Gravestone

in Edison, New Jersey A gravestone or tombstone is a marker, usually made of stone, that is placed over a grave. A marker set at the head of the grave may be called a headstone. An especially old or elaborate stone slab may be called a funeral stele, stela, or slab. The use of such markers is traditional for Chinese, Jewish, Christian, and Islamic burials, as well as other traditions. In East Asia, the tomb's spirit tablet is the focus for ancestral veneration and may be removable for greater protection between rituals. Ancient grave markers typically incorporated funerary art, especially details in stone relief. With greater literacy, markers increasingly included inscriptions of the deceased's name, date of birth, and date of death, often along with a personal message or prayer. The presence of a frame for photographs of the deceased is also increasingly common.

in Edison, New Jersey]] A gravestone or tombstone is a marker, usually made of stone, that is placed over a grave. A marker set at the head of the grave may be called a headstone. An especially old or elaborate stone slab may be called a funeral stele, stela, or slab. The use of such markers is traditional for Chinese, Jewish, Christian, and Islamic burials, as well as other traditions. In East Asia, the tomb's spirit tablet is the focus for ancestral veneration and may be removable for greater protection between rituals. Ancient grave markers typically incorporated funerary art, especially details in stone relief. With greater literacy, markers increasingly included inscriptions of the deceased's name, date of birth, and date of death, often along with a personal message or prayer. The presence of a frame for photographs of the deceased is also increasingly common.

Stone

Fieldstones. In many cultures markers for graves other than enclosed areas, such as planted with characteristic plants particularly in northern Europe the yew, were natural fieldstones, some unmarked and others decorated or incised using a metal awl. Typical motifs for the carving included a symbol and the deceased's name and age. Granite. Granite is a hard stone and requires skill to carve by hand. Modern methods of carving include using computer-controlled rotary bits and sandblasting over a rubber stencil. Leaving the letters, numbers and emblems exposed on the stone, the blaster can create virtually any kind of artwork or epitaph. Granite is one of the most durable stones used for gravestones. Marble and limestone. Both limestone and marble take carving well. Marble is a recrystallised form of limestone. They are often chosen because of their appearance and light color. Air pollution, and especially the mild acid in rainwater, slowly dissolves marble and limestone over time, which can make inscriptions unreadable. Portland stone was a type of limestone commonly used in England; after weathering, fossiliferous deposits tend to appear on the surface. Marble became popular from the early 19th century, though its extra cost limited its appeal. Sandstone. Sandstone is durable, yet soft enough to carve easily. Some sandstone markers are so well preserved that individual chisel marks are discernible, while others have delaminated and crumbled to dust. Delamination occurs when moisture gets between the layers of the sandstone. As it freezes and expands the layers flake off. In the 17th century, sandstone replaced field stones in Colonial America. Yorkstone was a common sandstone material used in England. Slate. Slate can have a pleasing texture but is slightly porous and prone to delamination. Slate was commonly used by colonial New England carvers, especially in Boston where elaborate slate markers were shipped down the Atlantic coast as far south as Charleston and Savanah. It takes lettering well, often highlighted with white paint or gilding. Schist. Schist was a common material for grave making in the American colonies during the 17th and 18th centuries. While harder to carve than sandstone or slate, lettering and symbols usually had to be carved deeper into the stone and therefore held up well over long periods of time. While not as durable as most slate, most have held up well against the elements. File:Maymūnah Stone, Gozo Museum of Archaeology, Victoria, Gozo 001.jpg|The Maymūnah Stone, a tombstone with an Arabic inscription dated 1174 on a reused Roman marble block. Now exhibited at the Gozo Museum of Archaeology in Malta. File:008-Josiah Leavitt (d. Dec 19th, 1717) grave, Hingham Center Cemetery, Hingham, Plymouth Co., MA.jpg|Slate gravestone of Josiah Leavitt (1679–1717), Hingham Center Cemetery, Hingham, Plymouth County, Massachusetts File:Jewish cemetery Otwock Karczew Anielin IMGP6721.jpg|Slate vestige of a Jewish gravestone depicting a tzedakah box. Jewish cemetery in Otwock (Karczew-Anielin), Poland. File:GravestoneWormshill.JPG|Gravestone showing death date of 1639, Wormshill, Kent, England File:MountScopusHeadstone2.JPG|HIS LAST MESSAGE: NO MORE WARS FOR ME A headstone in the Jerusalem British World War I Cemetery on Mount Scopus File:Shebbear Devon gravestone.jpg|Elaborately carved grave slab at Shebbear (Devon, England) showing a skull sprouting flowering shoots, as a symbol of resurrection File:Victorian headstones, England.JPG|Tottering Victorian headstones in Woolaton, in Nottingham, England File:JosiahManningGravestoneMansfieldCT.jpg|Schist tombstone dated 1795, carved by Josiah Manning in Mansfield CT

