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Ground radar reveals dozens of unmarked graves in Kent’s ‘Old Cemetery’

Sub-committee presents findings to locals
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It’s not often that deeply buried history is unearthed.

But in 2016, Kent’s Old Cemetery Sub-Committee took on the task of doing just that, hoping to preserve and restore the over 100-year-old historic cemetery on Limbert Mountain.

On March 7 locals filled Kent’s Municipal Hall for a presentation from sub-committee chair Bev Kennedy and PhD candidate Sarah Beaulieu to learn what had been discovered when Beaulieu used “ground penetrating radar” (GPR) to search for unmarked graves in the Kent Municipal Cemetery, known to locals as the “Old Cemetery.”

Overgrown with bush and tree roots, sunken headstones, shifted graves, and even a pathway covering some interments, taking on the hilltop graveyard was no easy feat, and the project is far from over.

With historical archeology PhD candidate Beaulieu’s high-tech ground-reading equipment, dozens of unmarked graves were discovered, and the sub-committee speculated that there could be more.

“Over the years, many of the headstones have either sunken down or been covered with leaves and twigs and other things so you can’t see them anymore,” said Kennedy. “In order to continue on with our work, it was decided to try and undertake a (GPR) survey.”

The GPR survey used radar waves to detect buried anomalies, bouncing off objects beneath the surface to provide the user with data about what lies beneath. More specifically – where and how deep things are buried – which, when it comes to coffins that could be up to a century old, is about four to six feet underground.

The system looks similar to a lawn mower and is pushed over top of the land being read. Although tree roots, stones and other objects can make data collection difficult, Beaulieu said that without the ability, or desire, for excavation, it’s the next best thing to determine where and what is buried in the Old Cemetery.

“Remote sensing by way of ground penetrating radar is a really wonderful tool used to verify sub-surface anomalies when ground-truthing or excavating is not possible,” explained Beaulieu. “It’s always really exciting to see what lies beneath the surface.”

In the case of the Old Cemetery, what lies beneath the surface is at least 266 buried individuals, 38 more than the sub-committee had originally thought to exist in the historical hilltop cemetery. Each located gravesite was marked with a wooden stake, which the sub-committee plans to replace with more permanent measures.

Beaulieu said weather and the slope’s steep incline were likely contributing factors in the degradation of the graves and markers, but she also noted, from conversations with long-time locals, that human interference may have played a role too.

“One gentlemen recalled sledding down the hills in the winter and a few of the gravestone markers toppling over by accident,” she said.

GPR requires long strips of stable land to get a good reading, so Beaulieu was unable to run it over the entire area, especially parts of the foot path. Still, she thinks it’s likely that the stairs leading to the top of the cemetery are sitting on top of unmarked graves.

“It’s quite likely there are a few graves beneath that path,” she said. “The path was built based on a well worn foot path already established in the cemetery so it’s quite easy to see how this could happen accidentally...”

“It happens more often in cemeteries than you would think.”

The extensive remote sensing research was about more than just finding lost graves.

The sub-committee has its work cut out for it, with plans to put in permanent markers for the unmarked graves, install pathways and resting benches and start clearing up bush and debris.

“Our research is ongoing. I think it will be forever. We’re just finding more and more things!” said Kennedy. “We’re also going to be developing an enduring cyclical conservation plan so this will go in perpetuity…so we can keep [the cemetery] well looked after.”

Kennedy said the sub-committee even plans to get to work on the Oddfellows Cemetery – located adjacent to the Kent Municipal Cemetery. Too many trees and bushes prevented Beaulieu from taking on Oddfellows with the GPR, but the sub-committee said they believe there to be many additional unmarked interments in Limber Mountain’s second graveyard.

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