Stele or marker, usually stone, placed over a grave

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Headstone</span>

Headstone

<p>A <b>headstone</b>, <b>tombstone</b>, or <b>gravestone</b> is a <a href="/en/Stele" title="Stele" class="wl">stele</a> or marker, usually <a href="/en/Rock_(geology)" title="Rock (geology)" class="wl">stone</a>, that is placed over a <a href="/en/Grave" title="Grave" class="wl">grave</a>.  It is traditional for burials in the <a href="/en/Christianity" title="Christianity" class="wl">Christian</a>, <a href="/en/Judaism" title="Judaism" class="wl">Jewish</a>, and <a href="/en/Islam" title="Islam" class="wl">Muslim</a> religions, among others.  In most cases, it has the deceased's name, date of birth, and date of death inscribed on it, along with a personal message, or <a href="/en/Prayer" title="Prayer" class="wl">prayer</a>, but may contain pieces of <a href="/en/Funerary_art" title="Funerary art" class="wl">funerary art</a>, especially details in stone <a href="/en/Relief" title="Relief" class="wl">relief</a>.  In many parts of Europe, insetting a photograph of the deceased in a frame is very common.</p>

<div class="shortdescription nomobile noexcerpt noprint searchaux" style="display:none" about="#mwt1">Stele or marker, usually stone, placed over a grave</div>
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<figure class="mw-default-size wiki-thumb"><a href="/en/File:Gravestone_of_Andrew_Drake.jpg" class="mw-file-description image media-thumb" data-hash="File:Gravestone_of_Andrew_Drake.jpg"><img loading="lazy" src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/4/4f/Gravestone_of_Andrew_Drake.jpg/170px-Gravestone_of_Andrew_Drake.jpg" decoding="async" data-file-width="567" data-file-height="850" data-file-type="bitmap" height="255" width="170" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/4/4f/Gravestone_of_Andrew_Drake.jpg/255px-Gravestone_of_Andrew_Drake.jpg 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/4/4f/Gravestone_of_Andrew_Drake.jpg/340px-Gravestone_of_Andrew_Drake.jpg 2x" alt="Gravestone_of_Andrew_Drake.jpg"></a><figcaption>Captain Andrew Drake (1684–1743) sandstone gravestone from the <a href="/en/Stelton_Baptist_Church,_Edison" title="Stelton Baptist Church, Edison" class="wl">Stelton Baptist Church</a> in <a href="/en/Edison,_New_Jersey" title="Edison, New Jersey" class="wl">Edison, New Jersey</a></figcaption></figure>



A headstone, tombstone, or gravestone is a stele or marker, usually stone, that is placed over a grave.  It is traditional for burials in the Christian, Jewish, and Muslim religions, among others.  In most cases, it has the deceased's name, date of birth, and date of death inscribed on it, along with a personal message, or prayer, but may contain pieces of funerary art, especially details in stone relief.  In many parts of Europe, insetting a photograph of the deceased in a frame is very common. 