Parish Find Location 
Alva

Find Location 
Gudings gård (the farm Gudings).

Find Context Classification 
Private Property

Coordinate Find Location (lat) 
6345070

Coordinate Find Location (long) 
702707

Present Location Classification 
Gotlands Museum Magasin Visborg

Coordinate Present Location (lat) 
6390259

Coordinate Present Location (long) 
695514

Material 
Limestone

Height 
32

Width 
18

Thickness 
13

Lindqvist Type 
E (ca. 1000-1150)

Lindqvist Shape 
Unclear

Runic Inscription or not 
Yes

Runic Inscription 
…-h----a(l)asuslu

Context and Discovery 
The stone and its find circumstances are described by Thorgunn Snædal in the manuscript for the third part of Gotlands runinskrifter under the signum G 368. The stone was found in April 1968 by Paul Ahlsten, Gudings 1:53, while digging a ditch for a cable crossing the courtyard. The ditch ran between the western barn and the south-west corner of the manor. The stone fragment lay in front of the double doors between the western barn and the manor. When the stone was found, the find spot was carefully investigated but with no result. There was a 30-cm thick recent cultural layer on top of sand, which was taken as an indicator that the find spot was secondary. The original site of the stone cannot be assessed, nor when the stone ended up on the find spot (GR 3, see G 368; Manneke 1969; Gustavson/Snædal Brink 1980).

The stone was included in the collections of Gotland Museum in a decision by RAÄ on 1977–10–07. For a period, it was stored in the lapidarium in the cellar of Gotland Museum. In November 24, 2022, the stone was moved from the lapidarium to the Visborg storage facility.

There are three more picture stones in the parish (GP 10, GP 11, GP 13).
LKÅ
GP 10 Alva St. Ringome
GP0011
GP 13 Alva Bopparve

Measurements, Material and Condition 
Limestone. Fragment with length 0,32 m, width 0,18 m, thickness 0,13 m. The runes are 4 to 4,5 cm high.
LKÅ

Description of Ornament and Images 
Runic animal and a rune band in distinct relief. The sunken surface is rifled and has clearly visible traces of tools. The stone is reworked into an object with a straight edge, and the runes were damaged in the process.
LKÅ

Interpretation of the Imagery 
According to Snædal, it might have been the lower right corner of a picture stone-shaped runestone, similar to GP 360 Sproge kyrka (G 373); alternatively it might have been included in a cist stone of the same type as GP 341 Sanda kyrka I (G 181). These types of runic picture stones have been dated to the 11th century (GR 3, see G 268; Lindqvist 1941/42, pp. 122-123; Gustavson/Snædal Brink 1980, p. 233).
LKÅ
GP 360 Sproge kyrka
GP 341 Sanda kyrka I

Runic Context and Comments 
According to Snædal, due to the fragmentary state of the runic inscription, the meaning of the text cannot be interpreted (GR 3; Gustavson/Snædal Brink 1980, p. 232).
LKÅ

Type and Dating 
The type of monument cannot be discerned by this small fragment. What little can be seen of the ornament is reminiscent of GP 360 Sproge kyrka (G 373), which is dated to the first half of the 11th century.
LKÅ
GP 360 Sproge kyrka

References 
Lindqvist 1941/42 II, pp. 122-123; GR 3, see G 268; Manneke 1969; Gustavson/Snædal Brink 1980, pp. 231-233.

 
Fyndplats
Gudings gård

Nuvarande förvaringsplats
Gotlands museum

Datering
1000-talet, sen vikingatid.

Beskrivning
Fragment, ca 0,32 m x 0,18 m x 0,13 m. Bildstensfragment med ornamentik och runor från 1000-talet.

Tolkning
Stenens ursprungliga form och storlek kan inte avgöras. Den kan ha utgjort den nedre delen till höger på en bildstensformad runsten eller ha utgjort en del av en kiststen.

LKÅ

Title
GP 12 Alva Gudings

Fornsök ID 
L1977:1556

RAÄ ID 
Alva 53

Gotlands Museum ID 
C11286

Jan Peder Lamm ID 
379

Runverket ID 
G 368

ATA
K-Samsök