Parish Find Location 
Bara

Find Location 
Bara church ruin in Hörsne parish (RAÄ Hörsne 77:1), incorporated into a niche.

Find Context Classification 
Church

Coordinate Find Location (lat) 
6388219

Coordinate Find Location (long) 
715905

Parish Present Location 
Bara

Present Location 
Bara church ruin

Present Location Classification 
Church
In-Loco

Coordinate Present Location (lat) 
6388219

Coordinate Present Location (long) 
715905

Year of Discovery 
1983

Material 
Limestone

Height 
92

Width 
32

Preservation of image surface 
Blind

Lindqvist Type 
A (ca. 400-600)

Lindqvist Shape 
Unclear

Runic Inscription or not 
No

Secondary Inscription or Not 
No

Context and Discovery 
In 1932, Thure Carlsson observed GP 26 Bara ödekyrka (I) in the south wall of the choir, with the obverse facing downwards, serving as the lintel of the eastern wall niche (Lindqvist 1941/42 II, p. 27). In 1983, Böttger-Niedenzu (1988, p. 3) discovered carved lines on the bottom slab of the niche and therefore regarded it as a further picture stone fragment, which is GP 29 Bara ödekyrka 2. Böttger-Niedenzu, who submitted her master’s thesis on Gotland’s picture stones to the Ludwig-Maximilians-University of Munich in 1982, went through all Gotlandic rural churches between 1981 and 1985 and discovered at least 38 previously unknown picture stones, which she published in a brief catalogue in 1988.

The original church was finished by 1239 or the middle of the 13th century. During the 16th century, however, it was abandoned, and the church parish was merged with that of Hörsne, while Bara church was left to decay (Roosval 1947, pp. 7–19; Lagerlöf/Svahnström 1991, p. 96). The niche with the two picture stone fragments belongs to the original 13th-century building. Both stones were registered in an inventory conducted in 2011 (nos. 003 and 008). The last restoration of the ruin took place in 2005.

SO
GP 26 Bara ödekyrka (I)

Measurements, Material and Condition 
The bottom slab of the niche features a cup-like depression of about 20 cm diameter and 2.5 cm depth, probably intended as piscine. The limestone slab has been hewn into a rectangular shape and does not show any contours or worked edges that would indicate it was a picture stone. The dimensions of the visible piece are 92x32 cm. The upturned surface appears abraded.

SO

Description of Ornament and Images 
According to Böttger-Niedenzu, on the upturned surface are visible scattered traces of carving tools as well as a double edge line that runs in a slight curve over the entire visible length of the fragment in an east-west direction. The latter was confirmed perfectly by 3D-digitisation.

SO

Interpretation of the Imagery 
No interpretation

Type and Dating 
Böttger-Niedenzu (1988, p. 3) assumes an early-type picture stone, i.e. a monument of “Abschnitt” A, to be dated between AD 400 and 600. However, the classification is difficult and ultimately it remains uncertain whether the slab represents an erected Type-A slab or a kerbstone.

SO

References 
Böttger-Niedenzu 1988, p. 3.

 
Fyndplats
Observerades första gången 1932 i en nisch i den södra kormuren i Bara ödekyrka, i nuvarande Hörsne socken.

Nuvarande lokalisering
Samma plats som 1932.

Beskrivning
Fragment av en möjlig bildsten, den synliga delen 92 x 32 cm. Två parallella linjer synliga på hela fragmentet, men oklart om det representerar en bildsten. I så fall kan det vara en tidig typ (period A).

Datering
Dateringen oklar, men om det är en bildsten tillhör den perioden 400-700.

Tolkning
Ingen tolkning.

AA

Title
GP 29 Bara ödekyrka 2

Fornsök ID 
L1977:9543

RAÄ ID 
Hörsne 77:4

Jan Peder Lamm ID 
398

ATA
K-Samsök