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Fragments and broken stones <br />Stone fragments are important and should be saved. Frequently, <br />souvenir -hunters, vandals, and collectors carry off these bits and <br />pieces of grave markers or cemetery structures. They are stepped on <br />by visitors, crushed by mowers, and sometimes thrown away by care- <br />takers. Even when they are moved to a safe location they will lose most <br />of their value if their original location in the cemetery has not been <br />well documented. <br />Document stone fragments by photographing their original <br />location and establishing them on a site map before they are moved. <br />Try to identify the gravestone to which the fragments belong, and , <br />collect all fragments, no matter how small. Each fragment should be <br />tagged or boxed with information that identifies it and links it to the <br />site map. <br />If it is not possible to move a documented fragment to a safe dry <br />location, then bury it where it is found in the cemetery. If the frag- <br />ment is part of a stone that is still standing, bury it behind the stone. <br />If a fragment cannot be associated with a standing stone, then bury it <br />where it is found in a hole big enough to put it down flat. Pour clean <br />sand into the hole to improve drainage and to make the surface level. <br />Place the fragment on the sand, then cover it with several inches of <br />clean sand followed by cemetery dirt to protect it from theft and to <br />slow the natural weathering process. <br />Left. Marker fragments are important and should be saved, not thrown away as these fragments <br />were. Photo SCDAH. Right. Ifyour cemetery is documented, the devastation caused by hurricanes <br />like Hugo will not obliterate the information, beauty, and value of historic gravestones. Photos <br />SCDAH. <br />36 <br />