NCPTT

There are many good resources for more information about cemetery preservation, including books, nonprofit organizations, and Internet sites.

The conservation of the King Kamehameha I sculpture in North Kohola, Hawai`I demonstrates a dynamic of public involvement in conservation.

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.

NCPTT researchers, in partnership with masonry experts from NPS Historic Preservation Training Center, recently completed a study to develop treatments for use on marble monuments in Historic Congressional Cemetery.

The grant allowed for documentation of traditional language, foods, music and the cultural landscapes associated with the Timbisha Shoshone people in their aboriginal territories.

NCPTT was awarded the Oliver Torrey Fuller Award at the Association of Preservation Technology International (APTI) conference in October.

NCPTT’s held its sixth annual Cemetery Monument Conservation workshop October 7-9, 2008, in New London, Connecticut. Twenty-six registrants participated in a variety of hands-on sessions.

NCPTT has received the PTT grant product “Wooden Artifacts in Cemeteries: A Reference Manual,” submitted by the Historic Preservation Commission; the City of Aspen, Colorado, and Anthony & Associates.

This report provides information and progress on the comparative study of commercially available cleaners for federally issued headstones.

This report presents a review of the literature followed by recommendations based on best practices for the analysis of historic cement-based materials. The report is geared towards the practicing analyst.

NCPTT’s materials research program hosted representatives from Hybrid Plastics. The company specializes in new resin and plastics based on a new chemical technology called POSS.

NCPTT’s Curtis Deselles, a graduate student in the Masters of Heritage Resources program at Northwestern State University of Louisiana, is developing a handheld metal tester using eddy current technology.

NCPTT is developing better strategies for the removal of graffiti from brick masonry buildings.

Molly McGath, NCPTT summer intern, is studying interactions between air pollution and limestone treated with commonly used chemical stone strengtheners.

The National Center for Preservation Technology and Training (NCPTT) and Northwestern State University seek a Ph.D. analytical, organic, or physical chemist to fill a joint-faculty position for two years, with an option for annual renewal pending availability of funds.

Development of a Rapid Indicator of Biodeterioration of Historic Stone. Ralph Mitchell, principal investigator, and Christopher J. McNamara, of Harvard School of Engineering and Applied Sciences worked to identify microbial species for possible use as a microbiological indicator for identification of stone deterioration.

Here are nine tips for cemetery preservation that I have learned.