GP 4 Alskog Ollajvs

Context and Discovery
For a long time, “as long as could be remembered”, the stone been used as a bridge in a field in Tomtängskvior 1.3 km to the east of Alskog church, 0.5 km to the north-west from its present location. The stone was lying with the carving surface downwards. In 1923 it was removed from the bridge by von A. Edle, on the request from the National Antiquarian. According to Gotlands runinskrifter, the stone was investigated soon after it was moved by runologist Otto von Friesen and pharmacist J. W. Hamner (GR 1, p. 189). In the autumn 1924 (GR I, p. 189) or in 1925 (Lindqvist 1941/1942 II, p. 15), the stone was raised in its present location in the grave field at Gålrum in Alskog parish, 50 m to the west of the road from Lau church and the farm Hallgårds (Lindqvist 1941/1942 II, p. 15; GR I, p. 189; Fornsök). According to Gotlands runinskrifter, the stone probably originally stood somewhere near the find spot or possibly been brought from the grave field Gålrum, one of the most prominent grave fields on Gotland. Gålrum covers an area of 385 x 150 m and includes at least 124 features including mounds, round stone settings and ship settings (Fornsök). However, this grave field is primarily known for its features from earlier periods, i.e., from the Bronze Age until the Roman Iron Age (Nylén 1966, pp. 21–22; GA 1966, p. 61–62; Jonsson/Lindquist 1987, p. 168).

On a photo by John W Hamner dated to 1923, the runic inscription and parts of the sail are traced with black colour. On another photo, taken by Harald Faith-Ell in 1933, it can be seen that the painting of the sail was adjusted in the upper left corner. Waves, mast and parts of the hull and the border ornament are painted as well. However, on an undated photo by an unknown photographer, the runes have been retouched again but to a lesser extent (ATA Run- och bildstenssamlingen.) It might be suspected that this is a later photo and that parts of the inscription have weathered away in the meantime.

The parish Alskog has a total of seven known picture stones. These include the famous stone GP 5 Alskog Tjängvide and the fragmented but still intriguing GP 3 Alskog kyrka. The roots of two stones remain in situ in Visne ängar (GP 8, GP 9), and two have been lost (GP 6, GP 7).
LKÅ
GP 5 Alskog Tjängvide I
GP 3 Alskog kyrka
GP 8 Alskog Visnar ängar 1
GP 9 Alskog Visnar ängar 2
GP 6 Alskog Tjängvide II
GP 7 Alskog Tjängvide III

Measurements, Material and Condition
Limestone. The total height of the stone is 2.6 m, of which 1.8 m is above ground. From the top of the stone to the lowest line of the carving, the height is 1.52 m. The head of the stone is 1.0 m wide and 0.65 m high. The width of the neck 0.91 m and the base 1.38 m. Thickness 0.15–0.30 m (Lindqvist 1941/1942 II, p. 15)

The carving surface is naturally smooth, yet a bit raw and uneven. The edges are perpendicular to the front side, beveled to the front and the back side of the stone. The back of the stone has wear marks from wagon wheels and trampling. The carving was made with shallow lines that have partly disappeared (Lindqvist 1941/1942 II, p. 15). Today the carving is badly weathered, almost worn out and difficult to discern (GR I, p. 189).
LKÅ

Description of Ornament and Images
On the upper part, faint traces of an interlace border can be distinguished. There are remains of a ship with a large, diagonally chequered sail, just beneath the neck of the stone and stretching across the whole of the surface between the borders. Beneath the ship, there are waves breaking to the right (Lindqvist 1941/1942, p. II:15). Lindqvist means that the surface around the sail makes the impression of being lowered (Lindqvist 1941/1942 II, p. 15), but Wessén is of the opinion that the pictures have been made with carved lines, not in relief (GR I, p. 189).

Just above the ship, in a cross ribbon below the “ears” of the stone, there is a runic inscription, which was first discovered by J. W. Hamner. A baseline on which the runes are standing is relatively clear (some centimetres above the sail), but it is uncertain whether there also was an upper frame line. The height of the runes is c. 6 cm. Only a few of the runes to the left can now be discerned. The runes are narrow and shallow. Probably most of the inscription had already disappeared when it was investigated by von Friesen in 1924 (GR I, pp. 189–190). Lindqvist noted that the runes weres best preserved to the left (Lindqvist 1941/1942 II, p. 15). Wessén thought that the surface was fragile because it had been exposed to the damp soil for a long time and that the weathering process had been rapid in the following years. Wessén investigated the inscription three times, in 1954 and 1961, and the last time together with S. B. F. Jansson and I. Andersson. Still, he could only make out a few of the runes, fewer than von Friesen in 1924 (GR I, pp. 189–190).

