Cemetery Conservation
Colonial Cemetery Conservation
In 1990 the City of Savannah began an extended preservation project to maintain Colonial Cemetery for future generations. Several areas of investigation were undertaken in order to understand the site thoroughly.
Historical research documented changes that took place over the site’s 250-year history. Researchers updated an existing map and photographed and inventoried all markers. Burial records, city council minutes, newspaper articles, probate records, and early maps revealed additions to the site, periods of disrepair and upheaval, landscaping changes, ownership changes, and previous restoration efforts.
Archaeology was used to locate unmarked graves. In addition to the 557 marked graves, archaeologists located 8,678 unmarked graves, suggesting the likelihood of overburials and overlapping of graves from different decades.
The conservation philosophy of the project was one of minimal intervention, seeking to stabilize markers without making them look like new. Conservators treated hundreds of deteriorating tabletstones, ledgers, vaults, box tombs, and iron fences. Some markers were broken in several pieces, while others had pieces missing. Some stones tilted or leaned precariously. Vaults needed repair to roofs and repointing of failing mortar joints. Ironwork was treated, using original construction techniques, whenever possible. Cleaning for its own sake was not a priority, in part due to available funding and in part due to the damage that is ultimately done in repeatedly cleaning even sound stone.
Markers to be treated were selected by balancing public safety, urgency, vulnerability, and historic and artistic significance. One way of judging the success of the conservation efforts is to see how many markers do not appear to have been repaired. If the work is not readily apparent, treatment is considered a success. |
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