GP 143 Halla Broa I

Context and Discovery
Lindqvist published 20 picture stones under the name of the farmstead Broa (today Broe), all of which appear to originate from the unusually large Iron Age grave field, which is situated in the south-western part of Halla parish, close to the border to Roma parish, and which had been well known through the ages, first mentioned by Strelow in 1633. The farm belongs to the community of Högbro. Since time immemorial, two important country roads, the road Halla-Viklau and the road Roma-Sjonhem (ʻVisbyvägenʼ) intersect here, where a rise consisting of gravel (the ʻhigh bridgeʼ = Högbro) clearly emerges out of the terrain, leading across the great bog system Romamyr-Stormyr. Both roads in turn are intersected by the railway line Roma-Etelhem. The railway intersects both roads a few hundred metres to the west and southwest of the crossing, respectively. During the 19th century, the Högbro elevation was severely diminished and large parts of the Broa cemetery were destroyed by clearing and cultivation, gravel mining, house building, and railway and road construction, as well as deliberate grave robbing. Many finds from Broa were sold on the antiquities market during this time, with many acquired by ATA. Unfortunately, the large and highly important cemetery of Högbro-Broa is still not published adequately; its present documentation is incomplete and confusing. The best overview about the history and state of research is given by Lena Thunmark-Nylén (1995–2006 III:2, pp. 621–623; IV:1, pp. 324–347).

The first professional and large-scale excavation took place in 1899, conducted by Hans Hansson, who unearthed 14 graves in a small area right next to the intersection, just south of the road Roma-Sjonhem and east of the road to Viklau. One further large-scale excavation was carried out in 1981–82 by Ann-Marie Pettersson, who investigated 120 graves (9 inhumation, 102 cremation, 9 without bones) in a small area (circa 700 m2) about 50 m north of the road Roma–Sjonhem and about 40 m east of the road to Halla (Broe 1:71; see the report compiled by Daniel Langhammer from 2012, RAGU dnr 13/82, 789/84). Apart from that, several minor and poorly documented investigations took place in the beginning of the 20th century and, in particular, during the 1930s and the early 1940s.

Two larger areas are registered by ATA, a burial ground north of the road Roma-Sjonhem (ATA Halla 46:1) and a burial ground south of the road (ATA Halla 48:1). The first one (46:1) covers an area of circa 120 x 110 m (E-W) and contains 66 circular stone settings and 120 investigated flat graves. The other one (48:1) is about 300 x 120 m (N–S) and features 202 circular stone settings. Several other registered monuments, about 15 stone settings, 2 stone kists and 1 gravklot (large spherical stone) seem to belong to the Broa grave field as well (ATA Halla 1:1, 1:2, 74:1, 78:1, 79:1; Roma 31:1, 31:2, 32:1). Thunmark-Nylén (1995–2006 III:2, p. 622) estimates the number of investigated graves alone at about 300 to 400. The actual size and extent of the necropolis, however, remains uncertain.

The oldest investigated burials can be dated to the Roman Iron Age although some unexcavated stone settings are typical for the Pre-Roman Iron Age. Most of the graves, however, date to the Migration, Vendel and Viking Periods. First and foremost, the grave field is well-known and frequently cited for some particularly important finds such as the decorated horse harness from the equestrian burial discovered in 1899, after which the Broa Style is named (Salin 1922; Thunmark-Nylén 1992; 1995–2006 IV:1, pp. 325–326), the lyre bridge of amber from the same grave (Reimers 1980), and many remarkable finds of glass vessels from all periods (Nylén 1969). Furthermore, there are several elite warriors’ graves containing fragments of ring-swords as well as a Vendel helmet (Nerman 1969–1975 I:1, p. 29; II, fig. 601).

Regarding the picture stones, the exact location of the find spots is difficult to determine in most cases, and their contexts and relation to the known parts of the cemetery remain unclear. Most of them originate from the railway line and the area west of it (called ʻBrandenʼ), and the rest from the area east of the road to Halla, between the road and the border to Roma (ʻKlosterängenʼ). Lindqvist (1941/42 II, fig. 378) provides a map, which was primarily composed at the National Heritage Board (RAÄ) based on the information kept in ATA. It identifies the location of the find places of the stones as carefully as they could be determined at the time of Lindqvist.

