Gravestone symbolism

What lies beneath the moss and lichens covering this Garrison Graveyard marker stone?

At Parks Canada’s Fort Anne National Historic Site in Annapolis Royal, Nova Scotia, this stone was part of a cleaning and                         restoration project involving all 234 standing stones in it’s Garrison Graveyard (~1660 - 1940).

After cleaning                                                     Photos above: AndrewTolson

Quite a difference, you’ll agree. The details are now clear as day. But what do we make of the cross and the letters I, H, and S inside the circle?

Recently, Mapannapolis discovered the BillionGraves.com blog

From Gravestone Symbols from A to Z, a BillionGraves.com blog post.

We read: “Sometimes the letters I, H, and S are intertwined on a gravestone, making them look like a dollar sign.

But the letters are actually a religious symbol. I, H, and S are the first three initials (iota-eta-sigma) of the name Jesus Christ in Greek: ΙΗΣΟΥΣ.

This symbol was introduced in Ireland in about 1780 and was very popular from about 1810 to 1830. It is often seen on Catholic gravestones today.”

Garrison Graveyard, Parks Canada National Historic Site

See our Garrison Graveyard storymap here: https://www.mapannapolis.ca/garrison-graveyard

See our Annapolis County, Nova Scotia, cemeteries and churches storymap here: https://www.mapannapolis.ca/cemeteries-churches