The Loose Association of Wargamers

Shahbahraz wrote: ↑Tue Apr 13, 2021 8:02 am

Penda wrote: ↑Tue Apr 13, 2021 7:56 am That is looking really good. Gravestones face East, hope you don't mind the reminder, but it always strikes me how many wargamers get that small detail wrong.

Well, there you go. I wasn't aware of that. Is it just a UK thing?

And not universal...

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Howff maybe just an English thing?

I wasn’t aware of that either

I can think of several cemeteries near me, as well as multiple CWGC war cemeteries in France, Belgium and the Netherlands where graves don't face East.

Shahbahraz wrote: ↑Tue Apr 13, 2021 8:04 am Maybe just an English thing?

No, supposedly it is a Judaeo-Christian custom reflecting the Second Coming/Resurrection Day theory. However, it is known that the Ancient Egyptians also followed the same practice due to their sun-worship, so it may just be another pre-Christian custom that was taken up by Christians in order to "fit in" and encourage converts by maintaining traditions.

I'd say you're more likely to find it in a churchyard cemetary than a public/council one.

I have a vision of all these little model gravestones on rotating bases so they can be lined up to face the sunrise, regardless of the orientation of the church.

One curious one is the Polish War Cemetery at Monte Cassino. All the graves have their feet pointing toward the monastery, so on the day of resurrection they'll all rise up facing Saint Benedict.

BaronVonWreckedoften wrote: ↑Tue Apr 13, 2021 11:15 am

Shahbahraz wrote: ↑Tue Apr 13, 2021 8:04 am Maybe just an English thing?

No, supposedly it is a Judaeo-Christian custom reflecting the Second Coming/Resurrection Day theory. However, it is known that the Ancient Egyptians also followed the same practice due to their sun-worship, so it may just be another pre-Christian custom that was taken up by Christians in order to "fit in" and encourage converts by maintaining traditions.

I'd say you're more likely to find it in a churchyard cemetary than a public/council one.

My family are all going to Hell then, as all of their graves (in church and chapel graveyards) face north or west. I'm not therefore convinced that it's a universal 'thing'.

For example, in the War Cemetery at Ranville Church (near Pegasus Bridge) the bulk of the graves do indeed face East. However, the war graves inside the churchyard itself are arranged around the perimeter wall, so face south or west. There's also a small war cemetery on the Somme where the graves are all arranged in a circle!

Christian Graves should always dug E-W and the occupant planted so that they can stand up facing the direction of the sunrise on resurrection. Gravestones go at either end of the grave, just take a stroll through any graveyard and you'll see they're often placed back to back "in between" adjacent rows of graves. Sometimes in historic graves, because coffins were just rectangular boxes, you find someone has been put in the grave the wrong way around. They're going to be really annoyed come resurrection, although as they've been dug up already it's probably less of an issue for them!

I can't also recall ever excavating a grave coming from between the Roman and Medieval periods that had anything that could be called a Gravestone and very few before the post-Medieval. I suppose this may have been due to the stones getting robbed for reuse, but it doesn't seem to have been normal for most people.

So on the Wargames table, how do you know which direction East is?

The way your graves are facing.

Or , since you are an accountant, The window side