Exedra - A permanent open air masonry bench with high back, usually semicircular in plan, patterned after the porches or alcoves of classical antiquity where philosophical discussions were held; in cemeteries, used as an element of landscape design and as a type of tomb monument.
When I was in Durham, there was a cemetery nearby with an exedra that I sort of fell in love with. (the one pictured above is in New York). I think they are absolutely lovely.
