Headstones marking the earthly passage of about a dozen Augusta County, Virginia, residents were unearthed recently during construction work at St. Peter's Lutheran Church. In August, members decided to build a fellowship hall and a pastor's office. Shortly after excavation began, an excavating tool struck a tombstone, cracking it in three pieces. Beneath it, a pile of nine other headstones were stacked like cards, and others were scattered nearby.
The finding is like gold for local historians. Glenda Lambert-Gibson, who maintains a Web site that lists Augusta County's cemeteries, was ecstatic when she heard the news. "Stones, especially from the 1700s, are very important because they didn't have death records then," said Lambert-Gibson.
Katharine Brown, a county Historical Society board member, said she hopes the church will get help from Virginia Department of Historic Resources with cleaning and repair work. "Some of the engravings can be delicate and may not survive even a rubbing," Brown said.
You can read more at the News Leader web site.
My thanks to Evelyn Oliveras for telling me about this story.
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