The Substance of the Stone

The New England gravestones are an example of the Puritans' finest craftsmen, and are the one unchanging record of their dedication to death. Although many other artifacts (furniture, houses, pewter, and churches) from their time are handsome works of art, the most artistic detail was always put into the gravestones.

Materials:

Gravestones were made from many different types of stones including: slate, quartzite, clay stones, greenstones, schists, and freestones (Forbes, 7). Many of the stones were found in the wild with slate being the most commonly used because of the quarries in Massachusetts (before the marble quarries were discovered in western Massachusetts and Vermont). Below you can see the difference between two different types of slate used to make the gravestones. The first is a green and gray mix and the second is a gray and orange cameo look.

Quartzite is another stone used to make gravestones. It is usually solid gray, but on occasion it creates some cool effects on the gravestone. Although rare, quartzite gravestones will be a white translucent color (I couldn't find a good picture of one). They can also have streaks of red, yellow, and purple like the one pictured below. This gravestone is found in Warren, Massachusetts.

Schist was a stone that was preferred by stonecutters because it has so man varieties. It is harder to make out the inscriptions on schist stones, but they are unique and beautiful in their own way. I couldn't find a good picture that shows the shimmering qualities of a schist gravestone but here is a close up of a piece of schist. Imagine a cemetery of schist gravestones at dusk reflecting the sunset!

Source(s):

Forbes, Harriette Merrifield. Gravestones And the Men Who Made Them. Da Capo Press. New York. 1967. Retrieved Oct 13, 2013.