Also know as Stela or Stele (Greek for shaft or column) or stelae, a stone carved in relief as part as a column or can be a stand alone element. Stela have been used for many purposes throughout history. Stela would serve as a monument stone to honor the dead but also as a boundary marker, or as monuments to battles. This type of stele would most likely to have been the top decorative stone on a column of similar, less ornate stones below it as you would see in Xian China or at ZhalanCemetery where stelae were use to commemorate Jesuits Chinese Missionaries.