Draped monuments

Urns, draped or otherwise, often atop a column, are common monuments in older graveyards. They hark back to Roman times when cremation was more common than burial and the ashes were placed in a simple marble box or pot known as an urna, from the Latin urere, meaning "to burn."  The modern draped urn, is usually taken to mean that the soul has departed the shrouded body for its journey to heaven. Broken columns, sometimes draped are usually erected on graves where the deceased died relatively young, cut off prematurely.

These examples are to be found in Peterhead cemetery,  just two of a large number.

Extra. On a lighter note they make excellent perches for the ever present herring gulls!