GP 153 Halla kyrka 2

Context and Discovery ⓘ
The fragment was discovered in the floor of the choir by Beata Böttger-Niedenzu in 1983, together with GP 168 Halla kyrka 3, GP 169 Halla kyrka 4 and GP 170 Halla kyrka 5. 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. Halla kyrka 2 is placed to the right (i.e., south) of and next to the altar. The rectangular fragment’s long side borders the altar itself as well as the step in front of it. Halla kyrka 3 and Halla kyrka 4 are embedded just to the right (i.e., south) of Halla kyrka 2, while Halla kyrka 5 is situated to the left (i.e., north) of the altar. All four stones are similar in material, technique and condition. Whether they all originate from one and the same monument or not, however, remains uncertain. The Type A picture stone GP 159 Halla kyrka (I) was re-used as altar slab inside the nave until 1876.

The oldest part of the present church is the relatively small nave which was built around 1200. The tower is only a few decades younger, while the present rectangular choir was erected as late as during the middle of the 14th century. The large Gothic-style choir replaces an old Romanesque apsidal choir of which the portal is re-used as the tower portal in the present church building.
GP 168 Halla kyrka 3
GP 169 Halla kyrka 4
GP 170 Halla kyrka 5
GP 159 Halla kyrka (I)

Measurements, Material and Condition ⓘ
The picture stone has been trimmed to roughly rectangular shape, 1.72 m in length and 0.63 m maximum width. The limestone is dark grey and a bit reddish, with many bright roundish spots, small cup-shaped depressions, and several black areas. Overall, the surface is quite rough and craggy. Furthermore, there is damage on the stone’s surface including in middle of the fragment where a small part seems to be broken out. The entire surface is worn by footsteps.

Description of Ornament and Images ⓘ
Remains of the lowered background plane of a typical bas-relief are discernable at several points, in particular, in the lower (western) part of the slab. Here, the remains of a ship’s sail are well preserved, including its upper (eastern), lower (western) and right (northern) frame, consisting of a simple band or double line. The height of the framed sail is about 0.50 m. Large parts of the sail’s rhombic pattern are preserved as well. The rhombi are slightly raised but their broad outlines are carved into the stone. The intersections of these outlines are marked with tiny, raised rhombi. This elaborate design of the checkered sail is the same as on the stones GP 5 Alskog Tjängvide I and GP 21 Ardre kyrka VIII as well as GP 162 Halla Broa IV and GP 90 Fröjel kyrka. In the upper right (southeastern) corner of the slab, small parts of the border decoration are preserved, including a narrow vertical band which certainly once framed an interlace pattern. In the uppermost (eastern) area of the rectangular fragment, near the edge, two parallel horizontal lines are carved, forming the frame of a runic inscription. It may be concluded that the western part of the rectangular slab represents the picture stone’s lower body depicting a ship, while the east-facing short side with the inscription marks the stone’s upper body or neck area. The head and the root are lost. The remains of the border decoration indicate that the fragment represents the right half of the monument.
GP0005
GP0021
GP 162 Halla Broa IV
GP 90 Fröjel kyrka

Interpretation of the Imagery ⓘ
No interpretation

Runic Context and Comments ⓘ
Parts of at least ten to twelve staves are visible between the horizontal framing lines, most of them very incompletely. A few twigs are also discernable, however, no single runic character can be determined with certainty. The surface is too much worn and the runes are largely lost.

Type and Dating ⓘ
The bas-relief, the monument’s size and the rhombic pattern of a sail clearly indicate a picture stone of Lindqvist’s ʻAbschnittʼ C/D, which can only be roughly dated to the 8th to 10th centuries. The fact that runes are engraved on the stone (see VIII) narrows the time frame to between the middle of the 9th and the late 10th century. The arrangement of the inscription on a horizontal band in the upper part of the stone, above the ship, is similar to the stones GP 4 Alskog Ollajvs, GP 390 Stenkyrka Lillbjärs III and GP 244 Lokrume kyrka. As said above (see VI), the design of the sail is comparable to a group of other Type C/D stones.
GP 4 Alskog Ollajvs
GP 390 Stenkyrka Lillbjärs III
GP 244 Lokrume kyrka