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Gotlandic Picture Stones - The Online Edition

GP 46 Bro kyrka 8









PARTS

mer grejer





Measured length
0.0
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Parish Find Location ⓘ
Bro

Find Location ⓘ
Bro church

Find Context Classification ⓘ
Church

Coordinate Find Location (lat) ⓘ
6397282

Coordinate Find Location (long) ⓘ
707221

Parish Present Location ⓘ
Bro

Present Location ⓘ
Placed as a paving stone in the western entrance gate to the church yard.

Present Location Classification ⓘ
Churchyard

Coordinate Present Location (lat) ⓘ
6397282

Coordinate Present Location (long) ⓘ
707221

Material
Limestone

Height ⓘ
164

Width ⓘ
92

Thickness ⓘ
0,25

Lindqvist Type 

Lindqvist Shape 

Runic Inscription or not ⓘ
No

Context and Discovery ⓘ
On the site of the present church in Bro, a Romanesque stone church with a nave and a choir with apse was built in the middle or second half of the 12th century (on the building history: Lundmark 1929; Lagerlöf/Svahnström 1991, pp. 101–104; on the new findings based on excavations and dendrochronological investigations: Widerström 2001a–c; Andrén 2011, pp. 167–169.). Somewhat later, in 1214, the Romanesque tower standing today was added, the beams of which have been dendrochronologically dated. Whether there was already a wooden church on the site before the stone building remains unclear; no remains of a predecessor building could be found. In the course of the 13th century, today’s large rectangular choir with sacristy was completed, and around 1300 the new Gothic nave. Consequently, only the tower and a few stones of an animal frieze in the south side of the nave have been preserved from the early stone church; the foundation of the Romanesque nave was confirmed during excavations in 2001. Under the nave of the church, in addition to medieval and modern burials, some grave finds from the 11th century were recovered; they belong to the group of kyrkogårdsfynden (ʻchurchyard findsʼ). A dress pin from the 10th century found in the tower could be explained as a single find but also allows the possibility that the church was built on a pre-Christian burial ground. From the 15th century at the latest, Bro church was an important pilgrimage and sacrificial church, which kept a Holy Cross relic (Lundmark 1929, pp. 254–256; Stolt 2007, pp. 12–14; Pernler 2013, p. 92). According to popular tradition, there was a healing spring next to or even inside the church (in the sacristy) as late as the 18th century. This circumstance, as well as a tree trunk walled into the tower in a curious way, the root of which protrudes from the west wall, have given rise to the assumption that the church was built on a pre-Christian cult site. However, there is no compelling evidence for this (Oehrl 2016a).

In addition to the picture stones which were published by Sune Lindqvist in 1941/42 and the fragment in the outer wall of the nave gable, which came into view in 1955 (GP 579 Bro kyrka 7), four more monuments were found in 2001 in the course of excavations in the nave and tower (Widerström 2001a, p. 173; 2001b–c) – two kerbstones in the tower (GP 35 Bro kyrka 10 and GP 36 Bro kyrka 11), which were used as foundation stones in the south wall in 1214, a fragment of a picture stone under the floor of the nave (GP 47 Bro kyrka 9) and another one in the southern masonry of the nave, which probably served as stepping-stone at the entrance of the 12th-century Romanesque predecessor church, or as part of an even older building (Bro kyrka 8). The stones 9 through 11 are still in situ, while stone number 8 has been positioned at the churchyard wall, in the western entrance.
SO
GP0579
GP 35 Bro kyrka 10
GP 36 Bro kyrka 11
GP 47 Bro kyrka 9

Measurements, Material and Condition ⓘ
The limestone slab is approximately rectangular and measures 164 cm in length and 92 cm in width. Since the stone is placed in the ground as a paving stone, only c. 0.25 cm of the narrow side is visible. The upper slightly convex edge is smoothly hewn. The two short ends appear to be secondary fractures. The lower edge is straight and appears to have been cut rather than broken. A heavily worn, roughly oval and dark-coloured area is visible on the surface, testifying to the use of the stone as a stepping-stone over a long period of time. Around this area there are remains of mortar, which also indicates that the stone was already used in a former church building.
CJL/SO

Description of Ornament and Images ⓘ
Two parallel lines running along the lower edge can be seen in the drawing of Bro Kyrka 8 that is included in the excavation report (Widerström 2001d, pp. 5–6, fig. 3). Traces of these grooves can be detected on the 3D model of the stone. No other remains of decoration can be seen on the heavily worn surface of the stone.
CJL/SO

Interpretation of the Imagery ⓘ
No interpretation

Type and Dating ⓘ
If this very thick slab does indeed represent a picture stone, which is not beyond doubt, then it is probably an early-type monument, “Abschnitt” A according to Lindqvist’s typology, dating to the period between AD 400 and 600.
SO

References ⓘ
Widerström 2001a, p. 173; 2001b–c; 2001d, pp. 5–6, fig. 3; Lamm/Nylén 2003, p. 205; Oehrl 2016a, p. 250; 2019a, p. 155.

Title
GP 46 Bro kyrka 8

Jan Peder Lamm ID
448


Last modifed Jun 25, 2024

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Developer Data
Identifier: GP0046-3D
ID: 4580
3D-model
Part 1 depth:https://gotlandicpicturestones.se/files/original/932ae72d6ffe7a05962196271afc34762a4ef1ea.nxz
Part 1 RGB:https://gotlandicpicturestones.se/files/original/3a74cc8aa42d04407cb1432d63da08328c24d9f6.nxz