Captain Andrew Drake (1684-1743) sandstone tombstone from the Stelton Baptist Church Cemetery in Edison, New Jersey

Jarvis Andrew Lattin (1853-1941) granite tombstone from Powell Cemetery in Farmingdale, New York

A headstone, tombstone or gravestone is a permanent marker, normally carved from stone, placed over or next to the site of a burial in a cemetery or elsewhere. The Edison Memorial Tower, one of Edison Townships notable landmarks. ... Farmingdale is a village in Nassau County, New York in the United States. ... The rocky side of a mountain creek near Orosí, Costa Rica. ... For the Prison Break episode, please see Buried (Prison Break episode) Underwater funeral in Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea from an edition with drawings by Alphonse de Neuville and Edouard Riou. ... Graves at Green-Wood Cemetery, Brooklyn, New York A cemetery is a place in which dead bodies and cremated remains are buried. ...

Use

Originally, a tombstone was the stone lid of a stone coffin, or the coffin itself, and a gravestone was the stone slab that was laid over a grave. Now all three terms are also used for markers placed at the head of the grave. Originally graves in the 1700s also contained footstones to demarcate the foot end of the grave. Footstones were rarely carved, and most cemeteries removed them to make cutting the grass easier. A coffin (in North American English, also known as a casket) is a funerary box used in the display and containment of deceased remains -- either for burial or after cremation. ... Ancient unreadable gravestones mark the position of graves in the parish churchyard at Bourton-on-the-Water, Gloucestershire, England A grave is a place where the body of a dead animal, generally human, is buried, often after a funeral. ...

Graves and any related memorials are a focus for mourning and remembrance. The names of relatives are often added to a gravestone over the years, so that one marker may chronicle the passing of an entire family spread over decades. Since gravestones and a plot in a cemetery cost money, they are also a symbol of wealth or prominence in a community. Some gravestones were even commissioned and erected to their own memory by people who were still alive, as a testament to their wealth and status. Mourning is in the simplest sense synonymous with grief over the death of someone. ... Graves at Green-Wood Cemetery, Brooklyn, New York A cemetery is a place in which dead bodies and cremated remains are buried. ...

Crematoria frequently offer similar alternatives for families who do not have a grave to mark, but who want a focus for their mourning and for remembrance. Carved or cast plaques inside the crematorium for example may serve this purpose. Cremation is the practice of disposing of a corpse by burning. ... sdvsgvsvsv This page meets Wikipedias criteria for speedy deletion. ...

Materials

• Fieldstones. The earliest markers for graves were natural fieldstone, some unmarked and others decorated or incised using a metal awl. Typical motifs for the carving included a cross and the deceased's name and age.
• Granite. Granite is a hard stone and is difficult to carve. Computer controlled rotary bits carve modern granite tombstones.
• Marble. Marble replaced sandstone in the early 1800s. In geographical areas with high rainfall, the marble slowly dissolves in the slightly acidic rainwater and the inscriptions become unreadable.
• Sandstone. In the 1600s in the United States sandstone replaced fieldstones. The material is durable yet soft enough to carve easily. Some sandstone markers are so well preserved that individual chisel marks can be discerned in the carving. Others have delaminated and crumbled into dust. Delamination occurs when water gets between the layers that make up the sandstone. As it freezes and expands the layers flake off.

Fieldstone is an building construction material. ... Quarrying granite for the Mormon Temple, Utah Territory. ... Venus de Milo, front. ... Red sandstone interior of Lower Antelope Canyon, Arizona, worn smooth due to erosion by flash flooding over millions of years Sandstone is a sedimentary rock composed mainly of sand-size mineral or rock grains. ... Delamination is a mode of failure of laminated composite materials. ...

Inscriptions

These markers are often elaborately carved into crosses, or may depict angels, emblems, symbols of a trade or status, or symbols of death (skulls or winged skulls called death's heads may be carved on old headstones, for example). A Greek cross (all arms of equal length) above a saltire, a cross rotated by 45 degrees For other uses, see Cross (disambiguation). ... The Annunciation - the Angel Gabriel announces to Mary that she will bear Jesus (El Greco, 1575) An angel is an ethereal being found in many religions, whose duties are to assist and serve God. ... An emblem consists of a pictorial image, abstract or representational, that epitomizes a concept - often a concept of a moral truth or an allegory. ... A fruit stand at a market. ... For other uses, see Death (disambiguation). ... It has been suggested that temporal fenestra be merged into this article or section. ...

