This project is about saving historic wooden artifacts in cemeteries. Cemeteries are important repositories of local and national history, valued not only for the stories they tell, but also for their emotional and civic connections. Cemeteries in the United States range from large, well-funded and well-maintained historic sacred grounds to forgotten, or nearly forgotten, patches in the rural landscape. In all these locations, monuments and other artifacts are constantly under assault from the forces of sun, wind, rain, snow, ground water, pollution and vandalism. For cemetery stewards, this constant assault creates a tremendous challenge – to forestall the deterioration of
irreplaceable civic and personal historic resources.
To aid cemetery stewards, whether paid or volunteer, numerous references on the weathering and maintenance of stone and metal artifacts exist (e.g. Winkler, 1986; Matero, Curtis, Hinchman and Peters 2002). However, wooden artifacts, such as grave markers and enclosures, present a particularly dire problem. Not only do they deteriorate more rapidly than stone or metal artifacts, there is very little information available to aid the cemetery steward or conservator in making informed treatment decisions. Further, these wooden artifacts are often found in the smaller, rural cemeteries that are cared for by volunteer stewards with little technical training. Even when under the care of a conservator, deteriorated wood is often simply replaced with new wood (Paine, 1983).
The wooden grave markers and enclosures created by early pioneers or less affluent families without access to long-lasting monuments are in danger of being lost to the effects of time. We need better means to protect these cultural resources. This document fills the current void – the lack of easily accessible information on the conditions and conservation of wooden artifacts in cemeteries. Additionally, this document identifies the research priorities necessary to develop state-of-the-art methodologies and technologies for cemetery conservation.