How did people pick out their gravestones before the internet? Maybe you want a big cross or a small rectangle. Fancy script or an image of a person. In the past, help with these options came in the form of from a travelling salesman carrying a big book filled with images of stone shapes and colors, etched plates, and examples of lettering. This was just one of the neat history facts unearthed at a gravestone cleaning workshop at the historic St. George’s Cemetery in. Newburgh.
Cemetery
expert and Town of Delhi Historian Marianne Greenfield led the session on
Saturday, June 22 which covered gravestone varieties, construction, and the
care and restoration of stones which can be hundreds of years old. As owner of Delhi-based
Gravestone Cleaning Service and member of the Association of Gravestone Studies,
she is familiar with the right way to clean a gravestones using methods that
are both environmentally and historically sound.
Greenfield’s
approach to her work abides by the tenant of archaeology “to do no harm.” Household
cleaning products are disastrous to stones. Chemicals like bleach work against
the process or preservation by disrupting the matrix that gives the stone its
integrity, particularly for very thin marble varieties. Gravestones are porous
and absorb liquid. The only cleaning solution Greenfield uses is D/2 Biological
Solution, a biodegradable liquid that removes stains caused by “biota,” or
natural substances, like mold, lichens, mildew and algae. It is safe on
architectural materials such as marble, limestone, granite, stucco, and more.
The solution is non-toxic and doesn’t even require gloves or ventilation. It is
safe to use around plantings and continues to clean historical monuments across
the U.S. including the White House and Arlington Cemetery.
Greenfield’s
workshop participants sprayed D/2 on the stones and let it sit for 15 minutes. What
to scrub with? Not wire brushes which can nick surfaces creating opportunistic
cracks that expand in winter when ice enters. Greenfield starts with a
chiseling motion with wood chopsticks followed by firm but gentle motions with
a plastic scrub brush. Greenfield discourages the use of weed killers like
RoundUp which are not only environmentally toxic, but kill grass surrounding
the stones creating brown sludge which loosens stones and leads to instability.
Many
stones were covered with layers of lichen, which is a reaction between fungus
and algae. Despite public perception lichen is not harmful to the stones and
actually acts as a preservation feature. An acid eating theory was disproved
when studies of the faces of newly-scraped lichen-covered stones revealed the lichen
side to be 1/8” thicker than the side that was exposed to rain which contains
elements of pollution. After scrubbing the stones were rinsed with water.
Greenfield
pointed out different styles of gravestones at St. George’s Cemetery including obelisk,
white bronze, and sandstone tablets. Some stones have a “popped” textured base
that looks like crinkled paper. Other stones can have images of people. Greenfield
talked about Civil-war era stones with faces that were created when photography
was still in its infancy.
Participants
saw a demonstration of “triangulation” during which an angled mirror directs
sunlight onto the face of a stone, illuminating its surface for better
visibility and photography. Greenfield touched on gravestone rubbings, a practice
of recording etchings by covering an etched stone with paper and rubbing the
surface with a wax crayon. Doing this ethically means not letting the wax touch
the stone and she recounted a story about coming across a gravestone smeared
with wax which transferred when a piece of paper was flipped and used twice.
The
workshop was an informative and accessible way to walk through this magnificent
cemetery and get close up with restoration practices that preserve history.
Gravestone
Cleaning Service: www.gravestonecleaningservice.com
Association
of Gravestone Studies: www.gravestonestudies.org
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