s): 170