Parish Find Location 
Bara

Find Location 
Agricultural field called ʻFadåkerʼ, today belonging to Nederbjärs farmstead in Hörsne parish.

Find Context Classification 
Agricultural Field

Coordinate Find Location (lat) 
6388840

Coordinate Find Location (long) 
715484

Present Location 
ʻTungardsplatsʼ north of Nederbjärs gård, Hörsne parish.

Present Location Classification 
Landscape

Coordinate Present Location (lat) 
6388840

Coordinate Present Location (long) 
715484

Material 
Limestone

Height 
165

Lindqvist Type 
C/D (ca. 700-1000)

Lindqvist Shape 
Tall stone

Iconographic Keywords 
horse 
ship 
human figure 

Runic Inscription or not 
No

Secondary Inscription or Not 
Yes

Secondary Inscription
According to the 1977 inventory, the modern inscription on the picture stone reads as follows:

ÅR 1840
DEN:16:MAJUS

ÄR DENNA STEN OCH:
TUN:UPP SATT:AF:
HUS:BON:DEN:C:H:S:

Translation: ʻIn the year 1840, on the 16th of May, this stone and Tun [i.e., enclosure/fence] were erected by the landlord C. H. S.ʼ The stone enclosure next to the re-erected picture stone probably represents this very tun mentioned in the inscription.

Context and Discovery 
The picture stone, already mentioned by Per Arvid Säve in 1864 (Berättelser, p. 142; Samlingar II, p. 35; III, p. 398), stands next to a stone enclosure at a place called ʻTungardsplatsʼ, situated circa 125 m north of the manor house of Nederbjärs (Nedbjärs) farmstead in Bara parish (today Hörsne), just north of the road between Hörsne and Källunge, near Simunde gård. According to a modern inscription on the stone [see VIII], a Tun [i.e., an enclosure or fence] was built in 1840 and the monument itself erected on this occasion. The stone wall next to the picture stone probably represents the mentioned Tun or at least a part of it. “According to information obtained by FN [Fredrik Nordin], the stone is supposed to have been found north of the road, on the “Fadåker”, which formerly belonged to Simunde, but is now assigned to Nederbjärs” (Lindqvist 1941/42 II, p. 27). Another picture stone, GP 28 Bara Nederbjärs II, discovered by Nordin in 1918, was incorporated into the stone wall, as well as two stones with grinding grooves (sliprännor) (Stenkvist 2014 II, p. 7).
GP 28 Bara Nederbjärs II

Measurements, Material and Condition 
“Limestone slab, 13 cm thick. The obverse almost even, probably due to being hewn and polished […] in 1840. The narrow sides reworked in said year. Height of the stone above ground now 165 cm, width at the bottom almost 1 m. The decoration is executed in thin lines and shallow background fields. Even before the decorations began to be obscured by the addition of the inscription in 1840, it appears to have been severely damaged by weathering” (Lindqvist 1941/42 II, p. 27). In Lindqvist’s opinion, the stone originally was considerably taller and the lower part is missing (see VI). Photos of the stone dating to 1912 show the stone strongly weathered and overgrown with lichen (GF photo 940:38 and 940:39).

Description of Ornament and Images 
“The imagery appears to have been spread out over a semi-circular field on the head and at least four panels on the body, which were of approximately equal height and separated from each other by horizontal bands. As the reworking of the now smoothed narrow sides in 1840 obviously was rather comprehensive, only irregularly defined lateral fields remain of the usual frame of the border. Understandably, it can be imagined that the stone originally was considerably taller and that the lower part missing now once featured the image of the ship that is characteristic of similar picture stones and which cannot have occurred on one of the preserved image panels. The only figures that can be determined with certainly are the rear part of a horse in the lower right corner of the head field as well as small parts of a walking warrior or a woman here and there on the body” (Lindqvist 1941/42 II, p. 27).

On the only picture given by Lindqvist (ibid. fig. 317) is a drawing by Olof Sörling from 1918, representing the only documentation of the carvings available; however, neither the horse nor the warrior or woman can be identified. Only one single hind leg of the alleged horse seems to be discernable

Interpretation of the Imagery 
No interpretation

Type and Dating 
Mushroom-shaped late-type picture stone, belonging to ʻAbschnittʼ C/D according to Lindqvist. Those monuments can be roughly dated to the period between the 8th century and the 10th century. The stone’s head is almost semi-circular with slightly pronounced corners; neck, body and base are relatively wide.

References 
Lindqvist 1941/42 II, pp. 27, fig. 317.

 
Fyndplats
Bildstenen påträffades före 1840 på ”Fadåker”, som tidigare tillhörde gården Simunde, men senare överfördes till Nederbjärs.

Nuvarande lokalisering
Bildstenen är flyttad från fyndplatsen och restes den 16 maj 1840 (enligt en inskrift) på ”Tungardsplats”, cirka 125 m norr om Nederbjärs boningshus

Beskrivning
Svampformad bildsten (typ C-D), med spår av halvrunt bildfält i toppen och minst fyra bildpaneler nedanför. Förmodligen saknas den nedersta delen av stenen med en sannolik skeppsbild. Nuvarande höjd 165 cm och största bredd nästan 100 cm. Enligt Lindqvist fanns spår av en häst och gående människa i det övre halvrunda bildfältet. Rakt över bildstenen är inhugget en inskrift som anger av stenen restes på Tungardsplats 1840.

Datering
Kan inte dateras med säkerhet, med tanke på de fragmentariska bilderna, men denna typ av bildstenar tillhör främst perioden 700-900-talen (vikingatiden).

Tolkning
Ingen tolkning

AA

Title
GP 27 Bara Nederbjärs I

Fornsök ID 
L1976:3944

RAÄ ID 
Hörsne 62:1

Jan Peder Lamm ID 
21

Lindqvist Title 
Bara, Nederbjärs I

ATA
K-Samsök