The carving was painted by Sune Lindqvist, but it is now difficult to discern the inscriptions as well as the pictures. In Uppsala University Library, there is a photo with a note by Elias Wessén kept with the notebooks from von Friesen that states “Detta är Hamners foto med von Friesens läsning. Vi kunde i somras omöjligen få fram så mycket. Trol. har det vittrat bort. Därför bör kanske denna bild tas med?” (This is Hamner’s photo of the reading by Friesen. This summer we could by no means see that much. It has probably weathered away. Therefore this picture should perhaps be included? Transl. by author) (von Friesen 1900–1925).

The stone was cleaned and painted in 2000. Thorgunn Snaedal visited the stone c. 2004. In 2010, Magnus Källström visited the stone and found that it was possible to see more of the inscription than had been documented by Elias Wessén in Gotlands runinskrifter (Laborativa runanalyser II, p. 72).

In November 2013, an RTI-analysis was made within the pilot project Laborativa runanalyser at the Swedish National Heritage Board. The stone was then overgrown with green lichen. The aim was to investigate whether the RTI could help to enhance the reading of the runic inscription, as von Friesen had read 14 runes while 37 years later Wessén could only identify four runes and a word divider. It was extremely difficult to achieve good RTI-images of the carving surface, partly due to the bulging stone surface but probably also due to the team’s limited experience of the method at the time. Nevertheless, judging by the RTI-images, there possibly is the runic sequence ruþR at the beginning of the inscription. This deviates from earlier readings, unless the runes can be read before the rune sequence aft. Neither von Friesen’s nor Wessén’s readings could be verified in the RTI-model (Laborativa runanalyser II, pp. 78, 80–81 Figur 152, Figur 153).
LKÅ

Interpretation of the Imagery
The pictures still visible on the weathered stone show a ship and waves. There is a border with interlace. The ship is often interpreted as a section of the deceased person’s travel to Valhalla or, following a line of interpretation stressing a more realistic content, as depicting some event in his life such as a merchant or raiding trip (for interpretations of the ship and the Valhalla motifs, see also GP 280 När Smiss I and GP 390 Stenkyrka Lillbjärs III).

The secondary use of the stone in a bridge might have occurred for purely practical reasons, but it may also have a symbolic interpretation, as it is well known that stairs, doorsteps and bridges have important connotations in folk religion and folkloristic imagination. It is conceivable that the people who placed it there hoped for some kind of magical protection (Oehrl 2019, p. I:44).
LKÅ
GP 280 När Smiss I
GP 390 Stenkyrka Lillbjärs III

Type and Dating
Type C. Viking Age, 8th–10th century. The C-stones were generally dated to the early 8th century by Lindqvist (Lindqvist 1941/1942). Later, this has been discussed and modified by several scholars. Nerman suggested a date of c. 700 (Nerman 1947, p. 109). Lori Eshleman suggested that they belong to c. AD 790–840 (Eshleman 1983). In general, the group may cover dates from the 8th to 10th century (see GP 30 Boge Laxarve for further discussion). The dating of the picture carving on GP 4 is partly dependent on whether the runic inscription is contemporary with the pictures or if it was added later. Snædal dates the stone runologically to the middle or second half of the 9th century (Snædal 2002, p. 64), implying either a later date for the whole carving or that the runic inscription is a later addition. This stone is drawn into the debate of the dating of the short-twig runes (Johnsen 1968, p. 80; Källström 2012), and it is of some importance whether the runes are contemporary with the pictures or were added later. Sanness Johnsen suggested as a possibility that the horizontal band where we find the runes originally might have been painted with ornament, and that later the ornament was washed away and replaced with incised runes (Johnsen 1968, p. 81; Oehrl 2019, p. I:276). However, Oehrl is of the opinion that an area was prepared for a runic inscription in the planning process (Oehrl 2019, p. 276), implying that the date of the runic inscription also is the date of the picture stone.
LKÅ
GP0030

References
Lindqvist 1941/42 II, p. 15, Fig. 302; GR I, pp. 189–190, Pl. 54 (G 109); GA 1966, p. 61–62; Jonsson/Lindquist 1987, p. 168; Oehrl 2019a, pp. 18, 41, 275–276.

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