GP 162 Halla Broa IV

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 cemetery, however, remains still uncertain.

The oldest investigated burials can be dated to the Roman Iron Age, with some unexcavated stone settings 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 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.

The picture stone Halla Broa IV was found in 1879 during the construction of the railway line (Lindqvist 1941/42 II, p. 61). The exact find place and context, however, cannot be determined.

Measurements, Material and Condition ⓘ
“Limestone slab, up to 12 cm thick. The obverse almost even by nature, severely pitted due to weathering. The narrow sides either hewn in an obtuse angle or rounded towards the obverse. The reverse rough and unworked. Total height of the stone 89 cm, 57.5 cm above the lower edge of the decoration, width of the head 45 cm, width of the neck 38 cm, that of the base 49 cm” (Lindqvist 1941/42 II, p. 61). The mushroom-shaped monument is completely preserved, including its root.

Description of Ornament and Images ⓘ
“The decoration of the border, which is filled with an s-shaped interlace pattern is executed with hewn lines and chiselled background fields. The images in the field appear to have been sketched in fine lines and drawn by means of a pointed instrument; after this, the work was completed by chiselling out the background field. The field is divided into two panels by a horizontal bar at the level of the neck. The horizontal bar at the same time serves as the yardarm of the sail of the watercraft filling the lower panel. On this bar, one foot of a horse is resting, on which sits a horseman with loose trousers gathered at the knee and a sword scabbard (attached to the belt?)” (Lindqvist 1941/42 II, p. 61). The very fine lines, which appear to be drawn with a pointed instrument are particularly visible in the details of the horseman’s head, his sword and trousers, but also in parts of the ship, in particular, the shields with bosses and the heads and faces of the crewmen. Those finely carved lines possibly indicate a kind of preliminary sketch (cf. ibid. I, pp. 42–43; repeatedly Hauck, in particular, 1957b; Eshleman 2000; Oehrl 2019a, pp. 67–68 and passim [regarding Hauck’s research see 68–86, 169–172, 286–287, and passim]). The best examples for such preliminary carvings represent the Type C stones GP 161 Halla Broa III, GP 390 Stenkyrka Lillbjärs III and GP 258 Lärbro Tängelgårda I.

The figure in the left half of the head field can be interpreted in different ways, but Lindqvist’s description of the carvings is particularly detailed (1941/42 II, p. 61): “In front of the horseman, on the same ʻground lineʼ, a person is standing, the details of which have been lost due to flaking. The interpretation of this person was a problem that GG [Gabriel Gustafson], FN [Fredrik Nordin], and OS [Olof Sörling] frequently debated, but never finally solved. Alternative no. 1 [ibid. II, fig. 381] includes: a man with knee-length garb, holding a spear slightly tilted forwards, towards the horseman; the slightly crooked spearhead is at a level with the horse’s ear. Alternative no. 2 [ibid. II, fig. 382, 384], however, put forward a woman with a floor-length dress (at the front of which there is a strip of constant width that corresponds to the front lower leg in alternative no. 1); her head is looking rather masculine and does not quite reach the same level as the horse’s mouth. Above the woman, there is a bird (the head and long neck of which, pointed diagonally upwards, corresponds to the upper part of the spear in alternative no. 1) that appears to be flying towards the horseman. Both wings of this presumed bird are visible and executed in a remarkably realistic way; the feathers of the wings would be implied by short, chiselled lines, in the same manner that commonly was used for the chiselled areas of the background field. Lastly, alternative no. 3 [ibid. I, fig. 116], which SL [Sune Lindqvist] considers the most likely, shows a woman in a full-length dress (possibly with a strip of constant width along the dress’s rear contours that corresponds to the rear lower leg in alternative no. 1) as in alternative no. 2, but of much greater body height; the torso is inclined backwards, of course, because the woman is presenting the horseman with a drinking horn, its almost horizontal mouth facing him (in alternative 1, this is the spearhead, in alternative 2, the bird’s head). The top of the woman’s head is at the same level as the horse’s eye” (Lindqvist 1941/42 II, p. 61).

There are even more possible interpretations documented – a photo of the painted stone depicting the legs of a man without spear (Oehrl 2019a, pl. 30f), a drawing with a very rudimentary version of the man with spear (ATA, unpublished), and a drawing with another version of the woman with a drinking horn, featuring a smaller body size and more detailed facial characteristics (Lindqvist 1941/42 II, fig. 383). All mentioned interpretations are kept in ATA (Run- och bildstenssamling). Oehrl (2019a, pp. 65–66, 89, pl. 54a–b) considers the image on the head field of Halla Broa IV one of the best examples of the difficulty of picture stone documentation, which he regards as the major problem of picture stone research in general. His investigation based on digital imaging applications, however, did not lead to a final assessment. Nevertheless, in Oehrl’s view, a woman with a drinking horn is the most plausible interpretation, although she is probably smaller and less massive, as she appears on the photo provided by Lindqvist.

