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See that my grave is kept clean: some thoughts on graveyard ephemera

Originally posted online on 1 January 2014 at rmchapple.blogspot.com

(http://rmchapple.blogspot.co.uk/2014/01/see-that-my-grave-is-kept-clean-some.html)

If youve known me for any length of time, poked around on the back issues of this blog, oreven had a browse through my publications on myAcademia.edupage, youll get a fair inklingthat I like gravestones. Its not too uncommon in an archaeologist even one such as myselfwho dedicated most of a career to the prehistoric periods. Like many, my chief interest is inthe earlier gravestones from the early to mid 1700s, and into the early 19thcentury. At a push,I can show curiosity in markers from the mid 19thcentury onwards, but there is a clear feelingthat more recent memorials are less interesting, and less worthy of study. I think I may bealone among archaeologists in having once published a paper (Chapple 2000) that sought todemonstrate that modern memorials even up to the 1980s were part of a broad, unbrokencontinuum, not something separate and apart from the older material. I make this point toindicate that despite my predisposition towards the newer memorials as objects worthy ofstudy, I have still considered them less worthy than the older examples. Its not that surprisingin every age, the antiquarian or archaeologist have viewed the ubiquitous remains closest totheir own time as less worthy of study that older artefacts. Obviously, this is not confined tohow students of the past assign worth. Value either the concept of worthy of study ormonetary worth is distinctly tied to scarcity. How else could we rationalise the notion thatany given weight of a shiny yellow metal is worth more than an equivalent weight of, say, dark,fertile soil? It is not my intention to debate the rights or wrongs of economics. However, it isthis notion that every archaeologist with an interest in the post-Medieval period (1700s andafter) has had to face. There has long been a tacit understanding that a hierarchy exists andthat while post-Med studies are all well and good, they are not truly as important as realarchaeology i.e.the Neolithic, the Bronze Age, the Romans, or whatever your own preferredperiod of study is. Thankfully, this impression is changing within archaeology, even if onlyslowly. There are now a number of vibrant and thriving organizations dedicated to thearchaeology of more recent times. These include The Society for Historical Archaeology inthe US, the Society for Post-Medieval Archaeology in the UK, and IPMAG onthe island of Ireland. Even still, I have often heard the old adage that post-Medievalexcavations keep all the rubbish that other excavations throw away.

http://rmchapple.blogspot.co.uk/2014/01/see-that-my-grave-is-kept-clean-some.htmlhttp://rmchapple.blogspot.co.uk/2014/01/see-that-my-grave-is-kept-clean-some.htmlhttp://rmchapple.blogspot.co.uk/2014/01/see-that-my-grave-is-kept-clean-some.htmlhttps://independent.academia.edu/RobertMChapplehttps://independent.academia.edu/RobertMChapplehttps://independent.academia.edu/RobertMChapplehttps://www.facebook.com/SocietyforHistoricalArchaeologyhttps://www.facebook.com/SocietyforHistoricalArchaeologyhttps://www.facebook.com/postmedieval?ref=pbhttps://www.facebook.com/postmedieval?ref=pbhttps://www.facebook.com/pages/IPMAG-Irish-Post-Medieval-Archaeology-Group/334165443081?ref=pbhttps://www.facebook.com/pages/IPMAG-Irish-Post-Medieval-Archaeology-Group/334165443081?ref=pbhttps://www.facebook.com/pages/IPMAG-Irish-Post-Medieval-Archaeology-Group/334165443081?ref=pbhttps://www.facebook.com/postmedieval?ref=pbhttps://www.facebook.com/SocietyforHistoricalArchaeologyhttps://independent.academia.edu/RobertMChapplehttp://rmchapple.blogspot.co.uk/2014/01/see-that-my-grave-is-kept-clean-some.html

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Teampl Deirbhile, St. Dervilas Church, near the tip of the Mullet peninsula, Co. Mayo(Dunraven 1875)

