Sweet soil, Carol, with excellent bone preservation. There are some ornamentals that would probably do well in those soils. And, of course, there is always the possibility of heavy metals like gold and silver from fancy dental work and jewelry. If the redevelopers are smart, they will test the soil anyway...asbestos, benzene, lead and other toxins from the building's construction and use potentially pose greater threats than ash and calcined bone. 

James G. Gibb 
Gibb Archaeological Consulting 
2554 Carrollton Road 
Annapolis, MD 21403 USA 
443.482.9593 

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Carol McDavid" <[log in to unmask]> 
To: [log in to unmask] 
Sent: Friday, November 6, 2009 4:45:09 PM GMT -05:00 US/Canada Eastern 
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