USING GPR TO DETERMINE GRAVE CONDITIONS AND LOCATIONS IN AN HISTORIC CEMETERY

Ground penetrating radar can be used as a non-invasive research method to study the subsurface in a variety of settings. This technique uses radar waves to detect changes in subsurface structures by detecting reflected energy. GPR can be especially useful as a means for evaluating burials at a cemetery without disturbing the surface. Bennet Cemetery is a small, privately owned cemetery in Cheektowaga, NY, where some graves are marked by tombstones of various ages, but other areas are unmarked. This project aims to determine whether unmarked areas in the cemetery contain burials.

For an initial survey, six parallel transects were laid out in two separate areas running along several existing tombstones and many potentially lost burials. Because the cemetery contains burials of Cheektowaga’s earliest settlers from the late 1700s and also contains more recent burials, various graves are expected to contain different buried material and states of preservation. Different burials would also be affected by variations in how each grave was constructed. The people from this time frame also may not have had the money to purchase a headstone that would last or a headstone at all, increasing the likelihood of lost burials. By using GPR to locate lost burials, the Cheektowaga Historical Society will be better able to honor their town’s earliest residents.