GP 53 Burs kyrka I

Context and Discovery
The only information given by Lindqvist is that the “fragment of a picture stone [was] found in 1924, together with No. II under the floor in the nave” (1941/42 II, p. 35). Both stones were discovered during a church restoration, then removed and photographed by A. Edle in front of the church in 1924 (ATA run- och bildstenssamling 807:17–18). The photos of the painted stones that Lindqvist reproduces (1941/42 I, figs. 19, 21) were taken by H. Faith-Ell in 1933 (ATA run- och bildstenssamling 1649:3–4). Since later than 1967, both stones have been kept in the sacristy (Lagerlöf/Stolt 1967, p. 70). Today, GP 53 Burs kyrka I is kept in the parish storerooms while GP 54 Burs kyrka II is not traceable.

The Romanesque church of Burs was built during the 13th century (Lagerlöf/Stolt 1967, p. 37). First the choir was erected, possibly with an apse. After the choir, which was replaced by the current Gothic choir in the middle of the 14th century, the nave was added in the first half of the 13th century and remains today. The age of the nave is indicated by the typical capitals of the two portals on the south and north sides (ibid. 37, 79). The construction of the Romanesque church was completed with the tower, which was built around the middle of the 13th century. According to a medieval tax register, the church was erected in the year 1240; however, this date probably refers to the consecration of the finished Romanesque church after the tower was erected (ibid. 37, 79).
GP 54 Burs kyrka II

Measurements, Material and Condition
The fragment represents the upper part of a small early-type picture stone, estimated to be about half of the entire monument. The original upper and lateral edges are preserved, and the stone is undamaged. The obverse is not perfectly even. The limestone slab is up to 12 cm thick. “The narrow sides hewn flat for their full width in an acute angle towards the obverse, at places, there seems to be a narrow chamfer between them. The back is raw. Width 56 cm between the upper corners, 42.5 cm at the break line. The preserved height at the stone’s central axis is 52.5 cm” (Lindqvist 1941/42 II, p. 35).

Description of Ornament and Images
“Decoration partly with very thin and shallow lines, partly broader with regularly rounded bases and up to slightly more than 1 mm deep” (Lindqvist 1941/42 II, p. 35). The upper part of the picture stone is dominated by a central roundel. This roundel is divided by intersecting lines into four quarters. In each quarter there is a tripod pattern of three almond-shaped extensions, which together form an elaborated rosette or flower motif. The roundel has a double outer line, with the space between filled with small, ray-like strokes. In the spandrels at the top left and top right there is a three-pointed star, which resembles the triple motifs inside the roundel. On the lateral sides, the border is decorated with a zigzag pattern, while on the upper convex edge it is decorated with a rounded, wavy step pattern.

Interpretation of the Imagery
No interpretation

Type and Dating
Early type dwarf stone, i.e., Type A according to Lindqvist’s typology, dating to between AD 400 and 600. Lindqvist assigns the stone to his ʻBurstypusʼ (1941/42 I, p. 28), named after Burs kyrka I itself. This type represents a group of Type A ʻdwarf stonesʼ with convex upper edge and decoration corresponding to the large Type A monuments, forming “miniature forms” of them (ibid. 31). In Hauck’s contribution to the typology of Gotland’s early picture stones, Burs kyrka I does not appear, but it would most likely be assigned to Hauck’s type VI, the Toftatypus. In this small group he subsumes small picture stones that show star and/or rosette motifs as their central motif (1983a, p. 545). In Rundkvist’s typology (2012, p. 159), the stone has the outline type dwarf1, corresponding to the period 1 (Migration Period).

The ornamentation of the Burs stone is quite unusual and combines some special features. The only three-pointed star comparable to those of Burs kyrka is found on GP 133 Hablingbo Havor II. A comparable structure of the rosette in particular is featured on the following monuments: GP 527 Tofta kyrka 1, GP 564 Väte kyrka 1, GP 537 Vallstena Vallstenarum I, GP 538 Vallstena Vallstenarum 2. The structure of the rosette on GP 497 Tingstäde kyrka 25 is also comparable but considerably more elaborate. A similar division of the roundel into four parts (which, however, shows spiral or whirl motifs) can be seen on the following stones: GP 556 Väskinde Björkome I, GP 173 Hangvar Austers I, GP 537 Vallstena Vallstenarum I.
GP 133 Hablingbo Havor II
GP 527 Tofta kyrka 1
GP 564 Väte kyrka 1
GP 537 Vallstena Vallstenarum (I)
GP 538 Vallstena Vallstenarum 2
GP 497 Tingstäde kyrka 25
GP 556 Väskinde Björkome I
GP 173 Hangvar Austers I