A
Alpha and Omega – “The Beginning and the End,” when used with Cross or some
other symbol of Christ. Meaningless without sacred symbolAnchor – Symbol of Hope
Apex – The top of a die, cap, plinth or spire sloping upwards to a point
from the four sides
Arch – In the case of memorials, an arch is usually a curved structure used as an opening or a support to a park, a garden, or a memorial site
Arms – The two horizontal projections on a cross, also referred to as
Traverse bar
Ashlar – Small pieces of granite, rough or finished, which make up the
side walls of a mausoleum
Axed – A surface dressed with a bush hammer
B
Barre Guild – Barre organization of quarries-manufacturers to maintain high
standards of granite and craftsmanship
Base – The bottom part of a two-piece monument, or the lower parts
under a die as the first base is always the bottom, the second
base may be one tier higher, the third base one tier higher, etc.
Base-relief – Sculpture in low relief. (Pronounced Baa-relief)
Bed – The bed of a base applies to that part of its top surface cut to
fit the joint of the die
Bevel – A slanting top. A bevel differs from a “slant” in that a “slant”
refers to a sharply slanting face
Bleeding Heart – Symbol of Grief, Bereavement
Block – A large, rectangular piece of rough material
Blue Bell – Floral Symbol of Constancy, Sorrowful Regret
Blued – A surface darkened in color by a sand-blast abrasive
Bottom Jointed – Bottom of a die, or other connecting piece, squared up
for setting on a base
Brownstone – A trade term applied to a dark brown and reddish-brown sandstone. In headstones it is most commonly used as a base but can be used as a tablestone as well.
Buffer Head – The circular disk used to buff or polish the material
Bust – A sculpture of someone’s head, shoulders, and chest
C
Calla Lily – Floral symbol for Sympathy and Zeal
Canopy – An ornamental or roof-like covering supported by columns
Candelabrum – An ornamental candlestick having 3, 5, and 7 branches
Popular as a Jewish symbol for a woman
Cap – Usually applied to the top part of a three or four piece
monument
Capital – The uppermost part of a column or pilaster which serves as a
crown to the shaft
Carving – See: Shaped carving, shaped with screen background, plain
or flat, plain or flat with screen background, skin, screen panel
Casket – A box or chest for burying remains
Chamfer – Surface made by cutting away a square edge. A beveled edge
Check – A square cut member one inch or less. When larger than one
inch they are called rabbets
Chipped – A defect, a small piece broken out of edge
Coffin – A box or chest for burying remains
Columbarium – A structure of vaults lined with recesses for cinerary urns; also,
in plural, the niches in such a structure
Convex – Curving outward like a segment of a globe or circle-opposite to
concave
Cremation – Exposing the remains and the container encasing them to extreme heat
Cross – Symbol of Christianity
Crown of Roses – Symbol for Reward for Virtue
Crucifix – Latin Cross with figure of Our Lord upon it
Crypt – Enclosure for a casket in a mausoleum–when preceded by a
number, as 10-crypt or 2-crypt, it indicates the number of caskets
which may be placed in a mausoleum; a vault wholly or partly
underground, especially a vault under a church; a grave or tomb
Cubical Content – The cubic feet and inches in a die, base or block
Curbing – Fence or low enclosure for cemetery lot
D
Daffodil – Symbol of Desire, Regard
Daisy – Floral symbol of Innocence and Hope
Design – A photograph or an artist’s rendering of a memorial
Diameter – The length of a straight line passing through the center of a
circle from side to side
Die – The main part of the monument. The main part of the headstone that sits on a base
Dimension Piece – Rough material broken to size
Disposition – The placement of remains in the final resting place
Dove – Symbolic of The Holy Ghost
Dowel – A pin used on horizontal joints when necessary to bind pieces
together
Drainage Holes – Holes drilled in vases and bases for carrying off water
Drill – Tool used for boring holes in rough material
Drop – The distance between the lowest and highest points of an oval
or bevel , serpentine, wash, etc.
Dust Off – See “frost”
E
Egg-and-Dart – A classic moulding decorated with an egg-shaped ornament
alternating with another in the form of a dart
Ends – The right and left sides of a die as you stand facing it
Epitaph – An inscription or writing engraved on, or suited to be on,
a tomb or monument
F
Face – The front of a monument or front of a slant-face marker
Facet – The flat raised surface between the flutings of an Ionic column
Flaking – A term used to indicate minor delamination of surfaces of stone which easily peel off in small layers
Flat Carving – Shallow stone sandblasting to produce a design
Flat Marker – A headstone that lies flat on the ground usually made of granite or bronze
Flat top – Used when the top of the headstone is flat
Flute – A channel or curved section; often applied to one of a vertical
series of such channels used to decorate columns and pilasters
Fluting – Decoration by means of flutes or channels
Front – The face of a monument
Front Nosing – The perpendicular facing on the front bottom of the marker
Frost – To remove the polish by sand-blasting
Frosted Panel – The removal of some polished parts of a stone by sand-blastig usually for lettering boxes or design purposes
Fruit and Vine – Symbolic of the Personality of Jesus Christ
Full Size Detail – A drawing of a memorial, or part of same, to the exact size ordered,
showing carving, lettering or members as they will appear when finished
G
Gable Top – Top of a monument shaped like the roof of a house
Often called Two-way top
Garden Types – Benches, sun dials, flower urns and pergolas made for
normal or landscaped surroundings, not necessarily for
cemetery purposes
Gladiolus – Symbol of The Incarnation, Preparedness
Gothic Top – A convex top which rounds up to a peak on the center line
Granite – A hard igneous crystalline rock composed of quartz, feldspar,
hornblende and biotite. Barre granite has same basic elements
as contained in rubies and sapphires. Granite is formed when extremely hot molten rock is cooled slowly. Granites of various texture and color have been discovered on every continent.
