GP 163 Halla Broa XIII

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 cemetery 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 fragment Halla Broa XIII was found together with two other picture stones in 1915 by Hans Hanson during the examination of the burial mound Broe VI/1915, which was located on the property of the wheelwright Otto Engström (Thunmark-Nylén 1995–2006 IV:1, pp. 330–331). According to the map provided by Lindqvist (1941/42 I, fig. 378), the find spot is situated just west of the intersection between the road to Viklau and the railway line, north of the border to Möllbos gård (farm), in an area called ʻBrandenʼ, where several other picture stones were found. “Under a low earthen mound, a stone setting was discovered that had a diameter of 4.75 m, was free of earth, and consisted of limestone chunks and boulders. In the upper stone layer, without any apparent order, there were three picture stones, two of which ([Halla Broa] XI and XII) lay at the western edge, the third ([Halla Broa] XIII) at the eastern edge. The latter stone was in a slanted standing position. Under this layer of stones, a circle of limestone slabs, with an outer diameter of 3.5 m, was encountered, with a large boulder in its centre. Under this were another layer of smaller stones and finally the skeleton of a man” (Lindqvist 1941/42 II, p. 64). The inhumation grave was undisturbed, the head of the dead lying in the south. Among the furnishings (SHM 15601:2) were a penannular brooch of bronze, a bronze strap buckle, strap end, and strap joiner, a green glass bead, a knife, and a comb with case (Thunmark-Nylén 1995–2006 IV:1, pp. 330–331; Rundkvist 2012, p. 152–153). The burial can be dated to the 10th century.
GP 156 Halla Broa XI
GP 157 Halla Broa XII

Measurements, Material and Condition
“Limestone slab, up to 9 cm thick. The obverse is even, the narrow sides hewn at approximately right angles towards the obverse and chamfered towards the back. The reverse is rough and unworked. Total length of the stone 67 cm, 58 cm of which above the root. height of the head 20 cm, its width 28 cm, width of the neck 26 cm, width of the base about 40 cm” (Lindqvist 1941/42 II, p. 65). The small mushroom-shaped picture stone is completely preserved, including its entire root.

Description of Ornament and Images
Lindqvist (1941/42 II, p. 65) describes the preserved carvings as follows: “The decoration, severely damaged by weathering, was executed with carved lines with narrow bottoms and by chiselling the background fields both in the border, which is up to 8 cm wide and filled with a double ribbon pattern [“Zweischnurmuster”], and in the image field. This latter probably was divided by a horizontal border both at the neck and again further down, judging from the sloppy chequered pattern of the sail(?) that can be perceived between 35 and 47 cm below the stone’s top.”

Surprisingly, Lindqvist only reproduced a drawing by Olof Sörling (ibid. fig. 393), which does not depict any of the details described above. Only a few scattered lines belonging to the border and some diagonal lines at the base are depicted. Photos of the unpainted stone are kept in ATA, dating to 1933 and earlier, however, there is little more to see (Run- och bildstenssamling 457:34; 977:11a; 1718:10a). Remarkably, in his tabular overview of the Type-C stones, Lindqvist (1941/42 I, p. 44) subsumes Halla Broa XIII under the heading “Erblindete Steine” (ʻblinded stonesʼ, which means ʻstones with obliterated surfaceʼ).

Interpretation of the Imagery
No interpretation

Type and Dating
Mushroom-shaped late-type dwarf stone, which means Lindqvist’s “Abschnitt” C/D or E (1941/42 I, p. 44). As almost no decoration is preserved on the monument, it can only be roughly dated to between the 8th century and around AD 1100. The stone is not considered in Rundqvist’s (2012) typological study.

References
Lindqvist 1941/42 II, p. 65, fig. 393; Rundkvist 2012, p. 152–153 cat. no. 13.

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