Describe
Record shape, posture, count, direction, damage, letters and material before naming the motif.
The visual field guide
Read what the stone is saying.
Identify cemetery symbols, decode old inscriptions and compare monument forms with a source-aware method that makes uncertainty visible.
Observe before interpretingShape, direction, letters, material and nearby context are evidence.
503 field entriesOne focused answer per symbol, phrase or form
Original SVG platesConsistent visuals created for this guide
Confidence labelsDocumented, strong, contextual or disputed
Private notebookSaved locally; no account required
Start by appearance
Find the right visual family
Choose what you can actually see. Each collection explains the clues that matter and the mistakes that produce false identifications.
Hands & Figures
Gestures, angels, mourners and human figures whose pose changes the reading.
Plants & Flowers
Botanical carvings associated with memory, mourning, resilience, life cycles and faith.
Animals & Birds
Creatures used as religious signs, emblems of character, childhood imagery or personal motifs.
Objects, Tools & Forms
Objects, instruments, occupational tools and symbolic memorial forms that may point to belief, work or identity.
Religion & Belief
Crosses, monograms and belief emblems that require careful denominational and cultural context.
Mortality & Time
Vanitas imagery about death, time, the soul and the ending of earthly life.
Fraternal & Civic
Lodge, veterans, hereditary, mutual-aid and civic emblems identified by exact combinations.
Celestial & Geometric
Stars, circles, rays, knots and abstract forms whose meaning depends heavily on context.
The field method
Four moves that prevent overclaiming
Most symbol lists jump straight to meaning. Grave Symbols begins with observation and shows how to verify a tentative reading.
Compare
Use visually similar entries and exact emblem combinations instead of one broad resemblance.
Contextualize
Check inscription, date, cemetery section, family stones and local religious or organizational history.
Verify
Link the interpretation to a source and the biography to a record—not to the carving alone.
Field plates
Frequently researched symbols
Each page gives a direct answer, recognition clues, historical limits, comparison links and source notes.
Hands & Figures
Clasped Hands
farewell, continuing attachment, marriage, reunion, or fraternal fellowship depending on cuffs and context
Open field entry
Objects, Tools & Forms
Broken Column
a life interrupted before its natural completion
Open field entry
Plants & Flowers
Weeping Willow
mourning, grief and nature lamenting the dead
Open field entry
Mortality & Time
Winged Hourglass
time flies and life passes swiftly
Open field entry
Objects, Tools & Forms
Anchor
hope, steadfastness, Christian faith or a seafaring life
Open field entry
Animals & Birds
Lamb
innocence, Christ and—frequently—childhood
Open field entry
Fraternal & Civic
Odd Fellows Three Links
Independent Order of Odd Fellows affiliation, especially when the links contain F, L and T
Open field entry
Plants & Flowers
Tree Stump
a life cut down, naturalistic mourning or—when paired with exact emblems—a fraternal association
Open field entryVisual identifier
Can’t name it? Describe what you see.
The finder narrows the dictionary by visual family, physical feature and likely context. It never asks you to upload a photograph or surrender field data.
Research & preservation
Field guides that improve the evidence
Photograph carefully, transcribe exactly, separate damage from design and preserve the original context.
01
How to Identify a Gravestone Symbol
A repeatable field method for moving from visual description to a cautious, source-backed identification.
Field guide02Using Cemetery Symbols in Genealogy
How symbol clues can lead to church, lodge, military, occupational and family records without replacing primary evidence.
Field guideOpen research layer
Use the dataset without scraping the pages.
Download structured JSON or CSV containing names, aliases, cautious meanings, categories, evidence labels and source IDs. The original dataset and illustrations are published under CC BY 4.0.
Explore the dataset{
"name": "Clasped Hands",
"confidence": "contextual",
"features": ["clasped", "pair", "relationship"],
"sources": ["ags-symbolism", "nps-echoes"]
}