Tuesday, September 15, 2009

Gravestone Symbolism

Sometimes I come across good material embedded in web sites which I consider to be either too unreliable in general or simply inappropriate for this blog. In such cases I have heretofore not presented such material, sometimes being inspired to find it elsewhere. In this case, however, I am making an exception in that the page is so unique, and I think potentially valuable to someone.

The page presents pictures and explanations of a great number of the various carved symbols and figures which once so commonly adorned American gravestones and which may seem rather mysterious to modern eyes looking over an old cemetery. The presentation is not exhaustive, I am sure, but it is the most extensive I have yet found on the web.

To view the gravestone symbolism page: Click Here.

Another page illustrating tomb and mausoleum types may also be of interest. To view it: Click Here.

The remainder of this web site, graveaddiction.com, is entered at your own risk!!

1 comment:

  1. Glad you found the page helpful! It's definitely not an exhaustive list, just symbols that I have found so far in my travels. I update the list several times a year.

    If you haven't read it, check out "Stories in Stone: A Field Guide to Cemetery Symbolism and Iconography" by Douglas Keister. It doesn't have every possible symbol listed either, but a very, very impressive list.

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