Even if post-Med is starting to find more acceptance and prominence, the sub-discipline ofwhat may be termed modern archaeology still has a long way to go. One well-known example

is the popular and professional reactions to the famous Transit Van excavation. It hasoccasionally crossed my mind to ponder on the question: how awful does it have to be beforearchaeologists refuse to study it? Considering the propensity for archaeologists to literallystudy piles of old rubbish, from atowering mound of disused amphoraein Rome, to the wastefrom George Washingtons house, right down to the Tucson Garbage Project, Ive oftenpresumed that theres pretty much no limit to what well consider investing our time andcerebral effort in. In events unrelated to these questions, I was recently invited to partake in adiscussion on what was described as graveyard tat all the ugly, tasteless, plastic clutter that(in every sense) profanes our graveyards as the places of quiet, contemplation, mourning, andrest eternal that they should be. I would make it quite clear that I considered this anarchaeological question only in so far as it despoiled the beauty of the graveyards especiallyour older ones where the recent dead lie shoulder-to-shoulder with their ancestors, often in

the shadow of a suitably decaying Medieval ruin. In places like this, I feel, that this form ofplastic tat is visually distracting, out of place, and downright ugly it is repulsive and should,rightly, be condemned. No matter how great the appetite for the archaeology of what one mayterm more recent times, I think that only the most ardent would readily embrac e thisawfulness as an area of study. Well, thats where I had started in my thinking.

However, after having looked at quite a few pictures of this kind of stuff, I find that I havechanged my opinion well, up to a point. I still see this material as ho rrible tat, but lookingon this as archaeologists, we should be aware that however horrible it is it is still relativelyephemeral and, in the grand scheme of things, will not last too long on a grave. In a hundredyears time they will be gone, leaving only the clean stone monument. Im not suggesting foreven a second that we should regard them as high art. Nor should we think any better of them

as artefacts, no matter how much genuine affection and sorrow they represent by thosebereaved. Nonetheless, I do think we should be recording a sample of them in all their

http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-vsXoK2YkHqI/UnJwqUq3f2I/AAAAAAAAEd8/mn5wmPTBnYQ/s1600/St+D's+from+Dunraven.jpghttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Monte_Testacciohttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Monte_Testacciohttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Monte_Testacciohttp://mountvernonmidden.org/wordpress/http://mountvernonmidden.org/wordpress/http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tucson_Garbage_Projecthttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tucson_Garbage_Projecthttp://3.bp.blogspot.com/-vsXoK2YkHqI/UnJwqUq3f2I/AAAAAAAAEd8/mn5wmPTBnYQ/s1600/St+D's+from+Dunraven.jpghttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tucson_Garbage_Projecthttp://mountvernonmidden.org/wordpress/http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Monte_Testaccio

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hideous glory as an archive for future generations of archaeologists, anthropologists, andhistorians. Once I started thinking about it, I realised that like so many things, this type ofmaterial is susceptible to geographic and temporal change. Simply put, what anindividual chooses to place on the final resting place of a friend or relative changes overtime and locality what was appropriate (and available) in Ireland or Iceland in 1980 is notlikely to be the same in, say, Devon or Dubrovnik in 2010. I remember as a child growing upin the west of Ireland attending many funerals where Perspex domes of plastic flowers wereplaced on the grave. I may be wrong, but I cannot recall having seen any of these for quitesome time. During the 1990s, when I spent some time working in the graveyardsofKilloraandKillogillen, in Craughwell, Co. Galway, I did find some surviving evidence ofthem shattered opalescent fragments of the domes, and weathered, decayed, petals stillclinging grimly to the rusting wires that once held it all together. Where they survived best waswhen, past all utility as items of decoration or devotion, they were swept away into quietcorners of the cemetery to lie forgotten in midden piles, or pushed out of sight and out of mindunder flat ledgers. One way or another theyre gone. I honestly doubt that you could find anew one for sale (even if you wanted to) times have moved on and fashion, along with theties of manufacture and availability have moved with them. My searching on the internet hasbeen far from exhaustive, but I am unable to find clear images of material like this certainlynot in its pristine state. Going further back, I have dim memories as a child of seeing olderversions of this form of item, glass domes over artificial flowers, protected by a wire cage.Again, through the power of the Google image search, Ive found something similar from agraveyard in Wales. Im sure that the diligent researcher with ample time to spare could findmore examples from closer to their period of manufacture, but I doubt that it could be donewith anything approaching ease.

Decaying glass dome protected by rusting wire cage. Photo:Pete Birkinshaw.

