Parish Find Location 
Gerum

Find Location 
Gerum church

Find Context Classification 
Church

Coordinate Find Location (lat) 
6355074

Coordinate Find Location (long) 
700618

Parish Present Location 
Gerum

Present Location 
In situ

Present Location Classification 
Church
In-Loco

Coordinate Present Location (lat) 
6355074

Coordinate Present Location (long) 
700618

Material 
Limestone

Height 
206

Width 
86

Lindqvist Type 
C/D (ca. 700-1000)
E (ca. 1000-1150)

Lindqvist Shape 
Tall stone

Runic Inscription or not 
No

Context and Discovery 
The stone was discovered by Beata Böttger-Niedenzu in 1984. In 1982, Böttger-Niedenzu submitted her master’s thesis on Gotland’s picture stones to the Ludwig-Maximilians-University of Munich, and during the years 1981 to 1985, she visited the Gotlandic rural churches, discovering not fewer than 38 previously unknown picture stones, which she published in a brief catalogue in 1988. The stone from Gerum is placed face up in front of the tower doorway in the west (Stolt 1994, pp. 22–25, fig. 22), serving as a stepping-stone. It is mentioned in “Sveriges Kyrkor” but not labelled as a picture stone (ibid. p. 21). The eastern long side of the slab directly borders the threshold stone. A large part of the left (northern) third of the irregular, roughly rectangular slab lies beneath the wall base on which the jamb columns rest. Possibly, also a small part of the slab’s upper right (southeast) corner is hidden by the stones of the wall base.

Gerum church was built in the 13th century. The choir was erected during the early century, the nave and the tower towards its end or about 1300. The tower, however, remained unfinished, its walls are lower than the nave.

Measurements, Material and Condition 
The maximum length (north-south) of the irregular but roughly rectangular limestone slab is (as far as visible) 2.06 m and its maximum width (east-west) is 0.86 m. The smoothed surface of the stepping stone is light grey but very dark and lichened in its deeper areas directly in front of the threshold and next to the right (southern) wall base. Some carved lines next to the right wall base are darkened by lichen as well and therefore easily discernable. As noted previously, the left and the right ends of the surface are partly hidden by the stones of the wall base on which the jamb columns of the portal rest. The left (northern) half of the slab is damaged by a large crack and its front right (i.e., southwestern) corner appears to be broken off.

Description of Ornament and Images 
There are only a few but clearly discernable remains of a simply carved rhombic pattern in the far right (i.e., most southern) area of the slab, next to the wall base.

Interpretation of the Imagery 
No interpretation

Type and Dating 
The rhombic pattern, which certainly belongs to the sail of a ship, in combination with the size of the fragment most probably indicates a Type C/D picture stone. Those can be dated to between the 8th and the 10th centuries. A type E runic monument of the 11th century is less probable.

References 
Böttger-Niedenzu 1988, p. 9.

 
Fyndplats
Bildstenen påträffades 1984 som trappsten framför tornets västportal.

Nuvarande lokalisering
Samma plats som när bildstenen påträffades 1984.

Beskrivning
Tillhugget fragment av en svampformig bildsten (typ C-D), 206 x 86 cm. Rombiskt mönster bevarat, troligen från ett segel.

Datering
Dateringen kan inte anges närmare, men bildstenen tillhör perioden 700-900-talen.

Tolkning
Ingen tolkning

AA

Title
GP 105 Gerum kyrka

Fornsök ID 
L1976:1189

RAÄ ID 
Gerum 34:2

Jan Peder Lamm ID 
404

ATA
K-Samsök