The Secret Cemetery

Burial sites have long been recognized as windows onto past civilizations, yet the meanings of present day cemeteries have been virtually ignored, even though they can reveal much about ourselves. Through the process of choosing a memorial stone, inscribing it, and tending the grave garden, visitors fashion a dynamic personal landscape of memory and mourning. The contemporary cemetery is also a place where new immigrant communities can reinforce group boundaries and establish a sense of homeland. Exploring the memorial practices of people from Greek Orthodox, Muslim, Jewish, Roman Catholic and Anglican faiths, as well as the "unchurched," this book shows how the material artifacts of mourning express sentiments that are shared, understood, and validated by members of the secret cemetery community.

Doris Francis is Research Associate, Museum of International Folk Art, Santa Fe, New Mexico.

Leonie Kellaher is Principal Research Officer and Director of the Centre for Environmental and Social Studies in Ageing, University of North London and Senior Lecturer, University of North London.

Georgina Neophytu is Research Assistant, University of North London and Consultant, Open University.