Never work alone. Always have at least one partner when surveying a graveyard, especially when dealing with unstable stones.
Keep your distance from leaning stones. Establish a "safe distance" rule: at least 1.5 times the height of any leaning stone, and never position yourself where a falling stone could land.
Avoid physical contact with unstable monuments. Never push, pull, or lean on any gravestone, regardless of how stable it appears.
Wear appropriate safety gear. High-visibility vests, sturdy footwear with ankle support, and hard hats are recommended, especially in areas with numerous unstable monuments.
Check weather conditions. Avoid mapping on very windy days or after heavy rainfall, these conditions can make unstable stones even more dangerous.
Inform local authorities. Before beginning your project, contact the church, parish council or cemetery management to obtain permission and alert them to any particularly dangerous stones you identify.
Photographic documentation from a safe distance: Smartphones offer excellent high-resolution cameras that can capture clear, detailed images of gravestone inscriptions from a safe distance, allowing researchers to document even weathered or difficult-to-read text without needing to approach potentially dangerous leaning monuments.
Additionally, if you've a digital camera with a telephoto lens, you can photograph inscriptions with even greater clarity and detail while maintaining a significant safety buffer from unstable stones, really valuable for capturing information from larger or more severely tilted monuments that pose higher risks. Take multiple photos from different angles and in different lighting conditions. Shiny or polished gravestones might reflect sunlight, creating bright spots or glare that make inscriptions hard to read in photographs. A polarising filter is a special attachment you can put on your camera lens that cuts down this reflection, similar to how polarised sunglasses reduce glare when you're driving. By using one of these filters, you'll get clearer photos where you can actually read what's written on shiny stone surfaces, rather than just seeing the reflection of the sky or surrounding area.
Drone photography (ONLY WITH PROPER PERMISSIONS) Overhead imagery can provide layout information without physical proximity Close-up drone photography can capture inscription details on taller unstable monuments Create comprehensive map overlays with aerial perspectives Create a safety-coded mapping system.
Develop a stability rating system (e.g., 1-5 scale) as part of your documentation Add explicit safety warnings in your records for particularly dangerous stones
Indirect Documentation Approaches: Consult parish records and burial registers for information that might be on unreadable or dangerous stones. Talk to local historians and elderly parishioners who may remember inscriptions before deterioration. Check local archive centres and libraries for previous documentation and photographs.
Document the lean angle of unstable stones to monitor changes over time. Document and report all serious hazards to the appropriate authorities: Parish Council / Church authorities / Local conservation officers. Provide detailed information when reporting hazardous stones: Precise location (GPS or detailed map) and photographs showing: The degree of instability Dimensions Any historical significance that might influence preservation decisions
Consider creating a cemetery condition report as a by-product of your mapping project to help authorities prioritise conservation efforts and to help influence preservation decisions
Organise a supervised mapping workshop with experts who can train volunteers in safe documentation techniques. Create information literature about graveyard safety for visitors and other researchers. Consider fundraising for professional conservation work on the most historically significant but dangerous stones. No historical information is worth risking injury. If a stone cannot be safely documented using these distance methods, mark it in your survey as "unsafe to approach" and recommend professional assessment. A gravestone can be properly documented once professionally stabilised.