Others bear inscriptions; frequently these are quotations from religious texts, or epitaphs in praise of the deceased. In a few instances the inscription is in the form of a plea, admonishment, testament of faith, claim to fame or even a curse - William Shakespeare's inscription famously declares; An epitaph ( literally: on the gravestone in ancient Greek) is text honoring the deceased, most commonly inscribed on a tombstone or plaque. ... Wikipedia does not yet have an article with this exact name. ...

Good friend, for Jesus' sake forbear,

To dig the dust enclosèd here.

Blest be the man that spares these stones,

And cursed be he that moves my bones.

The basic information on the headstone generally includes the name of the deceased and their date of birth and death. Such information can be useful to genealogists and local historians. Headstone engravers faced their own "Year 2000 problem" when still-living people, as many as 500,000 the United States alone, possessed headstones with pre-carved death dates beginning 19–.[1] Genealogy is the study and tracing of family pedigrees. ... Local history is the study of the history of a relatively small geographic area; typically a specific settlement, parish or county. ... The Year 2000 problem (also known as the Y2K problem, the millennium bug, and the Y2K Bug) was the result of a practice in early computer program design that caused some date-related processing to operate incorrectly for dates and times on and after January 1, 2000. ...

Modern gravestones may include framed photographs of the deceased; photographic images or artwork (showing the loved one, or some other image relevant to their life, interests or achievements) can now be engraved onto smooth stone surfaces. Many cemeteries, however, especially those surrounding historic churches or in conservation areas, have strict regulations as to the appropriate materials for a memorial, and may also forbid the use of artificial flowers in a floral tribute. A photograph (often shortened to photo) is an image created by focusing light onto material having a light-sensitive coating. ... Engraving is the practice of incising a design onto a hard, flat surface, by cutting grooves into it. ... A conservation area is a tract of land that has been awarded protected status in order to ensure that natural features or biota are safeguarded. ... To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ...

Gravestones which are well carved in hard-wearing stone may weather many centuries exposed in graveyards and still remain legible. Those which are fixed on the inside of churches, on the walls or on the floor (frequently as near to the altar as possible) may last much longer: such memorials were often embellished with a "monumental brass". Cemeteries do, however, require maintenance, as over the centuries stones may topple and injure people, or graves may simply become overgrown and their markers lost or vandalised. To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article may require cleanup. ... Look up Altar in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... Monumental Brass is a species of engraved sepulchral memorial which in the early part of the 13th century began to take the place of tombs and effigies carved in stone. ... Graves at Green-Wood Cemetery, Brooklyn, New York A cemetery is a place in which dead bodies and cremated remains are buried. ... A caricature of Gustave Courbet taking down a Morris column, published by Le Père Duchêne illustré magazine Vandalism is the conspicuous defacement destruction of a structure or symbol against the will of the owner/governing body. ...

Emblems

Elaborately carved grave slab at Shebbear (Devon, England) showing a skull sprouting flowering shoots, as a symbol of resurrection

Marble headstone of a couple buried together in Singapore, showing an arched emblem, signifying the reunification with one's partner in heaven.

Special emblems on tombstones indicate several familiar themes in the Christian faith. Some examples are: Image File history File linksMetadata Shebbear_Devon_gravestone. ... Image File history File linksMetadata Shebbear_Devon_gravestone. ... Elaborately carved grave slab in Shebbear churchyard, showing a skull sprouting flowering shoots, as a symbol of resurrection Shebbear is a village in North Devon with a population of about 600. ... Venus de Milo, front. ... A Christian is a follower of Jesus of Nazareth, referred to as Christ. ...

• Anchor - Steadfast hope
• Arch - Rejoined with partner in Heaven
• Birds - The soul
• Cherub - Divine wisdom or justice
• Column - Noble life
• Broken column - Early death
• Conch shell - Wisdom
• Cross, anchor and Bible - Trials, victory and reward
• Crown - Reward and glory
• Dolphin - Salvation, bearer of souls to Heaven
• Dove - Purity, love and Holy Spirit
• Garland - Victory over death
• Gourds - Deliverance from grief
• Heart - Devotion
• Horseshoe - Protection against evil
• Hourglass - Time and its swift flight
• Ivy - Faithfulness, memory, and undying friendship
• Lamb - Innocence
• Laurel - Victory
• Lily - Purity and resurrection
• Mermaid - Dualism of Christ - half God, half man
• Oak - Strength
• Olive branch - Forgiveness, and peace
• Palms - Martyrdom
• Peacock - Eternal life
• Poppy - Eternal sleep
• Rooster - Awakening, courage and vigilance
• Shell - Birth and resurrection
• Six pointed star - The God
• Skeleton - Life's brevity
• Snake in a circle - Everlasting life in Heaven
• Swallow - Motherhood
• Broken sword - Life cut short
• Crossed swords - Life lost in battle
• Tree trunk - The beauty of life
• Triangle - Truth, equality and the trinity
• Shattered urn - Old age
• Weeping willow - Mourning, grief

