A gravesite is an essential means of commemorating and preserving our history. Unfortunately, many old cemetery sites and burial grounds have been lost. Many locating technologies are unsuccessful while hunting for unmarked graves and nonmetallic materials such as wood coffins or bones.
Ground-penetrating radar (GPR) is the most effective grave location, and cemetery mapping instruments are ground penetrating radar (GPR). Our devices let users see tens of feet into the earth, identify soil irregularities, and find buried things. This is due to the unparalleled signal projection of our unique multi-frequency antenna and GPR’s innate ability to identify objects of all material compositions.
When it comes to discovering unmarked graves, GPR can help with the following:
- Bones buried
- Coffins are made of wood
- Buried artifacts of historical/ceremonial significance
- Voids in the dirt where remains have been/were buried
- Soil disturbance where the burial was initially excavated
Plot Grave Sites Using Ground Penetrating Radar
GPR may be used to plan new cemetery sites since it is non-invasive and can interact with GPS and GIS cemetery mapping systems. The person in charge of mapping these locations may confidently utilize GPR to map cemeteries, knowing that no existing graves will be disturbed.
GPR may also be used to evaluate and validate the records of historical and historic cemeteries where there are little or no burial or plot records. This permits one to trace one’s ancestors without disturbing sacred sites.
This concept is best illustrated with an example of a cemetery investigation. The investigation aimed to validate the locations and extents of known sites while also identifying possible unmarked graves throughout the cemetery.The cemetery area had previously been scanned by a third party, who had difficulty finding graves onsite and gave the customer limited information. Specialist knowledge, methodologies, and a combination of geophysical technologies were used to identify over 30 graves in the cemetery.
The location for the example cemetery investigation is along a major highway in British Columbia. It was known that during the motorway’s building over 50 years ago, graves from the region were unearthed and relocated to the cemetery site offset from the roadway. There were concerns that some of the GPR burials had not been relocated. The lastcemetery GPR scanning revealed scant evidence of migrating remains, raising worries that graves had not been moved.
A detailed, high-definition scan of the likely highway position and the cemetery area was conducted. Magnetometer and electromagnetic technologies were used to enhance the GPR survey and offer additional information on the nature of the shallow subsurface. Expert technicians examined all three datasets at the same time.
The final analysis displayed no remaining remains at the roadside position and evidence to imply that over 30 graves were extant within theGPR cemetery, many of which had minimal or no surface markings (headstones, depressions, or mounds). Base maps for both survey areas were created onsite utilizing a laser scanner and aerial photogrammetric, allowing for a precise record of site conditions and markings and providing the foundation for correct dereferencing and drafting of data. An immersive 3D picture walk-through of the graveyard area gave additional value.
Conclusion
GPR, or ground-penetrating radar, is a non-intrusive subsurface imaging technique. It gives a thorough image profile of what lies under the surface. GPR Services are ideal for discovering unmarked graves, identifying buried headstones, and discovering burial vaults. Ground Penetrating Radar Cemetery Mapping Services are perfect for determining lost or available GPR cemetery mapping and locating markers that have shifted. Furthermore, Ground Penetrating Radar Services, when combined with a GIS cemetery mapping platform, will provide a composite sitemap identifying gravesites, placements, and depth for cemeteries with missing or damaged burial records.
