Carved Lettering - Burford Congregational Cemetery EarthCache

Welcome to my Earthcache! An Earthcache is a special type of geocache where there is no container to find - instead you are looking for a unique geological feature of the area and need to answer questions, as well as posting a picture, in order to claim the find.

This earthcache takes you to the Burford Congregational Cemetery, one of the oldest fully mapped and marked cemeteries in Ontario. Here, you will find graves dating back to 1834 with several of the souls resting here born in the 1700's. While the terrain is flat, there are no roads, sidewalks or other features in this cemetery, therefore I have marked it as not wheelchair accessible. Dogs are absolutely not permitted in any Brant County Cemetery under local bylaws. 

EARTHCACHE REQUIREMENTS

As with all of my ECs, I am not looking for PhD thesis level responses, but I am hoping that you take some time to enjoy the area and learn something new. Please include a list of all cachers with your answer, if answering for more than one caching name. There is no need to send individual answers. 

To claim a 'find' for this Earthcache you must answer the following questions and send your answers in a message or email to the owner using the link at the top of the page. You can log your find with a photo at GZ. Send your answers to the tasks. I will be in contact if there is a problem, no need to wait for a response as long as the required photo is included in your log. Answers not sent within 4 days may be deleted.

Logging Tasks

1. Visit each of the 7 gravestone markers, listed in the additional waypoints. Based on your visit, fill in the following chart based on your observations:

2. Based on your observations, is there a correlation between the date of passing and the degree of weathering seen?

3. Based on your observations, is there a correlation between the type of stone and the degree of weathering seen?

4. MANDATORY - post a photo of yourself with the Burford Congregational cemetery sign, located just inside the gate of the cemetery near the posted coordinates. You do not need to show your face in the photo (you can show a thumbs up, the top of your head, a signature item, your GPS, etc) but the photo must be unique to you

Eathcache Information

TYPES OF STONES

There are three main types of rock used to carve gravestones - limestone, marble, and sandstone. 

LIMESTONE
Limestone is a sedimentary rock composed primarily of calcium carbonate (CaCO3) in the form of the mineral calcite. It most commonly forms in clear, warm, shallow marine waters. It is usually an organic sedimentary rock that forms from the accumulation of shell, coral, algal and fecal debris.

MARBLE
Marble is a metamorphic rock formed when limestone is exposed to high temperatures and pressures. Marble forms under such conditions because the calcite forming the limestone recrystallises forming a denser rock consisting of roughly equigranular calcite crystals. It comes in a variety of colors depending on the purity of the calcite and the inclusion of other minerals such as clay, micas, quartz, pyrite, iron oxides, and graphite. 

SANDSTONE (Cemented sand)
Sandstone is often red to brown, light gray to nearly white. It usually is composed of rounded grains of sand that are all of the same size; and it is usually medium grained. Some sandstones show slight color variations in layering. It is made up of quartz but sometimes contains: feldspars, mica, glauconite (in green colored sandstone), magnetite, garnet, rutile, ilmenite. It feels gritty to the touch. 

Cemetery Geology

Tombstone geology has also been used to establish changes in environment, climate, and air pollution. Values of of 0.001 to 0.067 mm/yr for carbonate building stones in areas with varying quantities of air pollution have been reported, weathering rates of over 0.03 mm/yr for carbonate rocks in heavily air-polluted areas in the USA have been established. Mean weathering rates measured on tombstones appear to vary linearly with mean annual rainfall at locations along the 10°C mean annual isotherm in the United States. Weathering is most rapid on upper portions of stone faces, which recede at about 1 mm/1,000 yrs where mean annual rainfall is 200 mm/yr, and 16 mm/1,000 yrs when rainfall is 1,000 mm/yr. These rates are about 50% greater than on central inscribed portions of vertical faces and on upward-facing horizontal slabs. Weathering rates of marble tombstones are perhaps one-quarter of those reported for limestone denudation in locations with similar climates and about one-half of the rates on marble tombstones in heavily polluted environments. 

In an effort to establish these weather rates, a classification system was developed, and then further refinded, by researchers. This lead to the development of the Rahn Classification scale in 1971, which was later altered and defined in the Meierding Classification scale in 1993. 

CARVED LETTERING

The deterioration of carved lettering gives a qualitative measure of gravestone weathering.There are two main classifications used to determine the degree of weathering a stone is experiencing. 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.

VISUAL CLASSIFICATION ... Meierding 1993

1. Lettering is sharp and distinct
2. Lettering is slightly rounded but still legible and clear
3. Lettering is legible but rounded with some edges clearly removed
4. Lettering is rounded with all or most original edges removed. It is still legible, but becoming more indistinct from the surface of the grave
5. Lettering is still just about legible, but now almost indistinguishable from the surface of the gravestone
6. Lettering has virtually disappeared

VISUAL CLASSIFICATION ... Rahn 1971

1. Lettering sharp and distinct. 
2. Lettering slightly rounded showing evidence of some removal of grains. Still legible and cleat though.
3. Lettering rounded. Edges clearly being removed and some original edges removed completely. Still legible and clear.
4. Lettering rounded. All or most original edges removed, but lettering still legible, but increasingly becoming indistinct from the surface of gravestone.
5. Lettering disintegrating. Lettering still just about legible, but now almost indistinguishable from the surface of the gravestone.
6. What lettering? Lettering virtually disappeared. Need to be able to make out date to be able to date period over which lettering has disappeared.

By performing measurements and using the classifications scales from Rahn and Meierding, scientists can develop ways to track weathering and stone deterioration over time, develop new methods of stone preservation, and provide insite into preservation efforts being completed by historians. 

Details About this Earthcache

The Burford Congregational Cemetery is open to the public for visitation from 8:00am until dusk, 7 days per week. For this reason, please limit your visit to daylight hours only. Parking and access are available on Maple Ave S. Please obey all no parking signs. Dogs, ATVs, off-road vehicles are absolutely not permitted in the cemetery at any time. 

This cache was placed by a PROUD Platinum Earthcache Master.