Parish Find Location 
Gammelgarn

Find Location 
Re-used as building material in a stone enclosure belonging to the farm ʻHögstens gårdʼ, Gammelgarn parish.

Find Context Classification 
Private Property

Present Location Classification 
Gotlands Museum Magasin Visborg

Coordinate Present Location (lat) 
6390259

Coordinate Present Location (long) 
695514

Material 
Limestone

Limestone Type 
crinoid limestone

Geological Group 
Klinteberg Formation (40%)

Height 
72

Width 
43

Thickness 
11

Lindqvist Type 
B (ca. 500-700)

Lindqvist Shape 
Dwarf stone

Iconographic Keywords 
waves 

Runic Inscription or not 
No

Context and Discovery 
The stone is published in Lindqvist’s book; however, he is very brief about the find history. More background information is given in a report kept in the archive in Stockholm (ATA dnr 2897-1933): The picture stone fragment was found by Berta Hansson on the property of her father, Olof Hansson, who was the landowner of Högstens gård in Gammelgarn parish. The stone had been incorporated into a stentun, a stone wall or enclosure, which separated two fields from each other (Betningsåker and Hemåker). The stone enclosure had been erected in the 1830s by Olof Hansson’s father. It is said that at this spot there had been a röse and some stone piles (stone settings?), which Olof’s father used as building material for the enclosure. After its discovery, the picture stone was moved to the farmstead and in 1933 donated to Gotlands Museum.

Measurements, Material and Condition 
“Limestone slab, 11.5 cm thick. The obverse hewn above the root, in the horizontal profile rather convex. The narrow sides convex and without chamfer towards the obverse, the reverse unworked. Height 71.5 cm, of which 32 cm are preserved above the root. Width at the basis 37 cm” (Lindqvist 1941/42 II, pp. 44). There are hardly any traces of weathering observable; the decoration is deeply carved and can be clearly seen. The root represents a massive clump-like ʻfootʼ, which is typical for Type B dwarf stones.

Description of Ornament and Images 
“Decoration with wide carved lines with rounded bottoms. Along the vertical edges, there are borders with a simplified ʻtwisted cordʼ pattern and double inner framing lines. At the very bottom of the image field, there are closely spaced, parallel zigzag lines, above, a hewn panel of 12 cm height that is limited at the top by an only partially visible zigzag line. It is likely that there were no images in this panel” (Lindqvist 1941/42 II, pp. 44, 46). Whether the zigzag pattern on GP 143 Halla Broa I (and GP 146 Halla Broa VIII) represents the waves of the sea, remains uncertain. In both cases, the stone’s head is lost and no vessel preserved.
GP 143 Halla Broa I
GP 146 Halla Broa VIII

Interpretation of the Imagery 
No interpretation

Type and Dating 
The size and the massive root of the small monument clearly indicate a middle-type picture stone, which means a Type B dwarf stone, dating to between AD 500 and 700. Simplified interlace (twisted cord patterns), looking like a primitive step pattern, occur frequently on Type B stones. A good example, as the twisted cord is raised here as well, is provided by GP 329 Roma klosterruinen, which Lindqvist assigns to his ʻStenstu groupʼ. A zigzag ornamentation comparable to the horizontal border decoration on the stone from Högstens can be seen on GP 143 Halla Broa I, which, accordig to Lindqvist, belongs to the ʻStenstu groupʼ as well. The best match, however, depicting both the horizontal zigzag border and the simplified interlace is represented by the fragment GP 146 Halla Broa VIII.
GP 329 Roma klosterruin
GP 143 Halla Broa I
GP 146 Halla Broa VIII

References 
Lindqvist 1941/42 II, pp. 44, 46, fig. 346; Guber 2011, pp. 67, 117 cat. no. 16.

 
Fyndplats
Bildstenen påträffades i en stengärdsgård, som uppfördes på 1830-talet, för att skilja Hemåker från Betningsåker på Högstens gård. Enligt uppgifter fanns tidigare ett röse och några stensättningar på fyndplatsen. Efter fyndet fördes bildstenen till gården och donerades 1933 till Gotlands Fornsal.

Nuvarande lokalisering
Gotlands museums magasin, Visborgsslätt.

Beskrivning
Delar av en dvärgsten (typ B), 71.5 cm hög och 37 cm bred. Kantdekoration bevarad, men stenen har troligen inte innehållit någon bild.

Datering
Dateringen kan inte anges närmare, men bildstenen tillhör perioden 500-700.

Tolkning
Ingen tolkning

AA

Title
GP 93 Gammelgarn Högstens

Gotlands Museum ID 
GFC8075

Jan Peder Lamm ID 
62

Lindqvist Title 
Gammelgarn, Högstens

ATA