Parish Find Location 
Stenkyrka

Find Location 
Somewhere in Stenkyrka parish, probably in the church.

Find Context Classification 
Unknown

Present Location Classification 
Gotlands Museum Magasin Visborg

Coordinate Present Location (lat) 
6390259

Coordinate Present Location (long) 
695514

Material 
Limestone

Height 
45,5

Width 
25

Thickness 
24

Lindqvist Type 
A (ca. 400-600)

Lindqvist Shape 
Tall stone

Runic Inscription or not 
No

Context and Discovery 
The fragment was found in Gotlands Museum storage in Visborg inscribed with “Stenkyrka” on one of its narrow sides, so it probably came from Stenkyrka church, as so many fragments do. In “Gotlands Bildsteine”, Sune Lindqvist (1941/42 II, pp. 115–118) lists nine picture stones from Stenkyrka church. By contrast, the list put together by Jan Peder Lamm in 2003 contains no fewer than 40 new discoveries (Lamm/Nylén 2003, nos. 238–276, 425, 426). The unusually large number of stones found not only in the church, but in the entire parish, is an indicator of the political and religious position that Stenkyrka probably already held even before the first church was built (see Roosval 1914, p. 5). Many of the new finds from the church were discovered during a large-scale restoration, which was carried out in 1954/55 according to plans by the architect Rolf Bergh. This is probably also the case with the stone presented here.

The earliest church at this place was probably a wooden building that was replaced by a stone church in the first half of the twelfth century. The foundations of the first stone church were discovered beneath the floor of the current church, built during the thirteenth century. The tower with its portal was erected between 1280 and 1310 (on the building’s architectural history, see Roosval 1911, pp. 84–86; 1914, pp. 1–52, esp. 21–24; Lagerlöf/Svahnström 1991, pp. 239–243).

Measurements, Material and Condition 
The fragment is almost perfectly rectangular, measuring 45.5 x 25 cm, and up to 24 cm thick. One of the long sides preserves the original narrow side of the picture stone. The narrow side is hewn straight at right angles to the obverse and is not chamfered. The other three sides of the rectangle are straight broken edges. However, the obverse slopes slightly towards the edge. The surface is essentially flat but somewhat irregular and worn.

Description of Ornament and Images 
Two parallel grooves running along the original edge are the only decoration preserved on the fragment. The grooves are easily discernible and were traced with black paint in recent times.

Interpretation of the Imagery 
No interpretation

Type and Dating 
The fragment belongs to a tall early-type picture stone, i.e. Type A according to Lindqvist’s typology, dating to between AD 400 and 600. Due to the fragmentary condition and the lack of further decorative elements, a more precise classification is not possible.

References 
No references

 
Fyndplats
Bildsten påträffad någonstans i Stenkyrka socken. Möjligen påträffad i kyrkan 1954-55.

Nuvarande lokalisering
Gotlands museums magasin på Visborgsslätt.

Beskrivning
Fragment av stor tidig bildsten (period A), 45,5 x 25 cm. Kantdekor.

Inskrift
Ingen inskrift

Datering
Kan inte dateras med säkerhet, men tillhör perioden 400-600.

Tolkning
Ingen tolkning

AA

Title
GP 448 Stenkyrka (kyrka?)

Gotlands Museum ID 
GFC11024

ATA

Download here