Parish Find Location 
Buttle

Find Location 
Ungelhem gård in Buttle parish.

Find Context Classification 
Landscape

Coordinate Find Location (lat) 
6367078

Coordinate Find Location (long) 
708826

Parish Present Location 
Buttle

Present Location 
In situ, erected.

Present Location Classification 
Landscape
In-Loco

Coordinate Present Location (lat) 
6367078

Coordinate Present Location (long) 
708826

Material 
Limestone

Height 
162

Width 
95

Thickness 
25

Lindqvist Type 
C/D (ca. 700-1000)

Lindqvist Shape 
Tall stone

Runic Inscription or not 
No

Context and Discovery 
According to the 1939 inventory book, the find spot belongs to the property of Altajme (Altheime) gård, and the location of the stone is described in the following way: ca. 950 m south of Altajme manor house, ca. 20 m north of the border between Altajme and Nygårds, ca. 20 m west of the border between Altajme and Buttlegårde.

Lindqvist (1941/42 II, p. 39), however, names the find place ʻUnglajmarʼ and describes the location of the stone as follows: “The picture stone is located, with the obverse to the east and in a strongly inclined position, about 150 m southwest of a ʻkämpgravʼ group near a dead straight forest path running from the main road from Buttle train station to the west in a straight southerly direction just west of the first farmstead indicated in SGU’s map, sheet Klintehamn. Having followed this path for 900 m (500 m south of the bridge over the stream indicated in the map), the old house foundations are to the left and shortly afterwards the picture stone 50 m to the right (west). In the vicinity to the picture stone, several smaller stone piles of graves can be seen, as well as other such stone piles, ʻvastarʼ, and other antiquities to the north. FN [Fredrik Nordin] was informed in 1918 that the stone had been removed from its place several years earlier, but was returned, and its position had been changed slightly. Registered by farm owner Niklas Olofsson in Änge in 1910.” Lindqvist (1941/42 II, fig. 338) also reproduces a sketch of the location of the find spot by Fredrik Nordin dating to 1918 and 1919. According to Buttle Hembygdsförening, Unglajmar/Unglajm gård is actually the right property; the correct spelling, however, was ʻUngelhemʼ.

Measurements, Material and Condition 
The mushroom-shaped picture stone has a height of 1.62 m above ground, its head is 0.62 m wide, its neck 60 cm, its base 0.98 m. Its thickness is 0.15 m at the bottom. Lindqvist noted that the stone was standing in a strongly inclined position, and the 1978 inventory book specifies that the stone was tilted at a 45-degree angle. In 1993, the stone was set upright again and enclosed by a wooden fence; cracks and brittle parts were patched up (see the report kept in GF, Buttle sn Altajme, RIKs nr. 1606-3026, 3038 with references to further reports). In 2009, the stone’s condition was reassessed, and further restoration measures took place (GF, Buttle sn Allmänt, Konserveringsrapport avseende fem bildstenar, Gotland 2009). The stone, which by then was tilted again, was set upright and supported with small boulders. The vegetation around the stone and the fence were removed. A horizontal crack where the stone had broken was patched again as well as certain fragile parts at the slab’s narrow sides. Iron brackets on the reverse are expected to provide more stability. Taken as a whole, the stone is very fragile and unstable due to poor quality of its material, as it is composed of 2–3 cm thick limestone layers bound with marl (not clay mineral as stated in the report). This material (ʻlimestone-marl alternationʼ) is quite unsuitable for picture stone production, and for its large size, the slab is much too thin. The stone’s obverse is almost snow white in colour, due to it being completely overgrown by white lichen.

Description of Ornament and Images 
No remains of carvings discernable.

Interpretation of the Imagery 
No interpretation

Type and Dating 
The large stone’s typical mushroom shape is completely preserved. The corners of the somewhat elongated head are only slightly pronounced, and both the head and the body of the picture stone are quite slim, just the same type as, for instance, GP 61 Buttle Änge I, which Lindqvist counts among the Lärbro-group monuments. Thus, the Unglajmar stone certainly represents a Type C monument. Those picture stones date to the 8th century (according to Lindqvist) or between around AD 800 and the 10th century.
GP0061

References 
Lindqvist 1941/42 II, p. 39, fig. 338–339.

 
Fyndplats
Bildstenen står på ägorna till Ungelhem, cirka 950 m söder om Altajme gårds boningshus. Enligt uppgift från 1918 var stenen tidigare flyttade från sin ursprungliga plats, men sedan åter ställd nära den ursprungliga platsen.

Nuvarande lokalisering
Bildstenen står på samma plats som 1918.

Beskrivning
Svampformad bildsten (typ C-D), 162 cm hög och 98 cm som bredast. Inga spår av bilder finns bevarade.

Datering
Dateringen kan inte anges närmare, men bildstenen tillhör perioden 700-900-talen (vikingatiden).

Tolkning
Ingen tolkning

AA

Title
GP 63 Buttle Unglajmar

Fornsök ID 
L1977:270

RAÄ ID 
Buttle 48:1

Jan Peder Lamm ID 
47

Lindqvist Title 
Buttle, Unglajmar

ATA
K-Samsök