Historical- The Greeks practiced cremation in the belief that flames set the soul free while the Egyptians preserved the dead with embalming so that one could travel through time and return to re inhabit the body.
- Early America held church lead graveside ceremonies using coffins filling the grave with dirt.
- Cemeteries are known as the land of visitation to the dead for the living inside a predetermined garden of stone.
- Creatively personalized headstones, sculptures and monuments give refuge to this living landscape of reflection, mourning, and respect. Preserving these relics has become just as important as the preservation of these cemetery sites themselves.
The Rousseau Cemetery in Clearwater, Florida is a great example of a preserved cemetery located in a median of land in the middle of an urban development. Located in Clearwater, Florida approximately 1 mile south of Gulf to Bay Boulevard,(SR 60) on South Hercules Avenue,the Rousseau Cemetery
established in 1870 is one of the oldest private family cemeteries in
Pinellas County, Florida.
Photograph by Pam Reagan
- The cemetery is the final resting place for some of the most notable pioneers in Pinellas County History.
- Above is an excellent example of a cemetery with typical headstones adornment where they have attached a permanent photo fetish for Billy Wayne and his car, located in Ebenezer Church Cemetery of Raleigh, North Carolina. Photograph by Timothy Juhl.
- The willow tree is a popular image on headstones. This example is from City Cemetery, Raleigh, North Carolina. Photograph by Timothy Juhl
Preservation
- The preservation primer of graveyards is vital to maintaining the beauty and funtionality which includes:
develop a plan
gravestone rubbings
volunteers
public awareness
security and funding
archeology
conservation professional
resetting old stones
monument repair
cemetery legislation
- Cemeteries provide information about history, burial customs, and local traditions.
- Great research can be done about gravestone materials, symbols, art, epitaphs, weathering, sizes, shapes, immigrants, natural disasters, epidemics, and plants, mapping, memorials, genealogy, and laws