I think, perhaps, the reasons that we find this detritus so objectionable are manifold. In thefirst instance, its mass-produced nature seems at odds to the very personal and individualgrieving that it represents. Its relative impermanence certainly in a pristine state meansthat for the majority of time that it is publically visible it is either decaying on a relatively newgrave, or moldering on a communal cemetery rubbish heap. Tied to this sense ofimpermanence is the idea that this form of ornament is a relatively modern occurrence. It ispretty easy to fall into this way of thinking theyre all nasty plastic eyesores, probably withmade in China or made in Taiwan stamped somewhere on them obviously theyre a

modern phenomenon! While this incarnation may be modern, the urge to place symbols ofmourning however impermanent on the grave of a family member or friend is a strong one

https://www.academia.edu/411809/The_church_of_prayers_gravestone_inscriptions_from_the_church_of_Killora_Craughwell_Co._Galwayhttps://www.academia.edu/411809/The_church_of_prayers_gravestone_inscriptions_from_the_church_of_Killora_Craughwell_Co._Galwayhttps://www.academia.edu/411809/The_church_of_prayers_gravestone_inscriptions_from_the_church_of_Killora_Craughwell_Co._Galwayhttps://www.academia.edu/411811/Cillogcillin_gravestone_inscriptions_from_the_church_of_Killogilleen_Craughwell_Co._Galwayhttps://www.academia.edu/411811/Cillogcillin_gravestone_inscriptions_from_the_church_of_Killogilleen_Craughwell_Co._Galwayhttps://www.academia.edu/411811/Cillogcillin_gravestone_inscriptions_from_the_church_of_Killogilleen_Craughwell_Co._Galwayhttp://www.flickr.com/photos/binaryape/4026701933/in/photostream/http://www.flickr.com/photos/binaryape/4026701933/in/photostream/http://www.flickr.com/photos/binaryape/4026701933/in/photostream/http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-xoKoFIbKut0/UnJvXrrjEhI/AAAAAAAAEd0/0my4i0HYUjU/s1600/Cage+&+Dome.jpghttp://www.flickr.com/photos/binaryape/4026701933/in/photostream/https://www.academia.edu/411811/Cillogcillin_gravestone_inscriptions_from_the_church_of_Killogilleen_Craughwell_Co._Galwayhttps://www.academia.edu/411809/The_church_of_prayers_gravestone_inscriptions_from_the_church_of_Killora_Craughwell_Co._Galway

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and is hardwired into our makeup. Im sure that there are many examples of older sources outthere describing the state of graveyards in times past, but this is my favourite. It is adescription of Teampl Deirbhile, St. Dervilas Church, near the tip of the Mullet peninsula,Co. Mayo (Dunraven 1875,107).

The graveyard at St. Dervilas Church, late 20th century.Source.

In the midst of awild and desolate region, it stands in perfect solitude on the summit of aknoll, which rises above a sandy beach, washed by the Atlantic. It is surrounded by achurchyard filled with graves, the great headstones of which are in some instances roughlyshaped into crosses, while in others the tomb is marked by portions of wrecked vessels, wornhandles of paddles, broken masts, whose jagged ends rising dark against the sky, addindescribably to the weird and desolate aspect of the scene. All these objects, thickly overgrownwith grey moss and lichen, have an air of great antiquity

Today, should you choose to visit the site, it is devoid of all this material. However, it and allof the local cemeteries abound in its modern equivalent. I am unwilling and unable to bringmyself to celebrate the existence of this visual pollutant, nor do I believe that it has even amodicum of redeeming beauty. Nonetheless, I am beginning to appreciate it as having a

previously unconsidered archaeological significance. I now intend to go forth into graveyardsto photograph these artefacts in all their magnificent awfulness. Truly, they are horrible and

