What Are Tombstones Made Out Of?
A tombstone, also referred to as a gravestone or headstone, is a stone that marks a place where a dead person is buried. It typically includes the person's name along with their birth and death date. Many times individuals are buried in plots next to their spouses. Tombstones have been, and still are, made of a variety of materials throughout the world.
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Slate
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Some of the earliest headstones were made out of slate, which was easily accessible and available in early New England. It is not affected by acids in rain as the years pass by and doesn't expand or contract with differences in temperature, which aids in its longevity and discourages cracking. Slate can shatter easily if struck, however, and is not as bright or polished as its headstone material counterparts. The flaking and deterioration of inscriptions has caused slate to be abandoned in most cases for granite.
Granite
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Granite is hard and a desirable choice for tombstones. It is also easy to customize in color and texture to provide individually-designed tombstones. It also holds up well to acid rain, increasing its longevity, especially when it comes to inscriptions. Carving on granite takes great skill, and requires the use of a sandblaster, a rubber stencil and computer-controlled rotary bits.
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Marble
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Marble is what limestone transformed into after heat and pressure are applied over thousands of years. Marble comes in a variety of colors, from the pure white calcite variety to red marble containing hematite, yellow marble containing limonite, and green serpentine marble. It does not split easily, and is primarily used in tombstones because it does not erode and is resistant to fire. Many memorials, including the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, are made from marble.
Sandstone
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Sandstone is a sedimentary rock made up of quartz grains. It is used in the Mount Hope Cemetery. Sandstone is used in many building materials and is easier to work with than some other materials. It is also resistant to acids and thermal changes.
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References
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