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Gotlandic Picture Stones - The Online Edition

GP 47 Bro kyrka 9









PARTS

mer grejer





Measured length
0.0
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Parish Find Location ⓘ
Bro

Find Location ⓘ
Under the nave of Bro church.

Find Context Classification ⓘ
Church

Coordinate Find Location (lat) ⓘ
6397282

Coordinate Find Location (long) ⓘ
707221

Parish Present Location ⓘ
Bro

Present Location ⓘ
In situ under the church floor.

Present Location Classification ⓘ
Church
In-Loco

Coordinate Present Location (lat) ⓘ
6397282

Coordinate Present Location (long) ⓘ
707221

Material
Limestone

Height ⓘ
0,5

Width ⓘ
0,4

Thickness ⓘ
0,2

Lindqvist Type 

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 still 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 have already been 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 in the southern masonry of the nave, which probably served as stepping-stone at the entrance of the 12th-century Romanesque church (GP 46 Bro kyrka 8), and a fragment of a picture stone under the floor of the nave (Bro kyrka 9). The latter stone is integrated into the base of the church floor. One of the wooden beams forming the substructure of the flooring rests on the picture stone. The slab could not be removed from this position and consequently still lies under the floor of the nave. The stones numbers 10 and 11 are also still in situ, while stone number 8 has been positioned at the churchyard wall, in the western entrance.
GP0579
GP 35 Bro kyrka 10
GP 36 Bro kyrka 11
GP 46 Bro kyrka 8

Measurements, Material and Condition ⓘ
The limestone slab is almost rectangular in shape and seems to preserve one of the original lateral edges of an early-type picture stone. The remaining three sides are broken edges. Due to the location of the stone, an examination has been difficult, so that unfortunately hardly any further details and data are available. Photos can be found in the report of the excavator Per Widerström (2001b – RAÄ dnr 321-1273-2002; GF dnr AD2001-0168). At a rough estimate, the slab should be about 100 cm high and 80 cm wide.

Description of Ornament and Images ⓘ
According to the 2001 report, there are remains of a border running along the preserved lateral edge. On the attached photos, however, these can hardly be recognised.

Interpretation of the Imagery ⓘ
No interpretation.

Type and Dating ⓘ
Most likely the slab represents the body of an early picture stone, “Abschnitt” A according to Lindqvist’s classification, dating to the time between AD 400 and 600. However, a safe, exact classification is not possible.

References ⓘ
Widerström 2001a, p. 173; 2001b–c; Oehrl 2016a, p. 250; 2019a, p. 155.

Title
GP 47 Bro kyrka 9

Jan Peder Lamm ID
449


Last modifed Jun 25, 2024

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Developer Data
Identifier: GP0047-3D
ID: 4581
3D-model
Part1 Depth null
Part1 RGB null