http://www.askaboutireland.ie/aai-files/assets/ebooks/312-313_Notes-on-Irish-Architecture/312%20Notes%20on%20Irish%20Architecture%201.pdfhttp://www.askaboutireland.ie/aai-files/assets/ebooks/312-313_Notes-on-Irish-Architecture/312%20Notes%20on%20Irish%20Architecture%201.pdfhttp://www.askaboutireland.ie/aai-files/assets/ebooks/312-313_Notes-on-Irish-Architecture/312%20Notes%20on%20Irish%20Architecture%201.pdfhttp://www.spirited-ireland.net/images/graveyards/http://www.spirited-ireland.net/images/graveyards/http://www.spirited-ireland.net/images/graveyards/http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-zawuWuvZLtU/UnJxdUmPQtI/AAAAAAAAEeI/5CIIAv4b4j4/s1600/st.dervla-aunt.jpghttp://2.bp.blogspot.com/-GGlpt1fIL08/UnJxddDVWHI/AAAAAAAAEeE/4dV2kwO0mLc/s1600/st.dervla01.jpghttp://www.spirited-ireland.net/images/graveyards/http://www.askaboutireland.ie/aai-files/assets/ebooks/312-313_Notes-on-Irish-Architecture/312%20Notes%20on%20Irish%20Architecture%201.pdf

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possess no redeeming artistic features (to us, in this time) and I certainly dont want any ofthem over me when my time comes but no more than the fact that Im fascinated by thedescription of the graveyard at Teampl Deirbhile, Ive started to think that there will bewonder and interest in the tat of today by the archaeologists of the future!

References & Further ReadingChapple, R. M. 2000 'A Statistical Analysis and Preliminary Classification of Gravestones fromCraughwell, Co. Galway'Journal of the Galway Archaeological and Historical Society52,

155-171.

Chapple, R. M. 2011 'Rules, Rubrics and Relations: The conscious and subconsciousconstruction of family structures and public images through gravestone art in Craughwell, Co.Galway, Republic ofIreland'Academia.edu.

Chapple, R. M. 2012a 'Workingmans Dead: Notes on some 17th to 19th century memorials,from the graveyards of Killora and Killogilleen, Craughwell, Co. Galway, Ireland. Part I'Blogspot post.

Chapple, R. M. 2012b 'Workingmans Dead: Notes on some 17th to 19th century memorials,from Killora and Killogilleen,Craughwell, Co. Galway, Ireland. Part II'Blogspot post.

Dunraven, E. 1875Notes on Irish Architecture.London.

Note: It has been brought to my attention that some of my musical references are a tad on theobscure side. Obviously, I disagree but then I would! For any younger readers, or anyonewho has not taken early Blues into their hearts the title of this post is taken fromBlind LemonJeffersons 1927 recording See That My Grave Is Kept Clean. You can hear his version ofithere;and Bob Dylans 1962 recordinghere.

As I reread this piece before publication, it suddenly strikes me that there has gotto have beensome form of serious study of this type of material. Unfortunately, a few sample Googlesearches have failed to reveal anything of this nature. If you know of/are the author of suchresearch, please let me know & I will add it to the body of the text.

