Marble Gravestones Below Ground Deterioration

Pertaining to the process of gravestone resetting we are describing a one piece tablet stone.

Marble gravestones below ground deterioration.

Constantly dip your brush in a bucket of water or better allow a water hose to run on the stone as you brush. This marble gravestone at the brick street cemetery london on from 1867 has been repaired in several places and shows evidence of black staining photo by author 2018. Marble is a metamorphic rock composed of recrystallized carbonate minerals most commonly calcite or dolomite marble is typically not foliated although there are exceptions in geology the term marble refers to metamorphosed limestone but its use in stonemasonry more broadly encompasses unmetamorphosed limestone. Marble dominated the north american grave scene through the 19th century with their clear white faces gleaming throughout cemeteries and burial grounds.

Marble is commonly used for sculpture and as a building material. The above ground section of stone which we normally see may be only one half of the gravestone total size. A dry brush can damage the gravestone by removing the upper layers of the stone causing it to deteriorate faster or by opening small holes or pores for future biological growth. Dirt that penetrates into the pores of the stone can cause a dingy appearance.

Olive oil whale oil turpentine and wax represent just a few of the liquids applied to masonry in a mostly vain effort to inhibit the future deterioration of stone. Marble is a durable stone with small porosity which is why it is often used for gravestones and memorials as well as architecture. Remember less abrasion on the stone surface is best. Deterioration comes from simply from weathering rain snow wind.

Certain conditions salt hydrocarbon and sulfur dioxide pollution contribute to the decomposition of the calcite structure of marble and allow it to be eroded rather rapidly. Flat grave markers are particularly susceptible to damage from dirt soil and mud. Unfortunately this is why many of those old marble memorials are nearly unreadable today while granite memorials from the same time are easily read and show almost no deterioration. For example minerals in the soil such as iron can leach into the headstone and cause rust colored stains.

This is why the old gravestones of the midwest are barely legible because acid rain created by factory pollution has dissolved a lot of the calcite in the limestone and marble gravestones. It can also lead to staining.