GP 197 Hellvi Ire IV

Context and Discovery
The cemetery of Ire is one of Gotland’s largest and most important Iron Age burial grounds. It lies directly south of Lilla Ire farm, on a narrow, elongated elevation in the terrain, an area of about 385 x 40–70 m (NNV-SSÖ) immediately along and east of the road between Lilla Ire and Stora Ire. An estimated 400 (according to RAÄ, while Stenberger mentioned about 600) stone settings (rösen (cairns) and other circular stone settings) are still visible today. The burial ground was used continuously from the Roman Iron Age to the late Viking Period, is rich in finds and nearly undisturbed. During the straightening of the road, the first graves, dating to different periods, were archaeologically investigated in 1933–34. This was followed by isolated investigations of graves in various areas of the cemetery. In 1941–43 and 1945, the southern, Viking Age part of the burial ground was completely excavated under the direction of Mårten Stenberger (1936; 1942a–b; 1961; Thunmark-Nylén 1995–2006 IV:1, pp. 390–437).

The nine small fragments that obviously all belong to one and the same picture stone, Hellvi Ire IV, “[...] were recovered by Nils G. Gillgren in 1934 during explorations in the grave field. Most of them were found among the remains of an old stone wall that had crossed the burials 280–299 but was removed before the investigation began. Four other fragments lay in a stone setting formed by broken limestone slabs below ground. This stone setting covered grave 304” (Lindqvist 1941/42 II, p. 74; cf. ATA dnr 2700-1934). This grave contained an undisturbed cremation burial with some copper alloy fragments, four beads, a bone spindle whorl, a line-decorated bone fragment, and an animal tooth. The grave probably dates to the Vendel Period (Rundkvist 2012, p. 153).

Measurements, Material and Condition
The nine relatively small fragments represent about 25% of a tall Early-Type picture stone (see Lindqvist’s reconstruction – 1941/42 I, fig. 207), three of them belonging to the head (two of which preserve the original lateral and top edges), two to the body, and four to the lower body and base region (three of which preserve the original lateral edges). Lindqvist describes the reconstructed picture stone as follows (II, p. 74): “Limestone slab, 15 cm thick at the top, 16 cm further down. The obverse is smooth. The vertical narrow sides are hewn flat across their full width and at a significantly acute angle towards the obverse. Both sides are separated by an almost 2 cm wide chamfer that forms a considerably more obtuse angle towards the obverse than towards the narrow side. The reverse is raw. Although the decoration was damaged by weathering, it nonetheless is remarkably clear.” The monument may have originally been about 2.40 m tall (Lindqvist 1956, p. 26).

Description of Ornament and Images
The preserved decoration is thoroughly and clearly worked, only lightly weathered and therefore still easily discernible. Lindqvist documented them comprehensively in his book (1941/42 I, fig. 205–207), with photos of the uncoloured and the secondarily traced carvings. The originals for these, which date from 1933, can be found in ATA’s run- och bildstenssamling (B18:132; B21:90). The following description is based on Lindqvist’s painting, but the carvings are also perfectly comprehensible on the original stones and in the 3-D image.

The lateral edges of the stone are decorated with borders consisting of two parallel grooves. Remains of these grooves are preserved on five of the nine fragments, making a reconstruction of the monument possible. On the fragment from the top right corner, a small remnant of a large roundel with a whorl motif can be seen, its frame in the form of a double line and the corona consisting of raised circles between which the spaces have been carved. Small parts of three raised and two carved half-moon fields are preserved in the roundel. Larsen reconstructs a diameter of the roundel of 54 cm based on a 3-D model (2009, p. 20–21, fig. 14). The same fragment also shows a small part of the upper border, whose ornament can be described as consisting of two horizontally mirrored running spiral patterns. In the spandrel between the large whorl roundel and the upper border, a creature with a serpentine body is placed whose tail curls in at the end. The body is lined with a dense row of short lines, probably indicating some kind of hairiness. The beast opens its mouth and sticks out its (equally hairy) tongue. In addition, the serpentine creature is provided with front and rear extremities, making it resemble a dragon or other mythical creature. According to Larsen (2009, p. 21, fig. 14, 38), who analysed the carvings based on a 3-D model, the creature has an eye and its tail widens towards the end (a fishtail?). Two other small fragments from the head of the stone show two and one of the circles, respectively, that belong to the corona of the large roundel. A piece from the central field of the stone preserves a small part of the frame of a smaller roundel, next to which there may have been a second of this kind. The frame of the small roundel consists of a double line, from which short, very fine, and hair-like lines branch off. This very likely represents the hair of a serpentine creature that, as on other stones of this kind (see VII), once entwined the small roundel. Below this small roundel, on the same fragment, a series of five small carved circles can be seen on a horizontal line. Most probably this is the roof of a cabin or tent on a rowing boat that has not survived, as depicted on the Type A stones GP 350 Sanda kyrka IV, GP 428 Stenkyrka kyrka 46, GP 43 Bro kyrka I, GP 556 Väskinde Björkome I. The meaning of these round elements on the roofs of the cabins on these picture stones remains unclear. They could be some kind of decoration, shields or, if the cabin is a kind of a tent, rolled-up tent panels.

In his book, however, Lindqvist, as he could not yet take the finds from Sanda and Stenkyrka into account at that time, preferred a different interpretation of the row of circles in the middle part of the monument (1941/42 II, p. 74): “Of interest is the close row of roundels with chiselled bases, which exclusively occurs on Ire IV and probably was meant to form the lower limit of the image panel. Generally, it can be stated that this border is equivalent to that surrounding the great roundel of the same stone. In one case, the circular fields themselves were chiselled, in the other, (most of) their surroundings.” For this reason, Lindqvist’s reconstruction of the stone did not include enough space below the row of circles. He corrected this error in a later contribution and included more space for a rowing boat, thus arriving at an approximate total height of the original monument of 2.40 m, instead of 2.20 m as had to be assumed based on his older reconstruction (Lindqvist 1956, p. 25–26).