Metal

cemetery]] Iron. Iron grave markers and decorations were popular during the Victorian era in the United Kingdom and elsewhere, often being produced by specialist foundries or the local blacksmith. Cast iron headstones have lasted for generations while wrought ironwork often only survives in a rusted or eroded state. In eastern Värmland, Sweden, iron crosses instead of stones have been popular since the 18th century. White bronze. Actually sand cast zinc, but called white bronze for marketing purposes. Almost all, if not all, zinc grave markers were made by the Monumental Bronze Company of Bridgeport, CT, between 1874 and 1914. The company set up subsidiaries in Detroit, Philadelphia, New Orleans, and Des Moines; a Chicago subsidiary was named the American Bronze Company, while the St. Thomas White Bronze Monument Company was set up in Ontario, Canada. They are in cemeteries of the period all across the U.S. and Canada. They were sold as more durable than marble, about 1/3 less expensive and progressive.

Wood and plants

Wood. This was a popular material during the Georgian and Victorian era, and almost certainly before, in Great Britain and elsewhere. Some could be very ornate, although few survive beyond 50–100 years due to natural decomposition or termites and other wood boring insects. In Hungary, the kopjafa is a traditional carved wooden grave marker. Planting. Trees or shrubs, particularly roses, may be planted, especially to mark the location of ashes. This may be accompanied by a small inscribed metal or wooden marker. File:Grave Marker in the Form of a Copper, late 19th century, 08.491.8895.jpg|Grave Marker, Gwa'sala Kwakwaka'wakw (Native American), late 19th century, wood, pigment, Brooklyn Museum File:Maggie mcleod syllabics.JPG|Wood grave marker using Canadian Syllabics File:Grave markers in Heidal Church, Norway.jpg|Wooden grave markers stored at Heidal Church, Norway

Gravestone cleaning

growth.]] Gravestone cleaning can preserve gravestones and increase their lifespans. A gravestone can be cleaned to remove vandalism and graffiti, biological growth such as algae or lichen, and other minerals, soiling, or staining. However, repairs, especially if they are too aggressive, can also remove natural signs of age or cause additional damage. In the United States, the National Park Service has published guidelines for gravestone cleaning, which recommend careful and deliberate work using soft brushes and gentle cleansers, no more than once a year. An organization that advocates for and undertakes cemetery restorations recommends seeking permission to clean the grave marker from a "descendant, the sexton, cemetery superintendent or the town, in that order." File:BuelowHeadstoneSep2003.jpg|Typical late-20th-century headstone, Dubuque, Iowa File:Gravestonesherrillia.jpg|19th-century marble headstone, Saints Peter and Paul Catholic Church (Sherrill, Iowa) File:HNB-tombstone.jpg|Grave marker for Horatio Nelson Ball and father, Joseph Ball Jr., Grandville Cemetery, MI, US File:AnimalGraveTattonPark.jpg|Headstone for a dog, Tatton Park, Cheshire, England File:Phebe%26TimothyPeckGravestones.jpg|Winged skull & winged soul effigies, Morristown, NJ File:Grabstein Friedhofspark Freireligioese Gemeinde Berlin Prenzlauer Berg.jpg|Unconventional tombstone in the Cemetery Park of the "Freireligiöse Gemeinde" in Berlin, Prenzlauer Berg. Tree stump headstones in U.S. cemeteries are often associated with fraternal organization Woodmen of the World. File:SculptureGraveyardBerlinSchoeneberg1.jpg|Der Schlaf (The Sleep), 1907, sculpture by at the File:Free Mason Stone.JPG|A late-19th-century headstone adorned with the Masonic square and compass File:Radimlja, Nekropola2.JPG|Stećak tombstones in Bosnia, burial practice of all religious communities until mid to late 16th century, probably spread through Vlach funerary practice File:Uchida Hyakken Grave.JPG|The grave of Uchida Hyakken in Okayama, Japan. The headstone is columnar, which is a particularly common configuration for headstones in Japan. File:Tombstone topped with orb symbol.jpg|Tombstone topped with orb symbolizing a celestial body and the reward of resurrection, churchyard of St. Peter's Church in the Great Valley, Malvern, Chester County, Pennsylvania File:Six Pack Kinney.png|Personalized gravestone inscription, Berwick, PA

Sources

Stockton University includes gravestone imagery in New Jersey How to clean a Grave marker by Ralf Heckenbach Stone Quarries and Beyond "Memorializing the Civil War Dead: Modernity and Corruption under the Grant Administration", by Bruce S. Elliott, in Markers XXVI, Association for Gravestone Studies, 2011, pp. 15–55. (Reprinted with permission of the "Association for Gravestone Studies". (Details the beginning of the mass production of cemetery stones and the increased use of the sand blast process.) Cleaning Grave Markers (a video created by the United States National Park Service on how to clean gravestones and other monuments)

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