NYSloth
On the way back from the beach, I stopped at the burying ground to shoot some film with the Nikonos. The oldest engraved headstone is dated 1718, but there are plain field stones that mark graves from a time closer to Elizabeth Feake Hallet's purchase of the point in 1640. I know that's not especially old in many parts of the world, but it is notable here in a nation marked by historical amnesia. #photography #ClassicMono #Monochrome #BelieveInFilm #Connecticut #Nikonos
Oct 31 at 6:54amWeb
Show threadChrisROct 31
@NYSloth The oldest headstones I've been able to find in our local church (visited by Elizabeth 1 herself) is about the same time, as yours, early 18th century. I've a feeling that headstones were uncommon before that.
Show threadNYSlothOct 31
Headstones go back very, very far and existed in many cultures. However, they weren't especially permanent. When believers required burying in the fenced in confines of churchyards, they were often displaced by the interment of fresh corpses. Think of poor Yorick in the graveyard scene of Hamlet. If you had the money and the connections, you had yourself buried inside the church crypt or under the pavements of the church itself.
Show threadChrisROct 31

@NYSloth Did ordinary people get headstones in medieval times? I'd assumed they were pretty much for the gentry.

One issue of course is that stone is mostly a pretty poor medium for recording information, specially outside. But even in St Nicks church, I don't think there are any 17th C plaques. In some places you can see elaborate ancient tombs for the real nobs!

Show threadNYSlothOct 31
I didn't really take an academic interest in cemeteries except as they developed landscape gardening trends after Père Lachaise. So, in short, medieval burial practices are above my pay grade. The Connecticut Yankee in me, however, does appreciate the minimalist aesthetic of a simple burial ground.