Skip to main content

Gotlandic Picture Stones - The Online Edition

GP 154 Halla Broa 21









PARTS

mer grejer





Measured length
0.0
PlanePositionFlip



Show planes Show edges

Parish Find Location ⓘ
Halla

Find Location ⓘ
In a small river close to the Broa (today Broe) necropolis in Högbro, Halla parish.

Find Context Classification ⓘ
Other

Coordinate Find Location (lat) ⓘ
6377963

Coordinate Find Location (long) ⓘ
707787

Present Location Classification ⓘ
Gotlands Museum Magasin Visborg

Coordinate Present Location (lat) ⓘ
6390259

Coordinate Present Location (long) ⓘ
695514

Material
Limestone

Limestone Type ⓘ
fine limestone without reef debris

Geological Group ⓘ
Högklint Formation (30%)

Height ⓘ
148

Width ⓘ
78

Thickness ⓘ
10

Lindqvist Type 

Lindqvist Shape 

Iconographic Keywords
 ⓘ  

Runic Inscription or not ⓘ
No

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. During the 19th century, the Högbro elevation was severely diminished and large parts of the Broa necropolis were destroyed by clearing and cultivation, gravel mining, house building, 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, in particular, during the 1930s and the early 1940s.

Two large 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, with some unexcavated stone settings typical of 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 warrior graves containing fragments of ring-swords as well as a Vendel helmet (Nerman 1969–1975 I:1, p. 29; II, fig. 601).

The exact location of the find spots of the picture stones 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 Lindqvist’s time.

Halla Broa 21 was found in 1989, not far from the known areas of the cemetery, approximately 450 m west of the intersection between the roads Viklau-Halla and Roma-Sjonhem. It was uncovered by accident during dredging work at the small river that is crossed by the road to Roma (Visbyvägen). The finding place is situated at the intersection of the river and the road (RAÄ Halla 84:1). The picture stone was lifted out by the excavator bucket (ATA dnr 5571/89).

Measurements, Material and Condition ⓘ
The almost completely preserved, mushroom-shaped picture stone is 148 cm high; its width is 62 cm between the corners of the head and 78 cm at the base. The limestone slab is 10 cm thick. The left corner of the head is damaged and a small part at the right edge of the base is chipped off. The root is circa 30 cm long but possibly fragmented. A long scratch on the lower half of the surface probably originates from the discovery. The surface is flat and relatively smooth but greatly worn and weathered.

Description of Ornament and Images ⓘ
Remains of a remarkably wide interlace border framing the monument are discernable. Due to the width of the border, the two image fields on the head and the body of the stone are relatively small and narrow. The rudimentary outline of a simple ship’s hull and probably the remains of a sail can be seen on the bottom of the lower field. More depictions are hardly discernable.

Interpretation of the Imagery ⓘ
No interpretation

Type and Dating ⓘ
Mushroom-shaped late-type picture stone, ʻAbschnittʼ C/D or E according to Lindqvist. Where almost no decoration is left, such stones can only be roughly dated to the period between the 8th century and around AD 1100. The slab was only about 110 cm tall above ground, so according to Lindqvistʼs definition (1941/42 I, p. 30), it does not represent a ʻdwarf stoneʼ. According to Rundkvist’s typology (2012, p. 155), however, it must be regarded as ʻdwarf stoneʼ. Regarding shape, dimensions and the design with two very narrow image fields, the ʻdwarf stoneʼ GP 370 Stenkyrka Lillbjärs VII is comparable.
GP 370 Stenkyrka Lillbjärs VII

References ⓘ
No references

 ⓘ
Fyndplats
Bildstenen påträffades 1989 vid muddring av en liten å precis vid vägen mellan Sjonhem och Roma. Fyndplatsen befinner sig strax norr om det stora järnåldersgravfältet i Broa i Halla socken.

Nuvarande lokalisering
Gotlands museums magasin, Visborgsslätt.

Beskrivning
En svampformig bildsten (typ C-D), 148 cm hög och som bredast 78 cm. Bred kantdekoration samt rester av två bildfält. I det nedre bildfältet spår av ett skepp med ett segel.

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

Tolkning
Ingen tolkning

AA

Title
GP 154 Halla Broa 21

Fornsök ID ⓘ
L1976:3443

RAÄ ID ⓘ
Halla 84:1

Gotlands Museum ID ⓘ
C11606

Jan Peder Lamm ID
444


Last modifed Oct 21, 2024

Export

Developer Data
Identifier: GP0154-3D
ID: 4686
3D-model
Part1 Depth null
Part1 RGB null