Cemetaries?

Morglan

What's the consensus--is it ok to detect old cemetaries? (Of cousre as long as you're not digging up graves!)

lathmach

I've done it in old abandoned ones.
By the war, it's cemetery, with an "e".

Ray

wazari777

I would never dig in or near any cemetery,abandoned or not. Just my opinion.

Musky1011

<< <i>I've done it in old abandoned ones.
By the war, it's cemetery, with an "e".

Ray >>



It's by the way, not by the war

TheKidCollector1991

Isn't that also called Grave-digging?

ricko

"Isn't that also called Grave-digging?"

Only if you dig up the body... I have frequently come upon old grave sites in the mountains back east while hunting. Usually old family plots... long forgotten.. found one with gravestones, mostly lying flat, from the early 1700's... no houses near... land long since returned to the wild... never detected them though. Cheers, RickO

shudson

Considering most bodies are buried 6 feet deep and standard detectors only go about a foot and a half deep, I think you'll be fine.

Now if you start using a depth multiplier and start hitting gold and silver around the 6 foot mark, I think THAT would qualify as grave robbing if you dig it.

ricko

"Now if you start using a depth multiplier and start hitting gold and silver around the 6 foot mark, I think THAT would qualify as grave robbing if you dig it"

If it is gold or silver, it is not grave robbing... it is called recovery Cheers, RickO

pendragon1998

I'd draw the line at about 1 foot.

BillyKingsley

There's lots of old cemetaries around here-going back to pre-Revolution, and some I think are even dating to the 1600s-But I wouldn't feel right about digging in them.

lordmarcovan

Old "garden" cemeteries from the late 1800s can be very productive, especially along the lanes and driveways. These are the type of cemeteries that are more like a garden, hence the name. There was a movement in the nineteenth century to make cemeteries more appealing to the living- more parklike. In fact, many of the old garden cemeteries ARE city parks. Riverside Cemetery, in Asheville, NC, where I found my very first old coins, is one such example of cemetery-as-city-park. The 19th century garden cemeteries were (and are) popular spots for the living. You'll see joggers, dog-walkers, lovers, and even picnickers. (Well, picnickers in the cemetery was a more old-school pursuit, I guess).

These pretty places are often full of nice older goodies.

You MUST be absolutely sure you have permission to detect in such a place, though, even moreso than with any other site. There is an unspoken taboo about cemeteries, and even if it doesn't bother you personally, it might bother some onlookers. We had permission to detect Riverside Cemetery from the manager, who saw we were only using hunting knives to cut plugs with, and were replacing the plugs. I explained we'd be going no deeper than four to six inches, at most. We'd probably have been chucked out or arrested if we'd carried shovels in there, and with good reason. He was a nice guy. But some passers-by were not as understanding. One lady gave me an earful about how disrespectful it was for me to be digging there (meanwhile, her unleashed dog was at that very moment crapping on a grave).

I like old cemeteries, to visit, if not to detect. I like detecting in them, too, but when I moved down here to the low country and got an opportunity to hunt some much older cemeteries, including a couple going back to the colonial era, I didn't do as well as I had in the Victorian garden cemeteries. I guess prior to the garden cemetery movement, living people avoided cemeteries and spent as little time as possible in them. And living people are the ones who drop coins, of course.

IF you can get solid permission, old cemeteries can be productive, particularly the big ones with lots of lanes and driveways. Because of the taboo, they are often undetected, "virgin" territory. But you really have to watch it, 'cause you can get yourself arrested quickly, if you're not careful. Get solid permission, and don't carry a shovel or any big digging tools. Just a small knife or hand trowel. And try to stay invisible, even if you are in the clear, with full permission. The less people seeing you, the better.

Now, old churchyards are a different story. I love an old churchyard for detecting in, regardless of whether it doubles as a cemetery or not. If it does happen to also be a cemetery, you've got that taboo to be wary of, though, and you don't want to be detecting when there are parishioners around, because even if you had permission, it will dry up quickly if so much as one member of the congregation doesn't like what you're doing. So stay away from the churches on Sundays and other active times. But if you can get permission to hunt one at some more discreet time, go for it! Remember, though, a church, despite being a "public" place, is private property, and you'll need permission. When I was younger, in my mid- to late-'teens, I made the mistake of assuming churches were as "public" as schools and parks, and was not as good about asking permission to detect. At one local church, a fellow came out and treated me to some very un-Christian language, even though I was still a minor at the time! I guess he figured I was old enough to know better, and maybe I should have known better. He sure gave me a good cussin'. And that was just a churchyard with no cemetery in it. Imagine if there had been graves around the church. I'd have gotten worse than cussed at, and probably would have ended up in juvenile detention.

ricko

You are correct LordM.. very sensitive areas.... cemetaries are just best avoided. If I again come upon some in the wild, I might detect them, but those are miles from houses etc.... must have been some of the very early settlers in those mountains. Anything near civilization I would - and will - avoid. Cheers, RickO