http://www.academia.edu/411800/A_Statistical_Analysis_and_Preliminary_Classification_of_Gravestones_from_Craughwell_Co._Galwayhttp://www.academia.edu/411800/A_Statistical_Analysis_and_Preliminary_Classification_of_Gravestones_from_Craughwell_Co._Galwayhttp://www.academia.edu/411800/A_Statistical_Analysis_and_Preliminary_Classification_of_Gravestones_from_Craughwell_Co._Galwayhttp://www.academia.edu/411800/A_Statistical_Analysis_and_Preliminary_Classification_of_Gravestones_from_Craughwell_Co._Galwayhttp://www.academia.edu/411808/Rules_Rubrics_and_Relations_The_conscious_and_subconscious_construction_of_family_structures_and_public_images_through_gravestone_art_in_Craughwell_Co._Galway_Republic_of_Irelandhttp://www.academia.edu/411808/Rules_Rubrics_and_Relations_The_conscious_and_subconscious_construction_of_family_structures_and_public_images_through_gravestone_art_in_Craughwell_Co._Galway_Republic_of_Irelandhttp://www.academia.edu/411808/Rules_Rubrics_and_Relations_The_conscious_and_subconscious_construction_of_family_structures_and_public_images_through_gravestone_art_in_Craughwell_Co._Galway_Republic_of_Irelandhttp://www.academia.edu/411808/Rules_Rubrics_and_Relations_The_conscious_and_subconscious_construction_of_family_structures_and_public_images_through_gravestone_art_in_Craughwell_Co._Galway_Republic_of_Irelandhttp://www.academia.edu/411808/Rules_Rubrics_and_Relations_The_conscious_and_subconscious_construction_of_family_structures_and_public_images_through_gravestone_art_in_Craughwell_Co._Galway_Republic_of_Irelandhttp://rmchapple.blogspot.co.uk/2012/02/workingmans-dead-notes-on-some-17th-to.htmlhttp://rmchapple.blogspot.co.uk/2012/02/workingmans-dead-notes-on-some-17th-to.htmlhttp://rmchapple.blogspot.co.uk/2012/02/workingmans-dead-notes-on-some-17th-to.htmlhttp://rmchapple.blogspot.co.uk/2012/02/workingmans-dead-notes-on-some-17th-to.htmlhttp://rmchapple.blogspot.co.uk/2012/04/workingmans-dead-notes-on-some-17th-to.htmlhttp://rmchapple.blogspot.co.uk/2012/04/workingmans-dead-notes-on-some-17th-to.htmlhttp://rmchapple.blogspot.co.uk/2012/04/workingmans-dead-notes-on-some-17th-to.htmlhttp://rmchapple.blogspot.co.uk/2012/04/workingmans-dead-notes-on-some-17th-to.htmlhttp://www.askaboutireland.ie/aai-files/assets/ebooks/312-313_Notes-on-Irish-Architecture/312%20Notes%20on%20Irish%20Architecture%201.pdfhttp://www.askaboutireland.ie/aai-files/assets/ebooks/312-313_Notes-on-Irish-Architecture/312%20Notes%20on%20Irish%20Architecture%201.pdfhttp://www.askaboutireland.ie/aai-files/assets/ebooks/312-313_Notes-on-Irish-Architecture/312%20Notes%20on%20Irish%20Architecture%201.pdfhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blind_Lemon_Jeffersonhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blind_Lemon_Jeffersonhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blind_Lemon_Jeffersonhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blind_Lemon_Jeffersonhttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pX3mxjtpyBchttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pX3mxjtpyBchttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pX3mxjtpyBchttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iEX3gLE1IeMhttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iEX3gLE1IeMhttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iEX3gLE1IeMhttp://4.bp.blogspot.com/-xW3ZK9MOSiU/UsQdzEDOm9I/AAAAAAAAFk0/k81Ucdyx9mc/s1600/Dervilla.jpghttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iEX3gLE1IeMhttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pX3mxjtpyBchttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blind_Lemon_Jeffersonhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blind_Lemon_Jeffersonhttp://www.askaboutireland.ie/aai-files/assets/ebooks/312-313_Notes-on-Irish-Architecture/312%20Notes%20on%20Irish%20Architecture%201.pdfhttp://rmchapple.blogspot.co.uk/2012/04/workingmans-dead-notes-on-some-17th-to.htmlhttp://rmchapple.blogspot.co.uk/2012/04/workingmans-dead-notes-on-some-17th-to.htmlhttp://rmchapple.blogspot.co.uk/2012/02/workingmans-dead-notes-on-some-17th-to.htmlhttp://rmchapple.blogspot.co.uk/2012/02/workingmans-dead-notes-on-some-17th-to.htmlhttp://www.academia.edu/411808/Rules_Rubrics_and_Relations_The_conscious_and_subconscious_construction_of_family_structures_and_public_images_through_gravestone_art_in_Craughwell_Co._Galway_Republic_of_Irelandhttp://www.academia.edu/411808/Rules_Rubrics_and_Relations_The_conscious_and_subconscious_construction_of_family_structures_and_public_images_through_gravestone_art_in_Craughwell_Co._Galway_Republic_of_Irelandhttp://www.academia.edu/411808/Rules_Rubrics_and_Relations_The_conscious_and_subconscious_construction_of_family_structures_and_public_images_through_gravestone_art_in_Craughwell_Co._Galway_Republic_of_Irelandhttp://www.academia.edu/411800/A_Statistical_Analysis_and_Preliminary_Classification_of_Gravestones_from_Craughwell_Co._Galwayhttp://www.academia.edu/411800/A_Statistical_Analysis_and_Preliminary_Classification_of_Gravestones_from_Craughwell_Co._Galway