Strikes me as a possible traditional cultural property. You might want
to look at National Register Bulletin #38.
http://www.nps.gov/history/NR/publications/bulletins/nrb38/


Daniel B. Davis
Archaeologist Coordinator
Kentucky Transportation Cabinet
Division of Environmental Analysis
200 Mero Street
Frankfort, KY 40622
(502) 564-7250
-----Original Message-----
From: HISTORICAL ARCHAEOLOGY [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of
Carol McDavid
Sent: Friday, November 06, 2009 4:45 PM
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: query about ashes and soil

Hello all,

I have a question which should probably go to a soils expert, but I'm
hoping this list can provide me with some guidance or referrals.

I live and work in an urban Houston neighborhood known as "Montrose",
which for decades has been the hub of gay/lesbian life in Houston. One
of the local landmarks is a place called "Mary's", which, until it
closed recently, was the oldest operating gay bar in Texas. An ad hoc
heritage group has been formed, spearheaded by the GLBT Community
Center, to document what's left of the place before a local restaurant
chain takes over. They will be doing photos, gathering artifacts, and so
on.  I was contacted by someone who's heading up this effort with a
question.

The question being...the back patio of this bar has, over the years,
been a popular place for memorial services for members of the gay
community. Over the years a great many human ashes have been deposited
in the gardens surrounding this patio, as part of community memorial
services. What effect would potentially large amounts of human ashes
have on the future use of the site?

There is probably no documentation about how many times this has
occurred, but the bar has been around for probably over 40 years and has
been a very important place to the members of the gay and lesbian
community. So I'm guessing this has happened lots of times. And they
need some ideas now -- as the leader of this heritage group has said, in
"clear-it-out-and-tear-it-down Houston, we may not have a great deal of
time". So I'd like to help them answer this question if I can.

Oh, and I doubt there would ever be any formal mitigation effort. The
land is privately owned and the restaurant is a local chain with lots of
private money. And of course this "mausoleum" was never dedicated in any
sort of formal way.

Thanks,
 Carol


******************************************
Carol McDavid, Ph.D.
Executive Director, Community Archaeology Research Institute, Inc.
(CARI)
Director, Yates Community Archaeology Project
Adjunct Assistant Professor, University of Houston
Adjunct Assistant Professor, Rice University
1638 Branard
Houston, TX 77006
www.publicarchaeology.org