Sniatyn, Ukraine. (top) Garbage piled in front of Jewish cemetery prior to cleaning and (bottom) cemetery after cleaning: Photo: courtesy Sofia Dyak (July, 2009)

Sniatyn, Ukraine. Local courtyard paved with Jewish matzevot. Photo: courtesy Sofia Dyak (2009)

Ukraine: Sniatyn Jewish Cemetery Cleaned and Subject of Local Exhibition
by Samuel D. Gruber

(ISJM) Last summer the Center for Urban History in East Central Europe in Lviv organized a student project called "Sniatyn- Archeology of Memory: Discovering and Reviving the Historical Heritage of Galician Town." The project was created within the framework of the program "Memoria", initiated by the foundation "Memory, Responsibility and Future" together with the Stefan Batory Foundation. The southern Galician town of Sniatyn was chosen for the project as an example of a border city. It is located near Bukovina (now Ukraine, Moldova and Romania), an area of rich multi-cultural history, where Ottoman, Austiran and Polish-Ukrainian cultures intermingled. According to researchers from the Center, “statistics from the first half of the 20th century suggest that close to two fifths of the population was formed by Ukrainians (Ruthenians), more than a third were Jews, and one fifth was made up of Poles. Other than these three main groups, there was also a small number of Germans, Armenians and Czechs.” Bukovina was also home to an especially fine tradition of Jewish cemetery art, which can still be seen at many extant sites, but is also remembered in photographs of now-lost carved matzevot (gravestones).

Thanks to project coordinator Sofia Dyak, I am posting photographs from the camp – which was organized as a two-week as a history and conservation seminar, illustrating some of the work done. (It I now snowing out my window, so I savor these summer photos – and hope that the organizers will sponsor similar events and opportunities in 2010).

Sniatyn, Ukraine. Jewish cemetery, cleaned matzevah, presumably - because of the pitcher - of a Levite.
Photo: courtesy of Sofia Dyak (2009)

According to Dyak, “the goal of the project was to return the attention of the inhabitants of Sniatyn to the multi-national and multi-religious heritage of their city with the help of the two week program of a volunteer camp made up of youth from Ukraine, Poland and Germany” Most of the 19 participants were students from the Institute of Architecture in Lviv. The group studied and worked on conservation projects on the adjacent Jewish and Christian cemeteries and learned more about the heritage of the region, but also the contemporary life of Sniatyn. The Christian cemetery is still in use, but since the destruction of the local Jewish community in the Holocaust, the Jewish cemetery was abandoned and neglected; many gravestones had been robbed, and those still in situ were endangered by spreading tree root and excess vegetation.

Students cleaned the cemeteries and also discovered Jewish gravestones paving a courtyard. During and after the Second World War Jewish gravestones were frequently used for paving (see for examples, the polychrome matzevot recently discovered in Radom, Poland. Other examples are known from Kazimierz Dolny, where they were retrieved and erected into a monument, and from Kremenets, Ukraine).

Sniatyn, Ukraine. Conservation of matzevah at Jewish cemetery. Photo: courtesy Sofia Dyak (2009)

The project also arranged for translation of about 80 inscriptions from the Jewish cemetery. This inscriptions, as well as study of symbolic imagery used on the stones was of great interest to the students, and was also used as tool to engage wider local interest in the history and care of the site.

Sniatyn, Ukraine. Exhibition on main square, culminating project. Photo: courtesy Sofia Dyak (2009)

The two-session culminated in the presentation of an outdoor exhibition on the main city square displaying the results of volunteers’ work to engage and inform the local inhabitants. Dr. Khrystyna Boyko (National University "Lviv Polytechnic") was the academic leader of the project.

For more information click here.

