Daily AncestorMemento mori
Memento mori is Latin for remember that you must die, a motto carved on colonial gravestones, often in a banner under a skull.
The phrase, often misspelled momento mori by carvers, sits on many 18th century New England stones beside a death's head. It speaks to the reader, not about the deceased: you too will die, so prepare.
It fits the Puritan view of death that the skulls, coffins and hourglasses also express. Its presence helps date a stone to the colonial period; later stones moved from Here lies to gentler wording such as In memory of.
As seen in a recordMassachusetts burying ground, 1700 to 1790
Banner under a winged skull reading Momento Mori: Here lies Mrs. Experience Bassick, died Octr 2 1762 Aged 37
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Daily Ancestor. "Memento mori." Dictionary of Old Record Words. https://dailyancestor.com/dictionary/gravestone-symbols/memento-mori. Last checked 2026-10-15.