Tombstones are found in different forms and materials, usually stone or wood. Tombstones made of a wooden material have a limited life but, on the other hand, they are easy to handle thanks to their relatively low weight. Tombstones made of a stone material are heavy and consequently awkward to handle not the least in connection with their erecti_on_ but, on the other hand, have a substantially longer life than tomb¬ stones of a wooden material. Due to their weight tombstones of stone materials also require a well prepared and a more stable foundation than wooden tombstones to be able maintain their intended position for a long time. Moreover, tombstones of a wooden material have the advantage in comparison with tomb¬ stones of a βtone material that it is easier to make the in¬ tended inscription in wood than in βtone.

It is apparent from the above that the ideal of tomb¬ stones should be one so conβtituted that it combineβ the beet qualities of tombstoneβ of wood and stone materials but not the negative qualities thereof, and it is the object of this invention to provide βuch a tombβtone, i.e. one having a long life, a low weight and which can be provided with the intende inscription without great difficulties even after being erect ed and, moreover, can be so constituted that, if desired, it can be used as a repository for e.g. one or more flower- vaβeβ, small garden toolβ and the like.

The invention ia described in the following in greater detail with reference to the enclosed drawings in which Fiσ. 1 is a front view of an embodiment of the tombβtone, Fig. 2 is lateral view thereof, Fig. 3 ahowβ a section taken along the line 11—11 in Fig. 1, Fi . 4 shows a section taken substan¬ tially along the line IV-IV in Fig. 1 and Fig. 5 shows a sec¬ tion taken along the line V-V in Fig. 4. The tombstone comprises a casing 1 of a weatherproof ma terial, for instance stainless steel, aluminum, a plastic ma¬ terial or the like which casing may have any desired form, as seen against the drawing plane, even if a preferred form is shown as an example in Fig. 1. The casing 1 comprises a back side 2, two end sides 3, 4, a bottom side 5 and a roof side 6

having the form of a mansard roof in the example shown in Fig. 1. These sides included in the casing i are interconnected to one unit but it is also possible to form the casing 1 in one piece, for instance in case of plastic materials. Except the casing i the tombstone comprises a foot 7 consisting of a foot plate θ and a hollow stand 9 fixedly con¬ nected to this preferably tightly and having a rectangular cross-sectional form in the example shown on the drawings. Of course the stand may have another cross-βectional form suit- able for the purpose. Mounting nuts 10 are fixedly arranged in the upper four corners of the stand by means of which and suitable bolts 11 the casing 1 is connected to the foot 7, as shown in Fig, 3. The tombstone is anchored in or on a founda¬ tion with the foot 7 and is preferably dug into the ground to a suitable depth so that the ground surface is preferably closer to the bottom side 5 of the casing than the bottom plate 8 of the foot when the tombstone is erected. To increase the stability and consequently to reduce the risk of a tomb¬ stone anchored in the ground being inclined the bottom plate 8 of the foot can be made bigger than what is shown or be pro¬ vided with laterally extending projections, as indicated in Fig. 3 with broken lines 12, which projections can be of the same material as the foot 7 which, in turn, should preferably be made of the same material as the casing i . According to the present invention the front side of the casing consists of an inscription plate 13 of a suitable ma¬ terial, preferably a wooden material such as teak, oak, pine or the like treated in a suitable way to be so weatherproof as possible. Of course the inscription plate can be made of an- other material, e.g. a plastic material similar to marble or marble which, however, is less suitable due to its relatively high density.

In the embodiment shown on the drawings the inscription plate 13 is suspended in the casing 1 by means of hinges 14 which should be so arranged that the plate 13 in its closed position which is substantially parallel to the back side 2 where it preferably abuts with its edge portion turned from the hinges one or more supports arranged at the roof , end and/or bottom side 6, 3 and 5, respectively, of the casing, is substantially overlapped by the sides of the casing, as shown

in Fig. 3. The part of the plate 13 lying outside said sides can preferably have beveled corners, as shown at 15 in Fig. 2. In its closed position the plate 13 is locked by a lock¬ ing means 16 of a type known per se. An example of such a locking means is shown in Figs. 4 and 5 comprising a locking hook 17 attached to a locking shaft 20 mounted by means of bushes 19 in the end side 3 of the casing and in a clamp 18 attached to this, said shaft 20 having a key groove 21 in its portion outside the end side 3 of the casing for operating the locking hook into and out of locking position. In the locking position the locking hook 17 engages behind a securing plate 22 attached to the back aide of the plate, said plate 13 having a recess 23 for the locking hook 17 inside said secur¬ ing plate -2 . To prevent the locking shaft 20 from moving in its axial direction a locking pin 24 is arranged between the bushes 19.

Thus, the casing forms together with the inscription plate 13 a storage space 25 in which small garden tools, vases etc. can be stored and in which some type of lamp also can be placed, preferably a battery-operated one for illuminating the tombstone and the piece of ground in front of it on suitable occasions. If the inscription plate is of a light-permeable material the bottom side 5 of the casing and the lower edge of the inscription plate facing said bottom side are at any rate so embodied that a slot 26 is formed between them through which light can beam and illuminate the burial-place in front of the tombstone. The inscription plate 13 should be as tight¬ ly connected to the sides 3, 4, 5 and 6 of the casing as possible along the other edges. As the inscription plate 13 is removably arranged, it will be substantially simpler than in known tombstones to pro¬ vide the tombstone with the intended inscription, especially after it is erected in its position. In accordance with the invention it is also possible - even if not shown on the draw ings - to make one or more parallel, relatively wide grooves of a dovetail-shaped cross-section in the inscription plate 13 which grooves extend transversely of the plate 13 and in whic inscription plates with or without inscription are arranged so that they can be inserted or pulled out. These plates can be of the same material as the plate 13 or of another preferably

contrasting material. This arrangement is particularly suit¬ able with tombstones for family graves as it is possible with these plates to provide the tombstone with the intended in¬ scription in a very simple way. It should be noted that these grooves in the form of dovetails should have such a depth that the inscription plates cannot be removed at a closed plate 13 but are prevented from this by the end sides 3, 4 of the casing, and these plates can also be locked in their grooves by means of screws screwed from the back side of the plate. Thanks to their unique design the present tombstone in¬ cludes a lot of possibilities for variations in addition to those already mentioned which will not be explained more closely here. However, such a possibility should be mentioned which can be said to consist in utilization of the foot of the tombstone as a water container thanks to its embodiment in order to achieve long-term watering of flowers placed in front of the tombstone.

This invention is not restricted to what has been de¬ scribed above and shown on the drawings but can be changed and varied in several different manners within the scope of the inventive idea defined in the claims.