Investigations based on 3-D digitisation have shown that on the fragment of the upper left corner, the remains of a quadruped facing to the right, presumably a horse (as on other type stones, such as GP 554 Väskinde kyrka 5, GP 99 Garda kyrka 3, GP 198 Hellvi Ire 7, GP 132 Hablingbo Havor I, GP 410 Stenkyrka kyrka 21) could be preserved, which were not coloured by Lindqvist. If this is true, which is not entirely certain, then it would be unlikely that the fragment belongs to the same monument as the other fragments. The fact that two different motifs (horse and sea creature) are juxtaposed in the two spandrels between the roundel and the border would in any case be unique.
GP 350 Sanda kyrka IV
GP 428 Stenkyrka kyrka 46
GP 43 Bro kyrka I
GP 556 Väskinde Björkome I
GP0554
GP 99 Garda kyrka 3
GP 198 Hellvi Ire 7
GP 132 Hablingbo Havor I
GP 410 Stenkyrka kyrka 21

Interpretation of the Imagery
For the interpretation of the whorl motif with corona, which is usually considered a representation of the sun and interpreted in a cosmological and eschatological sense, as well as for the pair of smaller roundels which are frequently entwined by serpents, see in detail the article on GP 350 Sanda kyrka IV.

An equivalent to the serpent-like creature of Hellvi Ire IV with hair and legs can be seen on GP 44 Bro kyrka II. In addition, there seems to be a relationship with the giant snakes from GP 173 Hangvar Austers I and GP 269 Martebo kyrka 2, which apparently are also hairy. Here, too, the small extensions on the snake’s body can hardly be interpreted as tiny centipede-like legs, but rather as hairs. A snake encircling a rondel with similar spiky hair is depicted on GP 44 Bro kyrka II and GP 268 Martebo kyrka I. A serpentine creature with a tuft of hair is depicted on GP 133 Hablingbo Havor II, and a serpentine creature with a shock of hair and body hair on GP 132 Hablingbo Havor I. Regarding these snake-like hybrid animals see Oehrl 2019a, p. 109, figs. 87e(1–7).

The observation that the snake creatures on the Type A picture stones sometimes appear to be hairy and occasionally even have extremities is of particular importance for a possible interpretation. All in all, it becomes clear that we are dealing less with snakes than with hybrid creatures that combine snake and mammal characteristics. Comparable beasts are frequently encountered in Roman art, for example in the form of sea monsters (ketoi). As a matter of fact, the hairy giant worm on GP 269 Martebo kyrka 2 features a fish tail, clearly indicating a sea monster. A particularly clear indication of the Mediterranean origin of these creatures is provided, however, by the bearded snake in the spandrel at the top left of GP 44 Bro kyrka II. Other sea creatures of Mediterranean origin that are descended from dolphins or resemble seahorses can be found on GP 263 Lärbro Pavals and GP 506 Tingstäde kyrka XVII. That these are to be understood as reminiscences of Roman depictions of dolphins, ketoi and other sea creatures, for which three-part tails are quite characteristic, can hardly be overlooked (Lindqvist 1941/42 I, p. 89; II, pp. 91–92; Holmqvist 1952a; Hauck 1983a, pp. 547, 551).

Larsen (2009, pp. 39–40) compares the creature depicted on Hellvi Ire IV and its relatives on the above-mentioned stones Bro kyrka II, Martebo kyrka 2, and Hangvar Austers I with images of crocodiles on Roman coins from the period between BC 27 and AD 14.
GP 350 Sanda kyrka IV
GP 44 Bro kyrka II
GP 173 Hangvar Austers I
GP 269 Martebo kyrka 2
GP 268 Martebo kyrka I
GP 133 Hablingbo Havor II
GP 132 Hablingbo Havor I
GP 263 Lärbro Pavals
GP 506 Tingstäde kyrka XVII

Type and Dating
The fragments represent a tall Early-Type monument, belonging to Lindqvist’s ʻAbschnittʼ A (circa AD 400–600). Lindqvist classified the Hellvi Ire stone as representative of his Brotypus (1941/42 I, p. 27; cf. Hauck 1983a, p. 542) and emphasised its particular proximity to the picture stones GP 43 Bro kyrka I and GP 44 Bro kyrka II and considered a workshop connection to be probable: “In its character, it is entirely identical with that described above regarding Bro I and II, so that it justifiably can be assumed that it was created by one and the same person. The setting of the pattern, too, overall appears to be the same as on Bro I and II” (1941/42 II, p. 74).

The wall in which some of the fragments were found is probably modern, grave no. 304 from which the other fragments of the picture stone originate can be dated to the Vendel Period. As a result, the Migration Period picture stone must have been used secondarily. How the fragments were placed into the wall is unclear; possibly they were removed from the stone packing of the grave in modern times and used as building material, although the burial remained undisturbed and parts of the picture stone remained there.
GP 43 Bro kyrka I
GP 44 Bro kyrka II

References
Lindqvist 1941/42 I, pp. 27, fig. 5–7; II, p. 74; 1956, pp. 25–26, fig. 3; Hauck 1983a, pp. 542; Larsen 2009, pp. 20–21, 39–40, fig. 14, 38; Guber 2011, pp. 62, 131 cat. no. 43; Rundkvist 2012, p. 153 no. 24; Oehrl 2019a, pp. 109, 121, 123–124, 126, 153, 161, 294, fig. 87e:4, 91d.

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