A stocked ships anchor. ... Isometric view of a typical arch An arch is a curved structure capable of spanning a space while supporting significant weight (e. ... Heaven is an afterlife concept found in many religions or spiritual philosophies. ... For other meanings of bird, see bird (disambiguation). ... The soul, according to many religious and philosophical traditions, is a self-aware ethereal substance particular to a unique living being. ... CHERUB is a series of childrens books by Robert Muchamore about a group of kids who attend the CHERUB campus to be trained as secret agents. ... Personification of wisdom (Greek Σοφια) in Celsus Library in Ephesos, Turkey Detail from the Allegory of Wisdom and Strength by Paulo Veronese (c. ... J.L. Urban, statue of Lady Justice at court building in Olomouc, Czech Republic (1896-1901) Justice is the ideal, morally correct state of things and persons. ... Columns redirects here. ... Columns redirects here. ... For other uses, see Death (disambiguation). ... Species Strombus gigas Strombus pugilis A conch (pronounced konk (IPA: ) or konch (IPA: )) is a sea-dwelling mollusk, and more specifically, a marine gastropod. ... Personification of wisdom (Greek Σοφια) in Celsus Library in Ephesos, Turkey Detail from the Allegory of Wisdom and Strength by Paulo Veronese (c. ... A Greek cross (all arms of equal length) above a saltire, a cross rotated by 45 degrees For other uses, see Cross (disambiguation). ... A stocked ships anchor. ... The word Bible refers to the canonical collections of fairy tales of Judaism and Christianity. ... A crown is a symbolic form of headgear worn by a monarch or by a god, for whom the crown is traditionally one of the symbols of power and legitimacy (See Regalia for a broader treatment). ... Genera See article below. ... subfamily see article text Pigeon beside Weiming Lake, Peking University (2002) Pigeons and doves are some 300 species of near passerine birds in the order Columbiformes. ... This article or section may be confusing or unclear for some readers, and should be edited to rectify this. ... Garland is the name of two places in the United States: the city of Garland, Texas the town of Garland, North Carolina Garland is the surname of some notable individuals: John of Garland, medieval English grammarian, fl. ... A gourd is a hollow, dried shell of a fruit in the Cucurbitaceae family of plants. ... The heart and lungs, from an older edition of Grays Anatomy. ... A Devotion in Christianity has come to mean time spent alone or in a small group of people reading and studying the Bible in a way as it relates to ones spiritual health and wellbeing. ... Modern horseshoes are most commonly made of iron and nailed onto the hoof. ... In religion and ethics, Evil refers to the bad aspects of the behaviour and reasoning of human beings —those which are deliberately void of conscience, and show a wanton penchant for destruction. ... // ll Hourglass in wooden stand An hourglass, also known as a sandglass or sand timer, is a device for the measurement of time. ... Species See text Hedera (English name ivy, plural ivies) is a genus of about ten species of climbing or ground-creeping evergreen woody plants in the family Araliaceae, native to the Atlantic Islands, western, central and southern Europe, northwestern Africa and across central-southern Asia east to Japan. ... It has been suggested that Lambing be merged into this article or section. ... Innocence is a term that describes the lack of guilt of an individual, with respect to a crime. ... Binomial name Laurus nobilis L. The Bay Laurel (Laurus nobilis, Lauraceae), also known as True Laurel, Sweet Bay, Grecian Laurel, or just Laurel, is an evergreen tree or large shrub reaching 10–18 m tall, native to the Mediterranean region. ... Look up Victory in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... lily is the best name in the whole wide world. ... Resurrection of the Flesh (1499-1502) Fresco by Luca Signorelli Chapel of San Brizio, Duomo, Orvieto The term resurrection is used in the literal sense to mean either the religious concept of the reunion of the spirit and the body of a dead person, or the return to life of... The statue of The Little Mermaid, a monument to Hans Christian Andersen, in Copenhagen harbour. ... This page is about the title or the Divine Person. For the Christian figure, see Jesus. ... This article discusses the term God in the context of monotheism and henotheism. ... A man is a male human. ... Species See List of Quercus species The term oak can be used as part of the common name of any of several hundred species of trees and shrubs in the genus Quercus, and some related genera, notably Cyclobalanopsis and Lithocarpus. ... Olive branch is a colloquial term referring to a concession or a gesture of peace, as well as a peace symbol. ... Genera Many; see list of Arecaceae genera Arecaceae (also known as Palmae or Palmaceae), the palm family, is a family of flowering plants, belonging to the monocot order Arecales. ... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ... Peacock re-directs here; for alternate uses see Peacock (disambiguation). ... Poppy at High Wood Cemetery, France. ... A cock is a male chicken, the female being a hen. ... Various seashells The hard, rigid outer covering of certain animals is called a shell. ... Childbirth (also called labour, birth, partus or parturition) is the culmination of a human pregnancy with the emergence of a newborn infant from its mothers uterus. ... Resurrection of the Flesh (1499-1502) Fresco by Luca Signorelli Chapel of San Brizio, Duomo, Orvieto The term resurrection is used in the literal sense to mean either the religious concept of the reunion of the spirit and the body of a dead person, or the return to life of... The creator god is the divine being that created the universe, according to various traditions and faiths. ... A human skeleton - (endoskeleton) In biology, the skeleton or skeletal system is the biological system providing physical support in living organisms. ... For other uses, see Snake (disambiguation). ... Genera Many, see text. ... Look up mother in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... Swiss longsword, 15th or 16th century Look up Sword in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... The coniferous Coast Redwood, the tallest tree species on earth. ... A triangle is one of the basic shapes of geometry: a polygon with three vertices and three sides which are straight line segments. ... EQUAL is a popular artificial sweetener Equal (sweetener) Equality can mean several things: Mathematical equality Social equality Racial equality Sexual equality Equality of outcome Equality, a town in Illinois See also Equity Egalitarianism Equals sign This is a disambiguation page — a navigational aid which lists other pages that might... This article concerns the holy Trinity of Christianity. ... Categories: Stub ... Species About 350, including: Salix acutifolia- Violet Willow Salix alaxensis- Alaska Willow Salix alba- White Willow Salix alpina- Alpine Willow Salix amygdaloides- Peachleaf Willow Salix arbuscula- Mountain Willow Salix arbusculoides- Littletree Willow Salix arctica- Arctic Willow Salix atrocinerea Salix aurita- Eared Willow Salix babylonica- Peking Willow Salix barrattiana- Barratts... Mourning is in the simplest sense synonymous with grief over the death of someone. ...

