Beyond famous men and women: Interpreting historic burial grounds and cemeteries

Abstract

Cemeteries and burial grounds are major resources for historical archaeology, each containing hundreds if not thousands of individual monuments which are still visible, and a vast below-ground archaeology of burials with their fittings and funerary architecture in the form of catacombs, vaults and burial shafts. The preservation and management of such sites is an important element of CRM, associated as they are with emotions and identities in current populations (Bell, 1996). It is in this light that interpretation takes on a special role. The sites already have an importance to a wide range of people in the local community, but many of the historic and anthropological aspects of their value are not perceived and appreciated. Through communicating these aspects, individuals and communities may come to appreciate more such assets and protect them, which can in turn reduce vandalism and degradation. The public may also comprehend more fully the ways in which archaeologists understand the past through their study of material culture. Emphasis is given here to public interpretation rather than the use of graveyards in education. Many of the interpretative themes suggested here have not been offered to a wider public despite being explicitly addressed within curriculum development (Duca, 1974; Hill and Mays, 1987; Christie, 1991; Purkis, 1995; Mytum, 2000). Most urban cemeteries were established in the nineteenth century to provide suitable burial spaces for the growing populations of the increasingly industrialized cities (Curl, 1972; Brooks, 1989; Sloane, 1991). The motivations varied greatly for the establishment of burial grounds away from the control of the established church. Often a number of factors combined, but frequently included the provision of a less overcrowded burial environment with consequent improvements in health (Mytum, 1989), the ability of religious and ethnic minorities to have appropriate burial (Rugg, 1998), the creation appropriate landscapes for commemoration (Bender, 1974; Linden-Ward, 1989), and making a profit (Sloane, 1991). Rural burial grounds for whole communities, particular religious groups, or individual families, all have opportunities for interpretation on an appropriate scale. Each cemetery has its own history; its local causes for establishment, increases in size, modifications of policies, and changing landscape use around it. Yet many cemeteries can be placed in regional, national and indeed global perspective, as the reactions to similar problems can be seen to be resolved in a finite number of ways (Mytum, 2003a,b). Thus, the interpretation of cemeteries can be at the very local or regional level, or considering national and international trends. This in itself creates the opportunities for varied and alternative interpretations, without considering theoretical approaches that would also affect the emphases offered in readings of the remains. Examples are drawn from Britain, Europe, America and Australia to illustrate how similar both the evidence and the opportunities for interpretation are over many parts of the globe. Most cemeteries at present offer no permanent on-site historical or archaeological interpretation, or at most a few small interpretation panels as at the Granary Burial Ground Boston (Figure 25.1). Some, however, have developed materials in the form of leaflets for use by the local population, schools or tourists. Independently produced guides also exist, though most of these cover cities or regions rather than individual sites (Sarapin, 1994; Sive, 1998). With the growth of what has been termed dark tourism, which includes visits to battlefield and disaster sites as well as burial grounds, academic interest in this aspect of visitor has also received sociological analysis, and has even been provided with its own term, thanatourism (Seaton, 1996, 1999). Aspects of dark tourism often influence guided tours around cemeteries, though other themes such as history, art, architecture, symbolism, gardening and natural history all play their part. Thus, in New Orleans many tours emphasise voodoo and ghosts, though some offer much less dramatic examples, presented in a historical context (Figure 25.2). There are four themes that currently dominate cemetery interpretation: Great events; Great individuals; Architecture and oddities; and Carvers. It is worthwhile to examine each of these in turn, though many guides combine at least two themes, and some all four. The popular literature for burial grounds available today is remarkably similar to that produced when many of the cemeteries were newly opened in the nineteenth century. The emphasis is on aesthetics, architecture and famous names, all provided in an optimistic framework designed to be both improving and entertaining (Clark, 1843; Crafts, 1855). These may be fine goals, but there may be more relevant aspects to bring to the attention of visitors in the twenty-first century.