Parish Find Location 
Burs

Find Location 
Rectory park in Burs kyrkby (church village), Burs parish.

Find Context Classification 
Private Property

Coordinate Find Location (lat) 
6350269

Coordinate Find Location (long) 
711660

Present Location 
In the park, currently re-used as edging for a small garden bed.

Present Location Classification 
Private Property

Coordinate Present Location (lat) 
6350269

Coordinate Present Location (long) 
711660

Material 
Sandstone

Height 
140

Width 
120

Thickness 
20

Lindqvist Type 
C/D (ca. 700-1000)

Lindqvist Shape 
Tall stone

Iconographic Keywords 
ship 

Runic Inscription or not 
No

Context and Discovery 
The stone is placed in the large park area which is located north of the rectory’s main building. The slab, which has a large hole in the middle, lies on the lawn, about 4.50 m south-west of the south corner of a small building (the old brewery). The first record concerning the picture stone fragment is found in the inventory book from 1978, stating that it once had been used as mouth of a well. The well, however, had already been backfilled before 1978. Today, the stone is used as edging of a small garden bed with flowers (see also dnr 2015-261-1, Burs prästgård, Vårdprogram 2015, p. 37). The main stone building of the rectory was erected in the 18th century, presumably on a medieval foundation. The date of the well, however, cannot be determined with certainty.

Measurements, Material and Condition 
The slab is made of sandstone. Only a relatively small number of picture stones (in particular, Type E stones) are made of sandstone, and most of those monuments are relatively small. A tall picture stone made of sandstone, like the one from Burs, is unusual. The preserved part of the monument, representing the upper half or rather the upper third of a picture stone, i.e., its mushroom head and neck region, has a height of about 1.40 m and is 1.20 m wide. The fragment’s lower edge is evenly broken. The entire slab is approx. 0.20 m thick. In the middle of the fragment, a squarish hole approximately 0.60 x 0.60 m was carved out in order to use the slab as well-mouth stone. The stone’s surface is weathered and overgrown with lichen. Grass covers the edges of the stone so that its original shape is hard to discern.

Description of Ornament and Images 
According to the inventory book (1978), no remains of ornament or images appear to be discernable (“blind?”). This assessment is confirmed by Per Widerström, who inspected the stone in 2019-08-28. In his picture stone list, however, Lamm notes that there is a border decoration (“K[antbård]”) and a sailing vessel (“segelfartyg”) depicted on the fragment (Lamm/Nylén 1978, p. 170; 2003, p. 182).

Interpretation of the Imagery 
No interpretation

Type and Dating 
The monument’s mushroom shape is clearly preserved. The head is relatively broad with only slightly pronounced corners. The picture stone belongs to Lindqvist’s ʻAbschnittʼ C/D, rather than E, as Type E stones of this size are usually carved with deep and distinct inscriptions and rune stone ornament which do not disappear completely simply by weathering. Therefore, the monument can only be roughly dated to the 8th to 10th (/11th) centuries.

References 
Lamm/Nylén 2003, p. 182.

 
Fyndplats
Bildstenen ligger i Burs prästgårds trädgård, cirka 4.5 m sydväst om det gamla brygghuset. Enligt uppgift från 1978 fungerade bildstenen tidigare som en brunnsskoning, med ett stort hål i mitten av stenen, som öppning till brunnen. Brunnen var igenfylld före 1978.

Nuvarande lokalisering
Bildstenen ligger på samma plats som 1978, idag i kanten av en blomsterbädd.

Beskrivning
Övre delen av en stor svampformad bildsten (typ C-D). Den bevarade delen är 1.4 m hög och 1.2 m bred. Spår av kantdekoration och segelskepp.

Datering
Dateringen kan inte anges närmare, men tillhör perioden 700-900-talen (vikingatiden).

Tolkning
Ingen tolkning

AA

Title
GP 55 Burs Prästgården

Fornsök ID 
L1977:3094

RAÄ ID 
Burs 165:1

Jan Peder Lamm ID 
42

ATA
K-Samsök