Cemetery Scene Investigations

CSI

Cemetery Scene Investigations

Task Force Request for Assistance

Dear students,

Attention CSI Team Members Needed:

If you decide to join, your team will be assigned to investigate the disappearance of valuable information in your local cemetery.

Is it a crime? Is it due to erosion, weathering, vandalism, and general neglect or….? This case now involves hundreds of investigation units across the country. Documentation is essential.

This is where your group of Cemetery Scene Investigators (CSI) comes in! Your CSI Team will become scientific and historic investigators by investigating the headstones, the stories of those buried, and cemetery layout.

Your tools will be numerous. You will be documenting your local cemetery with equipment ranging from digital cameras to compasses or even GPS devices, depending on what's available. You will be using a standardized log form utilizing categorized headstone designs and evaluation techniques.

Your job will be to log specific information and photograph each headstone for analysis. Included is the in depth study of the entire cemetery scene from the ground up to the tops of the trees. Why was the cemetery placed where it is? Why are certain types of trees and plants in the cemetery? Are all of the headstones facing the same way? Are there any trends that are noticeable upon in depth study?

What will you do with all of your investigative data? You will be analyzing, organizing, and presenting it on your own web site as well adding parts to a national database. This data is imperative to the future study of graveyards! Old graveyards across the United States are decaying, eroding, being vandalized and just plain old aging. Headstones and cemeteries have stories to tell about the people buried there, yet old cemeteries are fading away!

The CSI WebQuest is offered at two different levels of investigation; Amateur CSI and Expert CSI. The Amateur CSI level allows a basic study of a cemetery while the Expert CSI study offers an in depth analysis of multiple aspects of the cemetery scene. You have selected to be an EXPERT CSI Investigator!

This is no simple headstone-rubbing visit to the cemetery! Get ready to break out the scientific gear and engage the problem-solving brain-waves!

You will create a webpage or multi media presentation but will have a thorough analysis of the cemetery scene, not just the headstones. If the cemetery is neglected, overgrown, or otherwise showing aging that might be able to be prevented, you will create an action plan for preserving or restoring the cemetery.

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