Montrose, CO — The public is invited to see a demonstration of the use of ground penetrating radar, or GPR, that will be used to assess burial plots at Cedar Creek Cemetery.
The demonstration will take place on March 20 from 11:30 a.m. to 12 p.m. in Section F, one of the oldest sections of the cemetery with burials dating back to the founding of Montrose.
With this non-invasive and non-destructive tool, Shayleen Ottman, an archaeologist with ERO Resources Corp., will scan the ground surface to detect presence or absence of burials in Section F. Results of the GPR scans, combined archival research, will be used in future decision-making at the cemetery.
Ottman will also go over the process, discuss her experience with GPR, its various uses and benefits, and show results from past projects.
Last November the city's State Historical Fund grant application for approximately $10,000 to conduct GPR assessments at Cedar Creek Cemetery was approved for funding.
Since 1886, the cemetery’s records have been kept in various formats. Lack of consistency and discrepancies in the records have led to uncertainty about the location of some burial sites and the availability of unused lots.
"The City of Montrose seeks to better understand the exact location of remains and cremains to responsibly manage the cemetery and to preserve the graves of early citizens who helped to create the city itself," said Kendall Cramer, grant coordinator for the City of Montrose.
The technology will use a 400-megahertz antenna that will be moved across the ground surface in a tight grid pattern to detect the presence or absence of burials. Energy reflected from the ground back to the antennae creates a profile of the geology and archaeology beneath the survey area.
ERO Resources has offices in both Hotchkiss and Durango. Results from the study will be released in a public report.
Contact Kendall Cramer at 970.497.8531 for more information.
For more city news visit: CityOfMontrose.org.