Geneanet initiative digitizes graves to preserve funerary heritage

The genealogy specialist Geneanet is conducting a collaborative project titled “Sauvons nos tombes” (Save our graves) to document and preserve funerary inscriptions through photography. The initiative aims to prevent the loss of historical and genealogical data caused by the deterioration of monuments, the fading of names, or the legal reclamation of cemetery plots by municipalities.

In Spain, the project has cataloged 178 cemeteries across Andalusia, with significant documentation in the provinces of Granada, Jaén, and Almería. In Jerez, specific records have been made at the Nuestra Señora de La Merced cemetery. Across Spain, the initiative has documented more than 2,500 cemeteries, accumulating over 220,000 grave records and photographs.

The project relies on a community of more than 350 volunteers who photograph graves to build a collaborative memory database. This work helps researchers reconstruct family histories and preserves the sentimental and historical heritage of communities as physical monuments face decay or removal due to expired concessions.