Cemetery Protections in Urban Environments: Archaeology, Preservation, and the Law

A history and practical analysis of legal protections
for urban landscapes of grieving and cultural memory

In this book, Ryan
Seidemann brings together the areas of burial legislation, urban planning,
history, biological anthropology, and archaeology to illuminate the role of the
law in the protection and preservation of cemetery spaces. Providing a history
and analysis of cemetery site protections in the United States, Seidemann explains
current legal and law enforcement realities and discusses how to prevent future
damage and development in urban burial grounds.

Seidemann shows that while legal measures
are put in place to honor the dead and uphold the maintenance of burial sites, these
laws are unevenly enforced and can be ineffective, often failing to protect cemeteries
important to people who do not have the power to fight developers. Offering
case studies from his own work in Louisiana, Seidemann demonstrates that priorities
of urban planning and private property are often emphasized at the expense of local
communities.

Cemetery
Protections in Urban Environments illustrates the knowledge and
specialization that both archaeology and the legal world contribute to the
preservation of burial locations. This book provides a concise overview of the legal
tools that exist and the tools that are needed to preserve such sites, useful
for researchers and practitioners in a variety of fields.