The picture stone Halla Broa I was mentioned by Pehr Arvid Säve in his Samlingar (III p. 557; V p. 116). It was found in 1876 during the construction of the railway line, “[…] lying several inches below ground surface, at about the same time as [GP 160–161 Halla Broa] II and III. At the same time, several objects of bronze and iron from the late Iron Age were discovered” (Lindqvist 1941/42 II, p. 59). Lindqvist believed that stones of this type (see IX) had been placed in pairs on graves (I, p. 37).
GP 160 Halla Broa II
GP 161 Halla Broa III

Measurements, Material and Condition
“Limestone slab, up to 7 cm thick. The more richly decorated broad side appears to be naturally even and is highly convex, the other is obviously, albeit cursory, smoothed above the root. The narrow sides are hewn and limited by 1 cm wide, now severely weathered chamfers. Total height now 70 cm, 48 cm of which above the root. Width 48.5 cm at the upper corners, 38 cm at the body, 35 cm above the root” (Lindqvist 1941/42 II, p. 59). Parts of the originally semi-circular head and small parts of the massive foot-like root are broken off. Apart from that, the monument is well preserved and in good condition. The decoration is deeply carved, and the surface shows no traces of weathering.

Description of Ornament and Images
Lindqvist (1941/42 II, p. 59) describes the carvings as follows: “Decorated with wide lines with rounded bottoms. The fields are surrounded by a border with simplified [twisted] cord pattern and are divided on both broad sides by identically decorated horizontal borders into two halves of about equal size. On both faces, the upper panel bears the image of a watercraft with steep, towering stems and a mast. In the lower panel, only one face is decorated: a sheep-like animal and closely stacked horizontal zigzag lines fill the entire area.”

The depicted quadruped looks rather like a horse and not at all like a sheep. However, compared to GP 74 Endre skog, GP 551 Väskinde Butter, and GP 215 Kräklingbo Smiss IV it seems more likely to represent a red deer or a doe. On a drawing by Olof Sörling kept in ATA (Run- och bildstenssamlingen, mistakenly labelled as ʻHögbro Romaʼ), the animal is completely missing. The figure is hard to discern, as it is less deeply carved than the ornament. The empty field on the stone’s backside, comparable to some other Type B picture stones such as GP 24 Ardre Petsarve II and GP 96 Garda Smiss I, is remarkable. It is plausible to assume that those empty fields were never carved but instead were decorated with paint (Guber 2011, p. 77; Oehrl 2019a, pp. 197, 291).
GP 74 Endre skog
GP 551 Väskinde Butter
GP 215 Kräklingbo Smiss IV
GP 24 Ardre Petsarve II
GP 96 Garda Smiss I

Interpretation of the Imagery
For the interpretation of deer depictions and, in particular, the (Christian) deer-and-serpent motif on Type B picture stones, see GP 551 Väskinde Butter.
GP 551 Väskinde Butter

Type and Dating
The size, the decoration, and the shape (semi-circular head with corners slightly protruding downwards and a massive root) of the ʻdwarf stoneʼ obviously indicate a Type B picture stone, dating to between AD 500 and 700. Lindqvist (1941/42 I, p. 37) assigns it to his Stenstugruppe. In terms of shape, GP 68 Dalhem Hallfoser and GP 142 Halla Broa VII are good parallels, the latter belonging to Lindqvist’s ʻStenstugruppeʼ as well. A horizontal border with zigzag pattern comparable to the background ornamentation on Halla Broa I can be seen on GP 93 Gammelgarn Högstens (also belonging to the Stenstugruppe) and GP 146 Halla Broa VIII. According to Vareniusʼs (1992, p. 62, appendix 2) typology, the ship on the stoneʼs backside, which features remnants of a simple sail (Rikvidetypus according to Lindqvist 1941/42 I, p. 66), belongs to group II (Skepp med enkel rigg), dating to the 7th to 9th century. According to Martin Rundkvist’s (2012, p. 159) typology, the stone’s shape represents Type dwarf3, belonging to his period 3, which he dates to the Middle Vendel Period.
GP 68 Dalhem Hallfoser
GP 142 Halla Broa VII
GP 93 Gammelgarn Högstens
GP 146 Halla Broa VIII