

This is because the most graves in the middle ages had little more than a simple wooden cross as a marker, with the exception of those belonging to clergy and noblemen who might have had a stone slab with the symbol of the cross at the top. See examples of these headstone symbols and carvings in situ A brief history of gravestone symbols in the UKĪlthough symbols have been a feature of gravestones since the middle ages, the earliest gravestones you are likely to find in British churchyards probably date from the mid 17th century. Wheat symbolises the resurrection, the cycle of the seasons and the cycle of life.
