EARTH SURFACE PROCESSES AND LANDFORMS, VOL. zyxwv 20,531-546 (1995) USING GRAVESTONES TO ASSESS CHANGING RATES OF WEATHERING IN THE UNITED KINGDOM zy R. U. COOKE zyxwvuts Vice-Chancellor, University of York, Heslington, York YO1 5DD R. J. INKPEN Department zyxwvutsrq of Geography, University of Portsmouth, Buckingham Building, Lion Terrace, Portsmouth, Hampshire POI 3HE AND G. F. S. WlGGS Department of Geography, Coventry University, Priory Street, Coventry CVI 5FB Received zyxwvut 15 March 1993 Accepted zyxwvutsr I9 January 1995 ABSTRACT Weathering rates were calculated using the height difference between lead lettering and marble on gravestones at three sites in the UK. Comparison of their regression lines and residuals suggested that two of the sites, Portsmouth and Wolverhampton, had similar amounts and rates of weathering over the last 100-150 years. Gravestones in Swansea appear to have weathered much more and much faster than gravestones at the other two sites. These differences may be the result of the differing pollution and rainfall histories of the three sites. KEY WORDS gravestones; weathering rates; polluted atmospheres INTRODUCTION Several recent studies have provided valuable evidence on the rates of stone weathering in polluted atmospheres (Table I). These studies fall into two board categories. The first comprises studies of present- day weathering rates using such techniques as weight loss from specifically prepared stone samples (e.g. Jaynes, 1985; Inkpen, 1989; Honeybourne and Price, 1977; Butlin et al., 1992), chemical analysis of contem- porary runoff from exposed stone surface (e.g. Reddy, 1988) and contemporary changes to stone surfaces measured with a microerosion meter (Sharp et al., 1982; Trudgill et al., 1989, 1991). The second group includes studies of erosion rates over historical periods based on measured weathering changes to stone surfaces exposed for known periods of time (e.g. Attewell and Taylor, 1988; Dragovich, 1986; Kupper, 1975; Klein, 1984; Neil, 1989). Almost without exception, studies in both groups suffer from two major weaknesses. Firstly, they reveal annual weathering rates based on a single average for the period of years between the datum and the present: they say little or nothing about changes to weathering rates within these periods. And yet there is evidence that pollution levels have changed substantially over time (e.g. Trudgill et al., 1991; Inkpen, 1989) and these changes could affect weathering rates, although the precise relationship is still unclear. It is not clear, for instance, that weathering rates decline in sympathy with reduced pollution (e.g. Cooke, 1989), and it is possible that weathering rates at any one time are strongly influenced by antecedent weathering conditions, creating a lag, the so-called ‘memory effect’ (Inkpen, 1991). A second weakness of such studies is that they produce data that are not strictly comparable. There are several reasons for this, most notably the differences in locations and climates, stone types and periods of CCC 0197-9337/95/060531-16 zyxwvutsr 0 1995 by John Wiley t Sons, Ltd.