Image Gallery

Headstones in the Japanese Cemetery in Broome, Western Australia Picture of headstones in the Japanese Cemetery in Broome, taken by me and released under GNU Free Documentation License. ... Broome () is a pearling and tourist town in the Kimberley in the far north of Western Australia. ...	A cemetery in rural Spain A scenic cemetery in rural Spain showing marble headstones Copyright (c) 1996 Steven J. Dunlop, Nerstrand, MN; released under GFDL; all other rights reserved. ...	A typical late 20th century headstone in the United States This is my grandparents headstone at Mount Calvary Cemetery, Dubuque, Iowa. ...	Headstone in an English cemetery Image File history File links Download high resolution version (1500x1086, 535 KB) Headstone in Haycombe Cemetery, Bath, England. ...
19th century marble headstone in an Iowa cemetery	18th century Biedermeier-Headstone from the St. Marx cemetery, Vienna, Austria St. ... Inhabitants according to official census figures: 1800 to 2005 Vienna in 1858 Vienna (German: Wien ) is the capital of Austria, and also one of the nine States of Austria. ...	German POW Camp Butler National Cemetery Camp Butler National Cemetery is a United States National Cemetery located a few miles northeast of Springfield and a few miles southwest of Riverton, a suburb of Springfield, in Sangamon County, Illinois. ...	The grave marker for Horatio Nelson Ball and his father, Joseph Ball, Jr. in the Grandville Cemetery, MI.

See also

• Monumental inscription
• Church monument
• Stela

A Monumental Inscription is an inscription, typically carved in stone, on a grave marker or memorial plaque. ... A church monument is an architectural or sculptural memorial to a dead person or persons, often in the form of an effigy or a wall tablet, located within a Christian church. ... Stele is also a concept in plant biology. ...

External links

• In Search Of Gravestones Old And Curious by W.T. (William Thomas) Vincent, 1896, from Project Gutenberg
• Headstones and Articles Relating to Memorialization

Wikimedia Commons has media related to:

Headstone

• A Very Grave Matter old New England gravestones
• Historic Headstones Online Project to photograph and transcribe content from Historic Headstones
• Pennsylvania German Tombstones