Editing Gravestone (section)

== Use ==
The [[stele]] (plural: [[stelae]]), as it is called in an archaeological context, is one of the oldest forms of [[funerary art]]. Originally, a tombstone was the stone lid of a stone [[coffin]], or the coffin itself, and a gravestone was the [[stone slab]] (or [[ledger stone]]) that was laid flat over a [[grave]]. Now, all three terms ("stele", "tombstone" or "gravestone") are also used for markers set (usually upright) at the head of the grave. Some graves in the 18th century also contained [[footstone]]s to demarcate the foot end of the grave. This sometimes developed into full kerb sets that marked the whole perimeter of the grave. Footstones were rarely annotated with more than the deceased's initials and year of death, and sometimes a memorial mason and plot reference number. Many [[cemeteries]] and [[churchyard]]s have removed those extra stones to ease grass cutting by machine mower. In some UK cemeteries, the principal, and indeed only, marker is placed at the foot of the grave.

Owing to soil movement and [[downhill creep]] on gentle slopes, older headstones and footstones can often be found tilted at an angle. Over time, this movement can result in the stones being sited several metres away from their original location.{{citation needed|date=October 2019}}

Graves and any related memorials are a focus for [[mourning]] and remembrance. The names of relatives are often added to a gravestone over the years, so that one marker may chronicle the passing of an entire family spread over decades. Since gravestones and a plot in a cemetery or churchyard cost money, they are also a symbol of wealth or prominence in a community. Some gravestones were even commissioned and erected to their own memory by people who were still living, as a testament to their wealth and status. In a [[Christianity|Christian context]], the very wealthy often erected elaborate [[church monument|memorials]] within [[Church (building)|churches]] rather than having simply external gravestones. [[Crematorium|Crematoria]] frequently offer similar alternatives to families who do not have a grave to mark, but who want a focus for their mourning and for [[Memorial|remembrance]]. Carved or cast [[commemorative plaque]]s inside the crematorium for example may serve this purpose.