Grapevine – Symbol of Religious Truths and Mysteries. The Church, Unity
Grass Marker – A flat top marker set approximately level with the ground
Grave – Space in the ground for the burial of remains
Grave liner – A concrete cover that fits over a casket in a grave. Grave liners minimize ground settling.
Grave marker – A headstone that lies flat on the ground that is usually made of granite or bronze.
Graveside Service – A service to comemorate the deceased held at the cemetery before burial.
H
Headstone – A grave marker or monument marking the gravesite.
Hickey – A low, rectangular marker with bevel top of any desired finish,
but with rock pitched sides
High Relief – Sculpture in which the projection of the figures from the
background is half or more than half of the natural circumference
Hollyhock – Symbol of Ambition
Horizontal Type – Wherein the longest side is the joint or bottom
I
Inscription – The writing cut or etched into a headstone or memorial
Interment – Burial in the ground
Inurnment – The placing of cremated remains in an urn.
L
Laurel – Floral symbol for Glory
Ledger – A flat memorial placed full length on the ground, which usually
covers the whole grave
Lily – Floral symbol for Easter, Purity, Innocence, Heavenly Bliss,
The Blessed Virgin
Lily of the Valley – Symbol of Return of Happiness
Limestone – A sedimentary type of rock composed of calcite or dolomite or both, commonly used in gravestones and tomb structures
Line – A line marked on the surface by pitching, chipping, or
sandblasting
M
Marble – A rock made up largely of calcite or dolomite. The term includes many dense types of limestone and some rock dolomite. Additional minerals present in the rock account for the distinctive appearance that many types of marble possess.
Marker – A headstone that lies flat on the gorund usually made of granite or bronze
Mausoleum – A building in which remains are buried or entombed
Memorial – An object erected in memory of one or more individuals
Monolith – A single headstone without a base
N
Niche – A space in a columbarium or mausoleum to hold an urn
Nosings On Markers – The top of a slant face marker; also the perpendicular face
surface below the slant. On Monuments – A small member
which projects beyond the surface. It is usually found on the
end of the die
O
Oak Leaf – Symbol of Courage, Strength, Endurance
Obelisk (or Spire) – A square or tapering shaft of impressive height
Ogee – A moulding consisting of two members, the one
concave, the other convex. It has a profile in the
form of the letter S
Olive Branch – Symbol of Peace
Ornament – A broad term used to describe carving, screening
or other ornamentation
Outline Frosted Letter – Letters formed by sandblast lines on polished surface with the
polish blown off between the lines
Oval Top Dies – With the top cut as a part or segment of a circle
P
Palm – Symbol of Victory, Spiritual Victory
Panel – A sunken, raised or flush compartment with a moulding or
other margin, as in faces of monuments
Passion Flower – Symbol of The Anguish of the Crucifixion Faith
Pedestal and Square – The base or foot of a column, statue, vase, or the like;
the part on which an upright work stands. It consists of
three parts, the base, the die and the cap
Perpetual Flame – A flame kept burning in remembrance of someone
Perspective – (a) The art of drawing an object on a plane or curved surface
exactly as it appears to the eye. (b) The apparent meeting of
parallel lines as their distance from the observer increases
Pillars – Slim, vertical columns usually made of stone or concrete
Pitching – The chipping of a rock surface to a line “Pitch to a line,” etc.,
or “rock pitch,” is a die or base that is pitched to a line in all
or part rock finish
Plain Carving – See Skin Carving
Plain Die – A finished die without ornament or lettering
Plinth – A square block serving as a base for a statue, vase, etc.;
the base of a column and often the second base of a three or
four piece memorial
Poinsettia – Symbol of The Nativity-Christ
Polished – A high gloss finish, when followed by a number as Polished -1-
or Polished -2-. The number refers to the number of sides polished
Poppy – Floral symbol of Sleep-Death when looked upon as sleep
Posts – Corner boundary markers for cemetery lot
Primrose – Symbol of Youth-Sadness
Proportion – The relation or adaptation of one portion to another or to the
whole, as respects magnitude; a harmonizing relation between
parts
R
Rabbet – Usually called a check when one inch or less wide and a rabbet
if wider than one inch
Relief – The projection of figures, ornaments, etc. from a background
Kinds of relief are named according to the degree of projection,
as high, bas-relief, etc
Return – The continuation of a wall or molding in a different or opposite
direction
Rift – The direction of easiest splitting in a granite mass, or the two
parallel surfaces of a block lying in the direction of easiest splitting
