When visiting a Charleston, South Carolina church cemetery we noticed the following broken marble tombstone placed horizontally in the ground in a bed of cement. Surrounding the bed of cement were discarded foot stones either from the existing plot or another nearby plot. Marble tombstones most often break because of weathering. Their soft material does not have the durability of granite when exposed to the element particularly water or soil. We were puzzled that this tombstone was “saved” from further destruction by surrounding it with cement. However, cement tends to trap water and moisture and is not really suitable to use against a marble tombstone. Over time this tombstone will slowly degrade into powdery dust. It would have been more suitable to place the tombstone in a granite base and bury the base under the ground. In some cases, we install the base above ground too. We have restored hundreds of marble tombstones over the years with this technique. The base provides stability and enables the tombstone to stay drive above the ground level. In some cases, we will add stainless steel rods to further strengthen a threatened marble tombstone. Some examples of our restorations are provided below.