England: Survey begins of Medieval Cemetery in Northampton

England: Survey begins of Medieval Cemetery in Northampton
by Samuel D. Gruber

Seventeen years after the collapse of a culvert in Midlands town of Northampton, England reveal five skeletons that were almost certainly associated with a medieval Jewish cemetery, the site is finally being surveyed. An article this month in the Northampton Chronicle and Echo reports that Marcus Roberts, Anglo-Jewish researcher and founder of JTrails, a network of Jewish heritage routes in the UK, is leading the project in conjunction with forensic archaeologists from Birmingham University. The paper quotes him as saying "This is potentially the last unexcavated known Jewish cemetery in the country and perhaps the only one accessible for study, so it is a site of huge national importance." The cemetery was situated in what is now Lawrence Court (in what is now the center of town) between 1259 and 1290.

There are no plans to excavate here. Only non-intrusive means methods will be used to glean as much information as possible about the history and plan of the site. Northampton officials must be aware of the heated controversies that surrounded the excavation of what turned out to be the medieval cemetery of York, and the ongoing debates about how to best treat long-forgotten medieval Jewish cemeteries in Spain.

According to information about the cemetery on the JTrails website, which offers virtual Jewish tour of Northampton, the cemetery site was identified found by Mr. Roberts in 1992

by profiling the typical site factors of the other known medieval Jewish cemetery locations in England, to create a typical location profile, in terms of factors such as the typical distance from the Jewry, relation to roads and access, drainage, enclosure type and size. This was then matched to the known historical facts about the cemetery, i.e. that it had been out side the north gate on St Andrew’s Priory land. The final element of the deduction was the use of a surviving highly detailed 17th century map, which accurately showed all of the former St Andrew’s land and enclosures. From this it was clear that only one location, a tiny poorly drained enclosure could be the site which was eventually developed into Temple Bar and Paradise Row. It was possible to move from the medieval enclosures to the modern street plan as virtually all of the streets ran on the former field boundaries in order to maximize developments within the individual field plots.

The confirmation of the identification came by chance months later in 1992, on the eve of the Day of Atonement, when a deep culvert collapsed revealing interments. The finds were in a hole in the roadway itself, close to the junction of Temple Bar with Maple Street. The general area of the cemetery is Temple Bar itself, and a former row of house forming Paradise Row. It is now an area of grass, and young trees immediately adjacent, to the north of the street.

The skeletons comprised of three to five individuals. The three main individuals identified consisted of a female, aged 40-44 years, and two males. Unfortunately little more could be deduced from the remains, except that one of the males suffered an arthritic condition. Later, Carbon dating revealed that dating range of the remains was almost exactly that of the period that cemetery existed and was in operation. Also archaeological research was able to eliminate the possibility it was some other cemetery and it is now identified in the archaeological record as a Jewish cemetery.

The archaeological report on the find, while recognising the relict enclosure argument, argues that the siting factor was waste land behind a medieval ribbon development of houses along the high-way, though both positions are not in reality mutually exclusive.
In its day the cemetery would have had a substantial wall, with a gate, surrounded by a deep ditch. The cemetery also had a house for funeral rites, and lodging for a watchman. The house probably lay on the highway, fronting, and concealing, the cemetery behind. There was probably a narrow entry to the gate off the side of the house. The burials would have been in neat rows, with male and female burials kept separate. Most burials would have had tombstones set facing outwards at the foot of the grave.

This spot today is admittedly unprepossessing, but one should remember that in olden days the cemetery had an essentially rural location, surrounded by fields, partly fronted by medieval suburban dwellings along the then King's Highway. .."

Mr. Roberts points out that if the site had not previously been suggested as that of the Jewish cemetery "it is likely that the site would have been declared an unofficial 17th-century non-Conformist burial ground, as had been assumed when the bones were first uncovered and not accorded any protection as an archaeological site."

Also in 1992, Roberts identified a gravestone in the collection of the Northampton Central Museum as coming from the cemetery. The matzevah remains the only medieval Jewish gravestone yet discovered in England. In form it resembles examples from the Rhineland.

A full account of the gravestone can be found in a report by Marcus Roberts in Medieval Archaeology 36 (1992), 173-178, also avaialable on-line.

The matzevah (see feature) is now a permanently on view, as part of a museum display about medieval Jewish Northampton. According to Roberts, it is made of "Barnack Stone brought all the way from the Barnack quarry near Stamford."

