Ever notice how old cemeteries face weird directions? Saw one in Arizona where all the stones were laid flat, like big sidewalks. Turns out it was easier to carve the names facing up, and the sun just bleached them white over time. Made it look planned but it was really just people being practical with the tools they had. Makes you wonder how much of that old stuff we think is deep meaning was just about what was easiest to do.
Read a book about old New England cemeteries that said the same thing. They would place markers facing east for religious reasons, but the real spacing and materials just came down to what the local stonecutter had on hand that year. Sometimes the fancy symbols we see now were just the standard template the carver used for everyone. Sun and rain did the rest of the work making it look all meaningful and old.