Virginia Archaeology Month!

This year's Virginia Archaeology Month is centered around historic cemeteries. We've even got a double-sided poster featuring great information on identification and preservation of cemetery markers. For more information on Virginia Archaeology Month 2010 or to find out how to get a free poster, contact Dee DeRoche.

Schedule from the May 21-22 Cemetery Workshop in Richmond

Friday, May 21, 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. – Lectures and Presentations

Lecture topics include: Researching and Recording Historic Cemeteries, Cleaning and Conservation of Funerary Monuments, Mortuary Archaeology, Funerary Symbolism, Genealogy, and Virginia Burial Law
Each speaker will be followed by 10 minutes of questions.

• 10:00 – 10:10 am Introduction. Mike Barber, State Archaeologist, Department of Historic Resources

• 10:10 am – 10:40 am Gone but not Forgotten: Genealogical Research using Cemetery Records. Dawn K. Tinnell, Research Archivist, Library of Virginia

• 10:40 am – 11:10 am Burial Laws in Virginia and the United States. Joanna Wilson Green, Easement Program Archaeologist, Department of Historic Resources

• 11:10 – 11:40 am Graveyard Archaeology. Dane Magoon, Archaeologist, Cultural Resources, Inc.
• 11:40 am – 12:10 pm Cemetery Iconography and Funerary Symbolism. Joanna Wilson Green, Easement Program Archaeologist, Department of Historic Resources

• 1:00 – 1:30 pm Cemetery Conservation and Documentation: What to Do and What to Avoid. Caitlin O’Grady, Conservator, Department of Historic Resources

• 1:30 – 2:00 pm DHR Cemetery Form. Jolene Smith, Archaeology Inventory Manager / DSS Accounts Manager, Department of Historic Resources

• 2:00 – 2:30 pm Intensive Surface Investigations to Locate Graves and Markers. Patrick O’Neill, President, Archeological Society of Virginia

• 2:30 – 3:00 pm Final Discussion. Mike Barber, State Archaeologist, Department of Historic Resources

Cemetery Workshop Booklet

This is the booklet distributed to participants of the May 20-21 worshop at DHR.

Cemetery Workshop Booklet

Some photos from the Richmond workshop

Workshop participant recording information about a family plot

DHR's Caitlin O'Grady explaining marker conservation and preservation

DHR's Joanna Wilson explaining cemetery iconography

Welcome!

This blog is a response to our recent Cemetery Workshop, held on May 21 and 22 in Richmond. The workshop was a great success, with over 40 participants in our Friday lecture day and more than 20 at the Saturday hands-on session at Hollywood Cemetery.

We intend to use this blog as a place to post electronic versions of resources available at the workshop, links, photos from the events, and more. Additionally, we hope that supporters of Virginia's historic cemeteries can use this blog as a forum for communication.

We also hope to use this blog to collect feedback as we take our show on the road. Check out the poll on the left hand side of the screen and let us know where to come next!