Photos of the cemetery site, the matzevah, the musuem exhibit and other Jewish sites in Northampton can be viewed in JTrails.com photo show.

The results of this survey will be very interesting, and if successfully informative will give impetus for the adoption of similar respectful methods elsewhere in Europe. Also of great interest and importance is how the site will be treated in the future.

Retrieving Stolen Matzevot: Plan Announced to Retrieve Scattered Gravestone Fragments from Inowroclaw (Poland) Jewish Cemetery

Retrieving Stolen Matzevot: Plan Announced to Retrieve Scattered Gravestone Fragments from Inowroclaw (Poland) Jewish Cemetery

(ISJM) In recent years there has been an apparent increase in the number of efforts to identify and recover Jewish gravestones (matzevot) that were previously removed from cemeteries for use as building materials. In the former Soviet Union, stones were removed as early as the 1920s and sometimes used to construct the base of monuments to Lenin, or for other commemorative structures. More stones were removed during the Holocaust and used by Germans for paving roads (Radom, Poland) and courtyards (Kazimierz Dolny, Poland; Kremenets, Ukraine). Others were apparently taken by private individuals and used for farm buildings and others types of construction.

Toppled Communist monument built using Jewish gravestone fragment, recovered from the town dump in Samorin, Slovakia (photo: Samuel D. Gruber 2009)

The reasons for recent recoveries are mixed. From the Jewish perspective, there is more awareness and interest in the fate of these stones, and better local and national Jewish organization to respond when they are discovered, and to demand their return. On the public side, there is now a greater awareness among local governments and national monument authorities about the significance of these stones, and also a greater willingness to cooperate with Jewish groups when stones are uncovered. Most important, greater investment and activity in renewing infrastructure - particularly the repair and replacement of old roads - has led to a increase in the discovery of these stolen gravestones. Fro the most part, local authorities have been willing to contribute to the cost of the removal, repair and replacement of these stones when they are found in the course of municipal work or other government sponsored works. Unfortunately, private property owners have been less cooperative when gravestones have been identified in their buildings or on their properties. Though the situations vary, private owners are very likely to negotiate - essentially hold stones for ransom - demanding outright payment for the stones, or requesting payment for "removal and replacement" costs (such as the repaving of a courtyard or the rebuilding of a stairway). When these costs have been modest, many Jewish groups have paid these costs - finding payment cheaper and easier than a protracted and possibly litigated dispute.

It is time, however, for more consistent and transparent policies to be put in force to assist in the identification, recovery and care of these stolen stones. ISJM will soon put forth proposals and guidelines addressing this topic. As a sign of progress in this area, the Foundation for the Preservation of Jewish Heritage in Poland announced that on April 7, 2009:

a meeting took place in Inowroclaw (kujawsko-pomorskie province) between the representatives of the Foundation… local authorities and the regional Monument Conservator. The parties discussed the matter of the matzevot used in the past to reinforce the pavements in Inowroclaw. A commission was created to inventarize the locations of the tombstones, then to remove and secure them. In near future they will be transported back to the 'new' Jewish cemetery in the town (located between the communal and Catholic cemeteries). They probably will become part of the lapidarium.

Poland: Remarkable Discovery of Polychrome Matzevot (gravestones) in Radom

Poland: Remarkable Discovery of Polychrome Matzevot (gravestones) in Radom

During recent construction work in Radom, approximately one hundred matzevot. (gravestones) were discovered. Most of these are richly painted. It is not surprising to find Jewish gravestones in this way – since so many were removed during the Second World War and used for paving and other construction work (see recent report on Kremenets, Ukraine). But never before has such a large number of painted stones been found - where the color is so vividly preserved.

The Foundation for the Preservation of Jewish Heritage in Poland moved to protect the historic gravestones. In cooperation with the local branch of the Monument Conservation Office and the construction workers, the Foundation assures that the matzevot will be properly documented and conserved at the Jewish cemetery in Radom.

