http://www.gravestonephotos.com/Project Aims
The Gravestone Photographic Resource project is an attempt to provide a much needed on-line resource for family historians.
The project aims are as follows:
to digitally photograph grave monuments worldwide that are currently legible
to extract all legible personal information (name, age, date of birth, date of death, relationship) from each image
to publish all legible personal information on an internet database and make this data freely available
to email copies of any grave monument image free of charge to anyone requesting a copy
to lodge at appropriate public record offices collections of images appropriate to that area
to encourage local groups to maintain, photograph and record grave monuments
Please note that in some cases where the legibility is poor, names and dates shown on the online database may not be accurate.
Monuments become illegible because of a number of different factors:
Water errosion - cause by rainfall
Wind damage
Frost damage
Plant damage - usually by lichen
Polution - acidic rain dissolving alkaline rock
Vandalism
change of ownership vandalism - when obsolete churches are sold the monuments in the graveyard are usually removed and/or destroyed
mindless vandalism - most often carried out by youngsters
official vandalism - where monuments are pushed over for health and safety reasons
