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PRESERVATION
48 BRIEFS
Preserving Grave Markers in
Historic Cemeteries
Mary F. Striegel, Frances Gale, Jason Church, &
Debbie Dietrich-Smith
National Park Service
U.S. Department of the Interior
Technical Preservation Services
Cemeteries found across the country are not only are responsible for or are interested in preserving and
places of burial, but they also provide a vivid record protecting grave markers. Besides describing grave
of community history. Whether large or small, well marker materials and the risk factors that contribute to
maintained or neglected, historic cemeteries are an their decay, the Brief provides guidance for assessing
important part of our cultural landscape. The vast their conditions and discusses maintenance programs
richness of expression through form, decoration and and various preservation treatments.
materials informs our understanding of the individuals
buried in historic cemeteries and their cultural Also identifi ed are a number of excellent references that
signifi cance. address materials used in all grave markers, including
several other Preservation Briefs (listed in Additional
While cemeteries are often considered to be perpetual, Reading). This Brief highlights particular issues that
their most prominent feature—the grave markers— should be considered with historic grave markers.
are not. They weather, naturally decay, often are
poorly maintained and repaired and, on occasion,
are vandalized (Fig. 1). Grave markers are usually Types of Traditional Grave Markers
noteworthy not only for their inscriptions but also for
their craftsmanship. Exceptional markers are considered The great variety in the types of grave markers is a
works of art.
fascinating aspect of the study and appreciation of
This Preservation Brief focuses on a single aspect of historic cemeteries. Three broad categories can be used
historic cemetery preservation—providing guidance to describe grave markers—(1) single-element, (2)
for owners, property managers, administrators, in- multiple-element, and (3) structures. Single-element
house maintenance staff , volunteers, and others who grave markers are stone, cast iron, or wood elements
that are set in a vertical position or placed as a horizontal
slab on the ground (Fig. 2). Early examples of this
simplest type of grave markers are fi eld stone and basic
wooden or wrought iron crosses, with the name of the
deceased person scratched into or engraved on the
marker. Often, these rudimentary grave markers are
overlooked, signifi cantly deteriorated, or lost. Vertical
stone slabs and large stone ledgers laid horizontally over
the gravesite are more sophisticated examples of this
type.
Multiple-element grave markers are found in a number
of diff erent forms (Fig. 3). In the most typical form, a
grave marker would consist of two stones—an upper
headstone placed on top of a base stone. The upper
Figure 1. Sandstone and slate grave markers in the Ancient headstone may be secured in a number of diff erent ways
Burying Ground in New London, CT, display a variety of weathering to the base. In the simplest of forms, the upper stone was
conditions. Markers in the cemetery date from the mid-17th to the placed on the base, set in a bed of mortar on top of the
early 19th centuries. Photo: Jason Church. base, or joined with pins and mortar. With a “tab-and-
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