Oakland Cemetery, Atlanta, Georgia

Wheat’s origins are unknown but is the basis of basic food and a staple in many cultures and as such is viewed as a gift from Heaven.  It symbolizes immortality and resurrection.  But, like many symbols found on gravestones, they can have more than one meaning.  For instance, the sheaf of wheat can represent the Body of Christ.  Wheat can also represent a long life, usually more than three score and ten, or seventy years.