The vertical surface at right angles to the head grain
Rolls – A short column placed in a horizontal position with ends finished
to any specification
Roof Top – The top of the headstone slopes up from the front and back and peaks at the center
Rope – Symbol of Eternity
Rose – Floral symbol for Love, Wisdom, Beauty
Rosette – An ornament in the form of a conventional rose, or other design
of circular form, used as a decoration
Rough Stock – Material as it comes from the quarry before any finishing has
been done
Round Raised Letters – Letters raised in a half round above the surface
Rounds – An edge that is rounded
Rubbing – The impression of a carved, lettered or contour surface obtained
by rubbing with crayon over paper when applied to surface
S
Sandstone – Sedimentary rock composed of sand-sized grains naturally cemented by mineral material
Sarcophagus – An elaborate coffin usually made of cement or stone
Sawn Edges – Edges of markers or bases that are straight cut
Saw Block – A block of rough material large enough to run through a saw
Scotia – A concave moulding
Screen – Large monument suggestive of a chancel or sanctuary screen
Screen Carving – A process of sandblasting through a screen resulting in
symmetrical deep holes and lines like a honeycomb
Sometime called lace carving
Scroll – A rotary head with a series of concentric rings, used as a
grinding tool when “ironing”or “emerying”
Scroll – An ornamentation generally used in Christian art to symbolize
immortality.
Sculpture – Carving in full relief, statuary, bas-relief
Seam – A very fine crack
Seats – A type of cemetery memorial, exedra bench
Serif – The swelled ends of classic letters, generally called
swell-headed letters
Serpentine – A reverse curved surface, derived from the movement of
a serpent, often called Ogee top
Shaft – A square column of stone or cement. A statue often sits on a shaft.
Shamrock – Symbol of The Holy Trinity, St Patrick. Emblem of Ireland
Shaped Carving – Carving like sculpture
Screen Background – Same as above with screen background
Shell Rock – A rock surface irregularly broken in deeper and longer
scallops than in regular rock finish
Shot – Spherical grinding material of iron or steel used to level
surfaces-used in various sizes
Shoulder – A member or projection raised above the surface similar to
nosing
Sides – See “ends.” Sink-Sunk -Sinkage- Referring to lowered surfaces
Slab- A strip of granite axed or polished on one or two long faces
with the edges in the rough state and usually 8″, 10″, or
12″ thick
Slant- An extreme bevel usually with a nosing at the top and bottom-
as slant marker
Square- A tool used to square up stone
Square Raised Letters- Letters raised above the surface, edges of letter square
Star- Symbol of Birth or Life
Statue – The representation of a person, animal, or other object usually done in stone or metal.
Steeled- A smoothed but not highly polished surface on a base
Stock- Rough material
Straight Edge- A tool of wood or steel with a true edge on long narrow side used
to check accuracy of surfaces
Streak- A fine line of imperfect grain, either darker or lighter than the whole
Sword – A symbol of Power, Justice, Warfare, Fortitude
Symbolism – The language and meaning of flowers and other signs
T
Taper – A narrowing shape in monument design, the taper usually is
toward the top
Thistle – Symbol of Independence-Austerity-Emblem of Scotland
Tomb – A large sarcophagus type memorial with the center excavated
to receive a casket or caskets
Top – The top surface of a die or monolith
Torch – (Upright). Symbol of Eternal Life. (Inverted). Symbol of Death
Atheism
Tulip – Floral symbol of Charity Love
Turned Work – Memorial pieces circular in shape, rolls, columns, balls, urns
Two Way Cut – When the two sides of the top of the headstone peak at the center it is called a two way cut.
U
Urn – A vase solid or dished to receive flowers. Preferably urn if
solid-vase if hollowed out to receive flowers. Symbol of
Destiny-Eternal life in the hands of the Divine Potter
V
V-sunk letter by hand-tool – Letter sunken by hand-tool
Vault – A grave liner that completely encloses a casket
Vase – See Urn
Vertical Joint – A vertical surface made ready to join another vertical
surface
Vertical Type – Symmetrical upright monument
Vestibule – An entrance or passage hall next to the outer door of
a mausoleum
Violet – Floral symbol for Modesty, Faithfulness
W
Wash – The exposed part of the upper edges of a base when given
a slope to shed water. A narrow beveled surface
Water Lily – Symbol of Charity
Wild Rose – Symbol of Love, Simplicity
Wings – Supporting stones that extend from either side of a central die,
usually to form a memorial of the screen type
Wreath – Symbol of Remembrance. Wreath of Roses: Heavenly bliss,
Of Laurel: Reward, Victory, Of Olive: Peace, Of Ivy: Conviviality,
Of Oak: Strength, Of Bay: Mourning, Of Willow: Bereavement,
Mourning. Of Yew: Immortality
