Different choice considerations for the selection of the headstones

When a person dies, he or she is laid to rest in a coffin underground. The place where the dead are laid to rest is called a cemetery and the different cemeteries have different rules governing the way in which the people can be laid to rest. Some of the most important rules pertain to the laying of the headstones or tombstone monuments. One might wonder why the rules are necessary and the near and dear ones shall be allowed to do whatever they want on the grave on the deceased. But, this is a very narrow perception.

The cemetery has to consider all those things which are necessary for the upkeep of the cemetery and at the same adopts a uniform approach for all type of people who find place there. The rules are not extremely restrictive or prohibitive. Rather, these are necessary for the maintenance functions of the cemetery like the regular cleaning operations, cutting of the grass, ensuring that there is sufficient space to move about in the space between the graves and making sure that no such material is used as monuments, headstones or tombstones which can cause the harm to the visitors as well as the graves.. Therefore, there might even be restrictions on what all things can be carried inside the graveyard. Despite these restrictions, these do provide sufficient avenues for the people to fulfill their desires and aspirations.

The people can place the headstones on the heads of the graves and also mention the name of the deceased, the years of birth and death and even the ancestral parentage. The headstones have traditionally been marked with the different type of symbols, characters, images of angels and many other religious symbols. These are a crucial part of the ‘graveyard art’. The tombstones are the ones which are laid on the graves. There is no practical difference between these two in the modern times, but in the previous times there was a difference in the meaning. In the modern times, these have come to be used interchangeably.

The two main materials used for the making of these grave monuments are the marble and the granite. Care shall be taken while selecting this material. The ideal material is the one which can tolerate the adverse weather conditions for a long time to come and at the same time can be carved into some design. So, the material shall ideally be strong and durable. Granite is one such material but is also quite expensive to buy. The cemeteries have the people who can place the headstones at the right place, at the right depth and in a right way.

These monuments or grave monuments also serve the purpose of easy identification of the graves from among a number of these which are present in the cemetery. Many unique and different designs can be made on these, or the same can even be cut or sculpted in different shapes and styles.