Parish Find Location 
Gothem

Find Location 
The farm halfway between Västerbjärs and Medebys, at the road Gothem–Vallstena, which lies in Bäntebingels, Gothem parish (RAÄ Gothem 218:2).

Find Context Classification 
Private Property

Coordinate Find Location (lat) 
6388809

Coordinate Find Location (long) 
720928

Present Location Classification 
Gotlands Museum Magasin Visborg

Coordinate Present Location (lat) 
6390259

Coordinate Present Location (long) 
695514

Material 
Limestone

Limestone Type 
coarse reef debris limestone

Geological Group 
Slite Group (30%)

Height 
75

Width 
40

Thickness 
8

Lindqvist Type 
B (ca. 500-700)

Lindqvist Shape 
Dwarf stone

Runic Inscription or not 
No

Context and Discovery 
Lindqvist (1941/42 II, p. 48) gives the following information: “Picture stone that, according to information collected by Harald Hansson in 1914, was found three years earlier in an old meadow ground during construction on the farmstead belonging to Bentebingels that lies about halfway between Västerbjärs and Medebys, on the road Gothem–Vallstena. The stone had fallen and lay under the greensward. Around it, there is supposed to have been a ring of triangular boulders, which in turn was encircled by another, larger ring of boulders of 25–30 m in diameter.” About 30 years later, in 1941, another picture stone was found at the same location (GP 112 Gothem Bentebingels 2).
GP 112 Gothem Bentebingels 2

Measurements, Material and Condition 
“Limestone slab, 5–7 cm thick. The obverse smoothed but uneven, the narrow sides hewn partly at a right angle, partly at an acute angle towards the obverse. A chamfer appears to have separated them from the obverse. The reverse is unworked. The stone’s total height 75 cm, 50 cm of which above the root. The width between the upper corners is 39 cm, at the narrowest point of the body 28.5 cm, at the base 35 cm” (Lindqvist 1941/42 II, p. 49). The picture stone is completely preserved, including its triangular root. The surface is much weathered and features many fossil inclusions.

Description of Ornament and Images 
According to Lindqvist (1941/42, II, p. 49), only a few shallow lines remain due to severe weathering. He only provides a photo of the unpainted stone, on which indeed no remains of carvings can be discerned. An unpublished drawing by Olof Sörling from 1914 (ATA Run- och bildstenssamling), however, depicts parts of the border’s framing lines at the lateral edges, at the convex upper edge, and at the bottom of the lower image field.

Interpretation of the Imagery 
No interpretation

Type and Dating 
Middle-type picture stone, i.e., Type B according to Lindqvist, dating to between AD 500 and 700. The stone belongs to those Type B stones described by Lindqvist (1941/42 I, pp. 38–39) as ʻdwarf stonesʼ with convex head and strongly pronounced corners protruding horizontally. Lindqvist assigns it to his Sojvidegruppe (1941/42 I, pp. 36–37), which is characterized by the shape described above and simple or no remaining decoration at all. The best parallel to Gothem Bentebingels (I) regarding its shape is GP 335 Rute Ala.
GP 335 Rute Ala

References 
Lindqvist 1941/42 I, fig. 40; II, pp. 48–49.

 
Fyndplats
Bildstenen påträffades 1911 vid arbete på gården Bentebingels. Runt bildstenen ska ha funnits två cirklar av större stenar, den större ringen 25-30 m i diameter. 1941 påträffades på samma plats en annan bildsten GP 112 Gotland Bentebingels II.

Nuvarande lokalisering
Gotlands Museum, magasinet på Visborgsslätt.

Beskrivning
Helt bevarad liten bildsten (period B), 75 cm hög och som bredast 50 cm. Spår av kantdekor men inga bilder.

Datering
Kan inte dateras med säkerhet, tillhör perioden 500-600-talen.

Tolkning
Ingen tolkning

AA
GP 112 Gothem Bentebingels 2

Title
GP 106 Gothem Bentebingels (I)

Fornsök ID 
L1977:8790

RAÄ ID 
Gothem 218:2

Gotlands Museum ID 
C2700

Jan Peder Lamm ID 
75

Lindqvist Title 
Gothem, Bentebingels

ATA
K-Samsök