Can you map overgrown or abandoned cemeteries where many markers are hidden by vegetation?
Yes. Sentry Mapping can map overgrown or abandoned cemeteries even when headstones are buried in vegetation as long as the ground is clear enough for our GPR scanner to navigate the surface like a push mower would. We use ground penetrating radar cemetery surveys plus precision GPS to locate marked and unmarked graves without digging, then deliver a printed master map and an interactive web map your staff and visitors can search.
Sentry Mapping’s cemetery mapping is a strong fit for overgrown or abandoned cemeteries because we do not rely on visible headstones. Using ground penetrating radar cemetery scanning, we survey the grounds in a grid and pinpoint soil disturbance and voids that indicate burials, supporting unmarked grave detection even when markers are hidden, broken, or gone. The GPR scanner needs to roll across the ground much like a push mower, so if vegetation is too dense to navigate safely, you typically only need light trimming or mowing in the scan lanes — not excavation.
We then combine subsurface results with survey-grade GPS and drone mapping for a high-resolution aerial view of paths, sections, and remaining monuments. This produces practical, shareable deliverables: updated burial plot mapping, cemetery GIS mapping layers, and a clickable, searchable web map, plus a printed master map for the office.
For ongoing recordkeeping, you can manage everything in a cemetery management software program. We serve cemeteries across the 48 contiguous U.S. states.