steles
Ancient stone markers
Steles is the plural of stele, an upright stone slab or pillar bearing inscriptions, carvings, or commemorative designs.
Ancient cultures used steles as grave markers, boundary stones, or monuments to record laws and victories: The museum houses Mayan steles covered in hieroglyphs.
The word also refers to the central vascular tissue in plant stems and roots.
Vertical or morally sound
- erectVertical in position
- verticalAt right angles groundward
- slabThick flat piece
- pillarUpright architectural support
column · obelisk · monolith · shaft · plinth · pedestal · freestanding · rectangular
Symbolic picture-based writing
- cuneiformStylus-impressed ancient script
- glyphsCarved symbolic figures
- inscriptionText permanently marked
- epitaphText honoring the deceased
engraving · script · calligraphy · lettering · decipherment · epigraphy · paleography · text
Thing preserving remembrance
- tributeOffering of respect
- dedicationWholehearted loyalty to purpose
- honorHigh regard, moral dignity
- remembranceAct of holding something in mind
cenotaph · funerary · mortuary · gravestone · tombstone · headstone · epitaph · ancestors
Sculpture projecting slightly
- reliefEasing of distress
- chiselEdged carving implement
- engraveCarve designs permanently
- sculptureShaped three-dimensional art
stonecutter · mason · etching · frieze · sculptor · iconography · motif · ornamentation
Igneous rock, quartz-rich
- limestoneCarbonate sedimentary rock
- marbleRecrystallized limestone rock
- sandstoneCemented grain sediment
- basaltFine-grained volcanic stone
slate · quartzite · diorite · quarry · monolithic · hewn · dressed · weathered
Great age, ancient era
- archaeologyStudy of physical remnants
- excavationAct of unearthing
- artifactHuman-made historical object
upright
Vertical or morally sound
pillar · column · obelisk · monolith · shaft · plinth · pedestal · freestanding · rectangular · tapered
hieroglyphics
Symbolic picture-based writing
- cuneiformStylus-impressed ancient script
- glyphsCarved symbolic figures
- inscriptionText permanently marked
epitaph · engraving · script · calligraphy · lettering · decipherment · epigraphy · paleography · text · runic
memorial
Thing preserving remembrance
- tributeOffering of respect
- dedicationWholehearted loyalty to purpose
- honorHigh regard, moral dignity
remembrance · cenotaph · funerary · mortuary · gravestone · tombstone · headstone · epitaph · ancestors · fallen
bas-relief
Sculpture projecting slightly
sculpture · stonecutter · mason · etching · frieze · sculptor · iconography · motif · ornamentation · figural
granite
Igneous rock, quartz-rich
- limestoneCarbonate sedimentary rock
- marbleRecrystallized limestone rock
- sandstoneCemented grain sediment
basalt · slate · quartzite · diorite · quarry · monolithic · hewn · dressed · weathered · patina
antiquity
Great age, ancient era
- archaeologyStudy of physical remnants
- excavationAct of unearthing
- artifactHuman-made historical object
- less than stellarNot meeting high standards
- stellar explosionViolent end of massive sun
- stellar populationsStars grouped by age and composition
- stellar windStar's ejected particle stream
- stellar nurseryGas cloud birthing suns
stellar, constellation, interstellar, stele, stelae, stellate, stela, stellated