Grave Matters: Doves

Probably the most common animal found in any cemetery is that of the dove. Used to denote innocence and a representation of the holy trinity, they usually mark the graves of children, but they can also be found on adult headstones as well.

Typically the sculpture is three dimensional and perched on top of the marker if it's a child's grave. In other forms, the dove can be carved to make it appear dead, which is a symbol of the shortness of life. On an adult headstone, it is more common to see them in relief form and usually with the head pointed downwards above a set of gates that represent the gates to the heavenly kingdom and in it's beak it sometimes holds an olive branch which is taken from the Old Testament story of Noah who sent out two birds, a dove and a crow to see if the waters of the flood had abated yet.

In this picture from a local cemetery I took, here we see the dove perched on top of the grave of a child who died at the age of three. On the side of the epitaph is a calla lily which when found on a gravestone can represent either marriage, if the person is an adult, or beauty of the highest order and it too is a common symbol in the cemetery.