Have you ever gone to the cemetery and tried to read the name on a headstone and could not? That's because of a process called weathering. Weathering is a natural occurance and affects headstones when they come in contact with the environment and its elements.
LETTERING ALTERATION
Rahn (1971) and Meierding (1993) suggested that the alteration of carved lettering on headstones follows a sequence of deterioration. The lettering becomes progressively roughened and difficult to read. The edges of the carved surface at first become less distinct as granular disintegration occurs. The whole letter begins to merge into the surface of the headstone as the agents of erosion remove the surface. Eventually the lettering becomes almost indistinguishable from the surface of the headstone itself. Once the lettering is indistinguishable the method becomes inappropriate to use. Although this method can not provide any absolute measurements of the amount of material lost, it can provide a relative measure of deterioration.
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Visual Weathering Class
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Visual Indicators of Class |
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1
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Lettering sharp and distinct. No evidence of change. |
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2
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Lettering slightly rounded showing evidence of some removal of grains. Still legible and cleat though. |
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3
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Lettering rounded. Edges clearly being removed and some original edges removed completely. Still legible and clear. |
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4
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Lettering rounded. All or most original edges removed, but lettering still legible, but increasingly becoming indistinct from the surface of gravestone. |
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5
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Lettering disintegrating. Lettering still just about legible, but now almost indistinguishable from the surface of the gravestone. |
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6
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What lettering? Lettering virtually disappeared. Need to be able to make out date to be able to date period over which lettering has disappeared. |
LOGGING REQUIREMENTS
In order to log this Earthcache, submit your answers to the following questions either through email or messaging from my profile page.
**NOTE - Coords have been taken more times than you know! Weather, tree cover, device used, etc will cause inconsistent but similar readings. Please remember that readings can be up to 16' off and be sure to look around the area if you don't see the head stone right away.
**Use your best educated guess on these. Deterioration often has a degree of judgement.
**To ensure you are evaluation the correct headstone, a hint is provided in the waypoint notes.
**Posted coords take you to Stage 1.
Question - Evaluate each stone and tell me how you would rate these in order starting with Class 1. What visual indicators made you determine each choice?