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TOMB
#577-MALARD
Dominating the west end of the 9L tombscape is the tomb of the Malard family. Constructed in the nineteenth century, the Malard tomb had at its height a brilliant salmon colored limewash, 3 large marble tablets, decorative stuccowork, and an ornate zinc cartouche. When the team arrived on site, the Malard tomb was in generally fair condition structurally, but had other problems. The limewash was almost entirely gone, along with the top of the parapet, and several large sections of the stucco. One of the large closure tablets had been broken, with several
pieces resting in the ground in front of the tomb. Two shelves were missing, and graffiti covered the southwest façade. Plus, some of the stucco had separated away from the underlying brick. The preservation team assigned to the Malard Tomb, consisting of conservator Pietro Mangarella, University of Pennsylvania graduate intern Sophie Middlebrook, and conservator Kecia Fong, started with cleaning the roof of debris, including trash, old cement, stucco, weeds, broken bits of bricks and mortar, and other rubbish that had accumulated over time. Roof bricks were stabilized with grout, then the top portion of the parapet was rebuilt. In order to achieve the same ridge at the very top of the parapet, bricks were cut by hand into small chunks and set into mortar.
Once the roof was finished, the team turned to the rest of the tomb. The entire tomb was cleaned with a biocide designed to be compatible with building materials. Plants that had taken root in the soft mortar were removed. Using the existing east corner as a guide, Pietro rebuilt the other three corners using a lime-based stucco similar to the historic materials already found on the tomb. Other sections were patched, and some areas received a slurry coat of stucco, to fill in small gaps and prevent new growth of plants. Stucco that had pulled away from the tomb was reattached using grout that was injected into the void. Existing structural cracks on the southeast and southwest elevations were filled with a special structural grout.
On the back of the tomb, a large section of stucco was missing. While some might consider it unsightly, it allowed the team a chance to study the underlying, older layers of stucco and limewash. Samples were taken in order to establish the chronology of the tomb. The area has since been patched, but a small window was left in the upper corner, to allow the visitor to get a glimpse of the previous color of the tomb.
The Malard tomb still has a great deal of work before it's finished. The marble tablets that came down during the restoration will be cleaned and then put back in their original locations. The roof will be stuccoed, and a new coat of limewash will cover the tomb. Plus, the metal decoration that had been lost will be replaced. Program Intro | Site History | Emergency Stabilization | Lacombe Tomb | Malard Tomb |
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