Miller, William David2014-03-142014-03-142001-01-15etd-04162001-192223http://hdl.handle.net/10919/31729What do these stones mean to you? At some point in man's history, there came a moment in time when he realized an inherent need to be remembered. Whether it was man's first sin and its immediate consequences of earthly mortality. Or whether it was the progress and development on an evolutionary scale where man emerges and with it invention and time to contemplate his existence. I cannot say. There is however a moment when man discovered the concept of self and the reality of death. I am. I think. I will. My hands... My spirit... My sky... My forest... This earth is mine... What must I say besides? These are the words. This is the answer. 1. With this answer, this knowledge, the concept of memorial was born. Man's physical manifestation of his existence in this world. We recognized the power of objects - of Architecture. Stones were raised uprightto mark open land. Planted deep in the earth like artificial trees, these tall shafts became signposts of permanence, of civilized life. These monuments, towers, obelisks, pyramids, and the like command attention and mark a center. They lay claim to space and give us something to be next to... They help us inhabit places and stand in for us when were not there. 2. If we are not there and we can not represent ourselves, can it be these stones have a soul?In CopyrightMemorialstonesThesishttp://scholar.lib.vt.edu/theses/available/etd-04162001-192223/