I want to thank so many of you who wrote making suggestions about how to  
approach deciphering possible writing on the sandstone headstone in Utah.   
We are still in the process of moving the bodies and searching for more.  I  
will be able to get to the stone in the next few days and will let everyone 
know  whether there is or is not something there.
 
What a wonderful resource this listserv is.  
 
Thanks.
 
Mike
 
Michael R. Polk, M.A., RPA
Principal Archaeologist
Sagebrush  Consultants, L.L.C.
Ogden, Utah




In a message dated 7/21/2011 5:36:24 A.M. Mountain Daylight Time,  
[log in to unmask] writes:

Hi. I  have a sandstone marker in the Galla Rock Cemetery in Pope Co. 
Arkansas  that has a carved inscription in the Cherokee syllabary. 
I've tried UV,  IR, D-Stretch,  Photoshop, etc. Best so far is raking 
light, actual  sunlight. I haven't tried anything at night, though I 
note that a dialable  light frequency gadget from state crime lab 
didn't work well on rock art  when we tried it at night, but being 
able to control plain white light  without ambient light was very effective.

On the other hand, I agree  with Larry McKee and others that there 
probably was no inscription to  begin with.  Cemeteries when active 
were community gathering places,  with the stones serving as mnemonics 
(thanks, Peter Schmidt) that allowed  locals to call forth many 
details about the person buried there.   Oops, everybody moves away or 
dies and the catalog of community  individuals dies. And then some 
idiot maintenance person pulls the "rocks"  in the way of mowing. And 
then we get called in to find the graves with  geophysical survey 
equipment. Graves that were not lost to begin  with.

.At 08:42 AM 7/20/2011, you wrote:
>Try using  D-Stretch.
>
>
>
>
>Mark  Howe
>
>"Life is how you make it, the future is how you leave your  past."
>
>
>
>
> > Date: Wed, 20 Jul 2011  08:39:59 -0400
> > From: [log in to unmask]
> > Subject: Re:  Sandstone headstone question
> > To: [log in to unmask]
>  >
> > In addition, Photos using the non-visible spectrum may work,  
> Mike. This has been done for mural paintings and art conservation.  
> Contact your local utility company and ask if anyone does 
>  Thermography as part of energy audits. That will give you emitted 
> IR  (heat). You could also try UV and reflected IR. Maybe USU has a 
>  remote sensing group?
> > Cheers,
> > Tim
>  >
> > Sent from my iPhone
> >
> > On Jul 20,  2011, at 7:36 AM, Michael Bathrick 
> <[log in to unmask]>  wrote:
> >
> > > Sometimes this method along with a  digital photo and Photoshop 
> can tease a hitherto unreadable  inscription out.  Fiddle with 
> contrast, brightness and any  filters you can get your hands 
> on.  Photoshop might even be able  to tweak out painted inscriptions.
> > >
> > >  Mike
> > >
> > > On 7/20/2011 7:18 AM, McKee, Larry  (Nashville,TN-US) wrote:
> > >> Mike,
> > >> The  raking light method should work, basically tilt it back 
> and forth  under a light source pointing more or less horizontal. 
> Kind of like  trying to tease out the date on a worn coin.
> > >> If the  naked eye can't see any linear incisions of any kind on 
> either face  of the stone, it probably never had any lettering. In 
> Tennessee, I'd  estimate 40 to 95 percent of the graves in 19th and 
> early 20th  century rural family and church cemeteries are marked 
> with unaltered  slabs set upright at the head and/or foot of the 
> grave. Percentage  definitely trends down with time.
> > >> Good luck with  it,
> > >> Larry
> > >>  ________________________________________
> > >> From:  HISTORICAL ARCHAEOLOGY [[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of 
> [log in to unmask]  [[log in to unmask]]
> > >> Sent: Tuesday, July 19, 2011 11:55  PM
> > >> To: [log in to unmask]
> > >> Subject:  Sandstone headstone question
> > >>
> > >> Hello  Histarchers.  I have a question concerning a project we 
> are  currently undertaking in Utah.  In order to accommodate 
>  construction of a building, we are exhuming and moving a grave 
> which  is outside of a cemetery.  It has what appears to be a 
>  headstone, though there are no discernable markings on it.  It is  
> rough cut native sandstone and seems, with little doubt to be a  
> headstone.  It is roughly shaped, and even sawn off at one end  and 
> lies near one end of the grave. There are no other stones of such  
> size in the area.  The grave probably dates to about 1900, based  on 
> the fact that there are two infant graves in the vicinity dating  to 
> the early 20th Century.
> > >>
> >  >> We are very interested in trying to decipher an inscription on  
> it, if such is there. We don't even know if there really is an  
> inscription on it or if something was painted on the stone.  It  may 
> have never been altered, but just placed there to mark the  
> grave.  But, we would like to be sure.  Can anyone suggest  methods 
> that might bring out markings if they were worn down or if  remnants 
> of paint remain or if some other means might have been used  to mark 
> the stone?  The stone was laying down, so its not even  certain 
> which side might have been used.  Both sides are  somewhat rough, 
> though one side is less so.
> >  >>
> > >> Any suggestions would be most  appreciated.
> > >>
> > >> Mike
> >  >>
> > >>
> > >> Michael R. Polk, M.A.,  RPA
> > >> Principal Archaeologist
> > >>  Sagebrush Consultants, L.L.C.
> > >> Ogden, Utah
> >  >> =
>