Metal Detecting a Graveyard?

Thats what he was talking about, the roads and parking areas.

 

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What I'm saying is that it's disrespectful to walk around swingin' that metal detector. I metal detect too, and I would never set a toe in a graveyard with my metal detector by my side.

 

Here is a good story on the issue

http://www.streeter.org/community/m...e=article&sid=423&mode=thread&order=0&thold=0

 

In my state (CONNECTICUT) its illegal to dig near any memorial sites let alone burial grounds.How about you ask the judge that lock you up, can you have your metal detector in the prison yard!!! That should be really fun....:dead-horse:

 

Most people don't read the entire posts of any thread. I certainly see everyones point of view of how it may be disturbing to some, or disrespectful to someones family member. Personally I don't see no harm in searching a parking lot, or a path that leads to a graveyard. Its no worse than searching a schoolyard for little kids lost change. I like everyones responces and I don't take it personally. I would never dig where someone was actually buried, that would be sick...

 

I'm not saying i would do it but if one does it like the guy in the story i posted i don't think its "that" bad.

 

Agreed

 

Well - as mentioned the cemetery I help run is private owned and we could let someone metal detect it if we want. The cemetery was founded in the 1850's and most of the oldest graves are abandoned - but a few from around the late 1800's still get flowers(I guess from older relatives in a family section). Again as mentioned our cemetery was a social gathering site and still is. It was used more for picnics and other festivities up until the 1930's or 1940's. Since then not so much. Plus - do not think if you bury something on a grave it will stay underneath the soil. And if you ask us - we will tell you no you can not do that(so don't ask and don't get caught). Little things like that can be a hazard to the caretaker when cutting and trimming. We have the rules posted clearly - and we will cleanup and discard stuff that gets in the way of maintenance. Our caretaker would probably allow surface detecting, but nothing else. Personally I see nothing wrong with it as long as it is done with respect and the caretakers(or owners) permission.

 

i would be pretty upset if i was trying to funeral crash and some guy was ruining the mood/chances by digging up near some grave. (i am joking and i know abe was not around the grave sites!)

on the subject though, i really don't find it anymore disturbing or rude, then walking dogs or jogging in the cemetery(what abe was doing, now if someone were in the actual grave area then its different). i was watching some local special on tv and it was something to do with memorable places around pittsburgh. the cemetery were my great grandmother is at, was toward the top. they talked about how its a huge place for dog walking and exploring because of all the old famous people. i visit around 3-4 times a year, mostly on holidays and still see people doing that kinda thing. i think i would rather see some guy with his metal detector in the parking area or non-grave part, then some dog crapping/peeing one a headstone!

 

I concur with the vast majority of opinion here. MD'ing in a cemetary or graveyard, regardless of age or condition, is a big no-no. Aside from the sanctity of a cemetary, I also I know firsthand family members who have buried small items at the base of my relative's headstones. Ashes have also been spread amongst our family plot. In the case of one family member who was cremated, among his ashes was the remnants of his pacemaker. I wouldn't have wanted that dug up.

All that said, I would also be mighty uncomfortable with someone MD'ing in the perephery of a cemetary too. Regardless of how realistic the probability, I would be concerned about the person moving from the perephery to the cemetary itself.

I wouldn't recommend it Abe.

(On a somewhat related topic, there was some guy on ebay a while back who was trying to sell a bunch of coins removed from dead people's eyes. Something about a relative or friend having been an old undertaker. Prior to the 20th century, it was very common for relatives to place coins over a dead person's eyes. My personal impression of this guy, after reading one of his auctions, was that he was a P.O.S. )

 

I grew up next to a cemetary that had a old dump behind it, as a kid i dug up parts of the dump looking for bottles and it made me feel a bit weird when i would find plastic flower or little flags that blew over from the cemetery but the dump was not any closer to the cemetery then our yard was so i did not think much of it at the time.

 

It's not like he's digging up bodies or anything. After all, respected scientists have been digging up graveyards for hundreds of years in Egypt, China, America, and anywhere else people have been buried in years past.
Guy

 

yeah but what if u metal detect a ring attached to a finger bone!!! improbable but possible

 

Well, unless you're using a large industrial grade detector, which would require a few more people to operate, I doubt you'll detect a ring six feet down shielded by a lead coffin.
Guy

 

ypu are probably right

 

Treasure hunting "cemetaries" has a long history. As the salvagers of the 1715 treasure fleet, the SS Brother Jonathan, the SS Central America, the SS Republic, and right now the courts are in the process of granting salvage rights to the Titanic. People died on all of those and the wreck sites are in every real sense cemetaries. With the Titanic they even found evidence of the bodies. (Shoes in pairs on the bottom that had obviously been on the feet of the bodies when they landed on the bottom.)

 

Anyone who has ever metal detected on an old homestead possibly could have been metal detecting on a graveyard. Back in the day many people were buried in the back yard. I don't see anything horrible about metal detecting in an abandoned graveyard that hasn't been used in 150 years. I mean, you aren't grave robbing, you are finding lost metal that the living lost.

People are too squeamish about death. My favorite part of Paris is the catacombs. We all die, no biggie.

 

Looked from a different way, IMO also what I think doesn't particularly matter in the bigger picture - regardless of whether MDing in a cemetery is faux pas or not. It's the perception of others, and given that the hobby already receives enough bad press, I'd rather err on the side of caution and avoid any potential misperceptions.

If the mainstream media got a hold of such a story, people would be screaming like crazy, which would embolden "certain elements" to tighten the noose on the hobby that much harder.

 

That is mild in regards to some of the stuff we have had happen at our cemetery. And some of it happened during grade side services. And we would certainly not let metal detecting go on during a service.

We discard thousands of dollars worth of these things a year. Most people do not take care of their graves and the things they put down.

Plus our cemetery used to have a floral shop and green houses, plus old meeting houses for the society itself. Most of these have other buildings over them - and metal detecting for coins would be a waste. All the little screws, tabs, etc would get in the way. Then again if you cleaned it up as you went that would be a bonus for us.