I'm going to hope that oddity #1 was completely intentional. It does seem far too coincidental. I've done a lot of cemetery-roaming, though, and I've never seen such a thing... which makes it just that much more awesome to me. Maybe it's a witch's grave! Nifty! ;)
And about your other post, commenting on the well-maintained-ness of the cemetery - that's something I noticed up here, even in small cemeteries and ones that are definitely not, um, being used anymore. The lawns are always trimmed down, stones are repaired when needed, there's fresh flowers, etc. Also, someone from the DAV *always* puts fresh little flags on veterans' graves, even the old old old ones. Considering some of the stones date back well into the 1800s, I think it's beyond weird, but in a good way.
I saw some really cool wooden tombstones out in Nevada. I don't know why they used them, though--as temporary tombstones or because they were too poor to afford stone?
Were they modern or old? Could be the same reason either way, but historically many folks would use temporary wooden markers because they needed to save up to pay for a stone, or because a skilled carver wasn't easily available in their area, which may have been the main issue in Nevada depending on the date - also, not sure of the geological aspects of Nevada, but it's also possible that suitable types of stone had to be shipped in from elsewhere, if it wasn't available locally. Obviously, people of lesser means would use wooden markers on a permanent basis.
You're in the land of some pretty amazing cemeteries yourself, right now. I know you're working, but maaaan I wish I could just teleport there, take you out to lunch, and wander through those cemeteries again. :)
Yeah, I love the Parisian cemeteries. They are awesome. Maybe I'll go to Pere Lachaise while I'm here. They were from the 1860s-1890s, thereabouts I'd say. The town was in the mountains, surrounded by mines, so I don't think finding stone was a problem. And the carving on the wood was identical to what it would look like on a stone, so I'm thinking the issue was more cost...? Maybe gold seekers who died penniless, or nearly so? If you remind me sometime, I can post some of the photos or send them to you...? The cemetery you were in wasn't Jewish, was it?
Perhaps it wasn't a lack of stone, but of trained stone-carvers? That's a pretty sophisticated craft, and in that period, transporting a carved stone from the city might have been prohibitive for the average person.
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And about your other post, commenting on the well-maintained-ness of the cemetery - that's something I noticed up here, even in small cemeteries and ones that are definitely not, um, being used anymore. The lawns are always trimmed down, stones are repaired when needed, there's fresh flowers, etc. Also, someone from the DAV *always* puts fresh little flags on veterans' graves, even the old old old ones. Considering some of the stones date back well into the 1800s, I think it's beyond weird, but in a good way.
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You're in the land of some pretty amazing cemeteries yourself, right now. I know you're working, but maaaan I wish I could just teleport there, take you out to lunch, and wander through those cemeteries again. :)
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They were from the 1860s-1890s, thereabouts I'd say. The town was in the mountains, surrounded by mines, so I don't think finding stone was a problem. And the carving on the wood was identical to what it would look like on a stone, so I'm thinking the issue was more cost...? Maybe gold seekers who died penniless, or nearly so? If you remind me sometime, I can post some of the photos or send them to you...?
The cemetery you were in wasn't Jewish, was it?
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