Daily AncestorScallop shell
A scallop shell on a gravestone stands for pilgrimage, the journey of life, and the resurrection to life everlasting.
The shell is an old Christian badge of pilgrims, and colonial carvers used it for life's pilgrimage, the resurrection and life everlasting.
Victorian writers grouped the seashell with the urn among symbols that came from pre-Christian sources. Actual shells placed on graves are a separate custom found in some places. On a carved stone, the shell is a hopeful sign rather than a fact about the person.
As seen in a recordNew England burying ground, 1750 to 1840
Fan-shaped shell in the arch of a slate stone: In memory of Deacon Ichabod Sweetser, who died Octr 9 1808, in his 67th year
Sources
- Early American Gravestones: Introduction to the Farber Gravestone Collection, by Jessie Lie Farber (American Antiquarian Society)
- Symbolism: Animal (Old Cemeteries Society of Victoria)
- Messages in Stone: Symbolism on Victorian Grave Markers, by Loren N. Horton (The Palimpsest, State Historical Society of Iowa, 1989)
How to cite this page
Daily Ancestor. "Scallop shell." Dictionary of Old Record Words. https://dailyancestor.com/dictionary/gravestone-symbols/scallop-shell. Last checked 2026-10-15.