Beyond the Gravestone: GIS-based Spatial Analysis of Historic Cemeteries

Summary

This is an abstract from the session entitled "Paper / Report Submission (General Sessions)", at the 2025 annual meeting of the Society for Historical Archaeology.

Until now, GIS (Geographic Information Systems) and spatial analysis have been underutilized in the investigation of the development of extant historic cemeteries and their memorials. Using the main nineteenth-century cemeteries in Liverpool, UK, it is possible to explore how the material aspects of memorials affected, or were affected by, their location. The development of the cemeteries and the spatial organization of memorials within them can reflect management style as well as personal choice, and comparing several cemeteries reveals notable differences. On a wider scale, the relationship between the city and burial ground can be visualized and analyzed. When considering not only the move of the burial place away from the city center, but also the locations of the residences of the deceased and the locations of local masonry firms, a wider picture shows the way the city and its inhabitants interacted with the cemetery.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Paper / Report Submission (General Sessions)   •
• Society for Historical Archaeology 2025

Keywords

Individual & Institutional Roles

Contact(s): Nicole Haddow