An Electrical Resistivity Survey of a Small Private Cemetery, Lincoln County, Kansas

Abstract

An electrical resistivity (ER) survey was conducted in a cemetery located on private ground in Lincoln County, Kansas. The purpose was to ascertain ER signatures of known, side-by-side graves as well as that of one suspect grave in the cemetery. No modern grave stone markers are present in the cemetery; only rectangular ‘Outlines’ made of local, cobble-size Dakota Sandstone lying on the surface of the ground express the graves. No historical records or documented grave maps exist; only word-of-mouth information is available. The ER measurements ranged from 10-ohm-meters to 200 ohm-meters. The ER anomaly map and selected 2D-depth ER cross sections show higher ER anomaly values and similar grave shape-anomaly patterns over the two closely-spaced known graves. Lower ER values with no anomalous patterns are observed over the suspect grave position. Electrical resistivity is useful for targeting the location of the known graves at the Lincoln County site but was not as exact for the suspect grave. Physical exc...