The ship in the lower part of the stone is described by Lindqvist, as follows: “The lower half of the field is occupied – as mentioned above – by a watercraft. Above the horizontal bar – the sail’s yardarm –, the masthead can be seen between the horse’s forelegs in the panel just described; on both sides of the masthead, there are the upper ends of the stays running down in both directions. The sail is enclosed on both the left and right in the same rectilinear way as at the top by the yardarm, while downwards, it has a number of pointed corners continuing the rhombic pattern that had been produced by wide chiselled grooves. The vessel’s hull has towering stems, the rudder is on the starboard side, and ten shields are visible along the railing. The shields’ contours are drawn fairly competently, but hardly with a compass; the rims of the shield bosses are drawn, as well. Above the shields raise the heads of six, probably originally seven, crewmen. They wear round head coverings. Four corners, which probably each terminate in a sheet rope, constitute the sail’s lower edge. The mast is massive towards the bottom and has a stay running to it from the inner base of the stem in the bow as well as several of them from the stern” (Lindqvist 1941/42 II, p. 61).
GP 161 Halla Broa III
GP 390 Stenkyrka Lillbjärs III
GP0258

Interpretation of the Imagery ⓘ
For the interpretation of the horseman and ship motifs on late type picture stones, see especially GP 5 Alskog Tjängvide I, GP 21 Ardre kyrka VIII, GP 94 Garda Bote, GP 209 Klinte Hunninge I, GP 212 Klinte Hunninge IV (Klintebys), and GP 390 Stenkyrka Lillbjärs III. Both motifs, the horseman (welcomed by a woman with a drinking horn) and the ship, are commonly regarded as depicting the deceased’s journey and arrival in the world of the dead. Gabriel Gustafson’s interpretation of the woman in the head field of Halla Broa IV, featuring a long-necked bird above the woman’s head (see VI, alternative no. 2), is particularly tempting since Oehrl was able to prove in his studies that long-necked water birds played an important role in the iconography of the late-type picture stones, acting as companions of the women who welcome the deceased in the world of the dead. Those ʻornithomorphic psychopompoiʼ can be seen on the picture stones GP 91 Fröjel Bottarve, GP 3 Alskog kyrka, GP 120 Grötlingbo Barshaldershed 6, and GP 341 Sanda kyrka I. For more detailed interpretation, see the pertinent articles as well as Oehrl 2010a; 2012a, pp. 93–96; 2019a, pp. 50–55, pls. 23e–25c; 2020c, pp. 138–151, fig. 26–31.
GP0005
GP0021
GP0094
GP0209
GP 212 Klinte Hunninge (IV) (Klintebys)
GP 390 Stenkyrka Lillbjärs III
GP0091
GP0003
GP0120
GP 341 Sanda kyrka I

Type and Dating ⓘ
Mushroom-shaped late-type ʻdwarf stoneʼ, belonging to ʻAbschnittʼ C according to Lindqvist, who dates those stones to the time around AD 700. Current research, however, tends to date them roughly to between the 8th century (or rather around AD 800) and the 10th century. Lisbeth Imer (2004, p. 104) dates the stone to the 9th century. According to Martin Rundkvist’s (2012) typology, the stone’s shape represents Type dwarf4, which occurs in his periods 4 (Late Vendel Period), 5 (Early Viking Period), and 6 (Middle Viking Period). According to Varenius’ ship typology (1992, pp. 69–74 and appendix 2), the rigging of the ship depiction belongs to his group III (segelskepp med skot i hanfot), which he dates to the 9th or 10th centuries. Lindqvist (1941/42 I, p. 71) assigns the vessel to his Hunningetypus, which occurs frequently on Type C picture stones.

The design of the sail, with small rectangles at the intersections of the diagonal lines (see VI), is similar to the Type D stones GP 5 Alskog Tjängvide I and GP 21 Ardre kyrka VIII or the Type C stones GP 160 Halla Broa III and GP 90 Fröjel kyrka. Good parallels for the the border decoration, an interlace pattern formed by s-shaped loops, can be seen on the stones GP 171 Hangvar kyrka III, GP 395 Stenkyrka Lillbjärs XVII, and GP 94 Garda Bote.
GP0005
GP0021
GP 160 Halla Broa II
GP 90 Fröjel kyrka
GP0171
GP 395 Stenkyrka Lillbjärs XVII
GP0094

References ⓘ
Nordin 1903, p. 148, fig. 5; Lindqvist 1941/42 I, pp. 47, 71, 73, 75, 82–83, fig. 105, 116–117; II, p. 61, fig. 81–84; Varenius 1992, p. 72, fig. 40; Lamm/Nylén 2003, pp. 90–91; Helmbrecht 2011, p. 470 cat. no. 605; Ney 2012, pp. 78–79; Oehrl 2012a, pp. 92–93; 2019a, pp. 65–66, 89, pls. 30a–f, 54a–b.

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