Some people find graveyards unnerving. I, myself find them quite fascinating! When one enters a graveyard, one is surrounded by many works of art that eulogize family, friends, loved ones, and even pets, that have passed away. Some of these tombstones are very simple; name, date of birth, and date of death. Other tombstones are elaborate carvings and statues! During my many wanderings and photo taking adventures, I have become curious as to what some of the more frequent and popular images I was seeing stood for (besides a nice image to look at)! Below are some examples of the more popular tombstone images and the meanings that coincide with them.
Angels
Angels are seen as the agent of God, often pointing towards heaven. They are also seen as guardians of the dead while symbolizing spirituality.
Angels are seen as the agent of God, often pointing towards heaven. They are also seen as guardians of the dead while symbolizing spirituality.
Books
Books remind us that tombstones are documents, bearing vital statistics and epitaphs concerning the deceased. Books may be open, possibly to signify that the stone is a kind of biography, or closed in recognition of the fact that the story of the dead is over. The book on a tombstone may be The Book or The Bible. This identification can be defined by the presence of a citation (i.e. John 19:14) or an actual line of scripture or literature that could have been a favorite of the deceased. Also, the deceased may have just really liked to read!!