Comb Graves - Lamar County, Alabama

Year ago I would encounter the tent-like grave covers in my travels in Alabama and Georgia. I learned that these type of grave covers are called Comb graves. 

Descriptions  of Comb Graves:  

• A stone structure built over an in-ground grave that is triangular in shape. It most often consists of two rectangular sandstone slabs placed together to form a gabled roof over the grave. 

•  slabs of rock (or other materials) that cover the length of the graves. The stones lean against each other to form inverted v-shapes, like the gables of a roof.                                                     

The greatest concentration of these graves can be found on the Cumberland Plateau of Tennessee. The Cumberland Plateau of Tennessee                    


The comb grave below is found in the Sizemore Cemetery of Lamar County, Alabama. This is in the Fall Line Hills of the Alabama Coastal Plain. 

Sources:

Alabama Historical Commission,  Guide to Common Alabama GraveMarkers, www.ahc.alabama.gov.



Griffith, G.E., J.M. Omernik, J.A. Comstock, G. Martin, A. Goddard, and V.J. Hulcher. 2001. Ecoregions of Alabama. U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, National Health and Environmental Effects Research Laboratory, Corvallis, OR.

TSLAblog. “Comb Graves of Tennessee.” Library & Archives News: The Tennessee State Library and Archives Blog, January 1, 1970. http://tslablog.blogspot.com/2015/12/comb-graves-of-tennessee.html.


Comb Graves Encountered:

Alabama
Arkadelphia Baptist Church                 Cullman County

Sizemore Cemetery                              Lamar County

Chickasaw Cemetery                           Walker County