These finds give impetus to a reevaluation of Jewish religious, popular and folk art in Eastern Europe. Because so much art was destroyed in the Holocaust, and because most of what was documented is known only in black and white images, we have inherited a skewed view of Jewish aesthetics. The veil of memory, inevitably somber and dark because of the tragedy of the Holocaust, has dimmed much of the exuberant color of pre-Holocaust Jewish life. Something of the vitality can be felt in the art of immigrants, as recently reported in reference to the exhibition “Gilded Lions and Jeweled Horses.”

Two photo galleries of the Radom finds have been posted. The first shows general pictures of the discovery, the excavation and removal of the gravestones: http://www.polin.org.pl/cities/363/galeria/16844/

The second shows details of the carved and vividly colored gravestones: http://www.polin.org.pl/cities/363/galeria/16869/

Increasingly, more and more Jewish cemeteries are being cleared and explored; more painted gravestones are being discovered. Until now, however, these have been few in number and usually isolated. Even when colors are preserved, decades of exposure to the elements has faded their brilliance. The tragic irony is well known among conservators that gravestones that have been hidden, and especially buried, are often the ones where relief carving and painting is best preserved.

For some images of polychrome matzevot in situ, see recently posted photos from Romanian Jewish cemeteries by Ruth Ellen Gruber (especially Radauti, Botosani and Gura Humorului):
http://web.mac.com/ruthellengruber/iWeb/general%20site/North%20Romania%20photos.html

Polychrome matzevot in Jewish cemetery of Radauti, Romania (photo: Ruth Ellen Gruber)

Ukraine: Kremenets cemetery restoration project identifies hundreds of gravestones as parking lot pavements

Ukraine: Kremenets cemetery restoration project identifies hundreds of gravestones as parking lot pavements

Researchers for the Kremenets (Ukraine) Jewish Cemetery Restoration Project have identified several areas in the town where Jewish gravestones from the large cemetery are being used as parking lot paving, first installed during the Second World War by the occupying Germans, and in place ever since. Two areas adjacent to the former Gestapo headquarters have been identified. In addition, it is thought that a large area around the Lyceum – used by the Germans as a military hospital – also has buried matzevot. A project has been developed to move these stones, which probably date from the 18th and 19th century and number in the hundreds, back to the cemetery and to photograph and transcribe their inscriptions as part of a larger project to document, protect and preserve the historic site. The group seeks funds for retrieving the stones and creating a memorial (still to be decided).

The Kremenets Cemetery project was begun in 2004. The project began with photos of the 3,200 individual matzevot that were visible, and continued with removal of excess vegetation from the 25,000 square meter site. Detailed maps identifying site constitutions, types of vegetation and the location and condition of all gravestones and other notable features were then prepared by a team led by L'viv-based Professor V.P. Kucheryavyi developed the plan. Their report and other results of Phase I of the Project are online at http://www.shtetlinks.jewishgen.org/Kremenets/web-pages/kjcp.html. The plan provides an exemplary effort of site documentation which should be required before similar cemeteries before any repair or conservation work is undertaken. The examination of the site in phase I more than doubled the number of known gravestones at Kremenets. It also documented the effects of wartime vandalism of the cemetery and the subsequent half century of neglect.

Reports detailing the full results of Phase I and other aspects of the projects are on the website of the KJCPC:
(http://www.shtetlinks.jewishgen.org/Kremenets/web-pages/kjcp.html).

Phase II of the Kremenets Jewish Cemetery Project is designed to begin with some stone conservation and gravestone re-erection on the site. This will be done within the confines of a stone conservation training program which will involve local workers and create a ongoing and economically useful conservation program. The hope of local officials is that these skills can then be transported to other needy sites in Western Ukraine. The training course in Kremenets will be followed by a pilot project in the old part of the cemetery. If done properly, this work will set a new, and much needed standard for Jewish and non-Jewish cemetery restoration work in Ukraine. The primary partners in this effort are the Kremenets-Pochayiv State Historical-Architectural Preserve, the municipality of Kremenets, and the nascent Jewish community in Kremenets. Some grants have been received, but additional funds are needed before Phase II can begin.

Questions can be directed to Dr. Ron Doctor, director of the project
at rondoctor@earthlink.net