That is from quite a long time ago. Children often died young in those times and that's why people had so many children. Still it must have been a heartbreak for the parents. I have many old tombstone pics like this and I often wonder about the people who lie beneath. Some of the stones have interesting comments and quotes on them. I really like the dimension of this image and the combination of colors. You did a really nice job presenting this.

Great presentation~the colors add to the somber feel of this one.So sad when a child dies.

If you're not into TMI, then skip reading this. 8D Headstones can be a great way to look back into the history of the local culture. The antiquity is obvious from the scarring and the dates but also by the fascinating manner in which the information is presented. Looking closely at the first name on the top left and the name in the heart on the left, it appears as though the "T" and the "H" in Thomas have been blended together (also in the word "month"). That's because in those days, that was a common practice for the English in writing a word that started that way, particularly when they wished to conserve space, as on a headstone. The "h" would be so close to the "T" that the ascender on the lower case "h" would bisect the top of the "T." The "Dyed" harkens to the Old English use of the word and reflects the Germanic influence on the English language after the invasions starting around 450 AD. The Germanic "Dye" at that time meant "to change." And how could a person possibly change more than when they die, eh? "Ye" was used at that time as the word "the" is used today. You can see that the "of" before "August" was left off the heart on the right. You might also notice that heart is not as large. They had left room for the second heart on the stone but not enough, forcing them to economize. The third heart was possibly in the event another child died, keeping the headstone a family-centric affair, or that person could have grown up and become a "black sheep," disgracing the family and being disowned, even to the extent of the family headstone, their alloted space being removed. Remember, this is where the pious attitude and superstitions of the citizenry caused the unnecessary deaths of around two dozen people during the witch trials, most being hanged but some "dyeing" in prison; they had a tendency to overreact. When you say the third heart is gone I'm wondering if it was chipped off and if it appears to have been done a long time ago. A photo can do many things, including stir one's imagination and desire to know more, and yours has certainly done that for me. Thank you for submitting and sharing it.