A Month of Scottish Gravestones - Symbolism

 October is Family History month in North America and in the past, I have blogged daily on various topics pertaining to Family History. This year, I decided to do something a little bit different and blog on some of the gravestones I have encountered in my travels to various graves in Scotland. 

To start, let's look at some of the meanings behind the symbolism often found on gravestones. 

The most common are symbols that signify death: the skull with or without cross bones, the bell that tolls for thee, the shovels and scythes used by the grave digger. All of these are to remind us of our own mortality, and really just to say "death is coming" 

Here we can see the bell, the skull and cross bones as well 

as the grave diggers shovel 

Here we see the tools of the grave digger

Another common symbol is the urn, which of course holds the remains of the deceased. Sometimes the urn is draped or partially draped with a cloth. This is to signify that the veil between this life and the after life is thin. 

And of course, there is also the Grim Reaper who is coming for all of us. 

Sometimes there are symbols which alert us to the occupation of the deceased:

In the centre, at the top of the other symbols is a ring, signifying that the deceased was a jeweller

I particularly like this one. The anvil symbolizes that the deceased was a black smith but we can also see a horseshoe at the top of the headstone, telling us he made shoes for horses. The crown in the centre symbolizes glory in death 

This one in the Auld Kirkyard in Alloway is in pretty rough shape however, because it is so decorative and so telling, there is also the "pattern" for it next to it

At the top is the crown, signifying glory over death. We can also see the cross bones. But in addition, we see a wrench (spanner) a horseshoe and the person putting a shoe on a horse. So once again, we know the deceased was a blacksmith

This tomb is found in the Glasgow Necropolis and is a monument to actor John Henry Alexander  who owned and managed the Glasgow Theatre Royal. You can see the curtains of the stage. There are also a number of symbols from his theatre life on the headstone. 

And although this monument looks like it has been vandalized but in fact it symbolizes that the deceased was "cut down in the prime of his life" and died as a young man. 

This gravestone in the old Kincardine Cemetery in Grangemouth is also telling. It appears to me that the man who died left behind a wife and possibly a mother or mother-in-law as well as 10 children: one daughter and nine sons. 

What symbols have you come across on gravestones while wandering through cemeteries that have made you stop and take notice?