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Gotlandic Picture Stones - The Online Edition

GP 206 Hogrän kyrka II









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mer grejer





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Parish Find Location ⓘ
Hogrän

Find Location ⓘ
The tower of Hogrän church.

Find Context Classification ⓘ
Church

Coordinate Find Location (lat) ⓘ
6378382

Coordinate Find Location (long) ⓘ
698156

Parish Present Location ⓘ
Hogrän

Present Location ⓘ
In situ, incorporated into the tower staircase.

Present Location Classification ⓘ
Church
In-Loco

Coordinate Present Location (lat) ⓘ
6378382

Coordinate Present Location (long) ⓘ
698156

Material
Limestone

Height ⓘ
86

Width ⓘ
57

Thickness ⓘ
20

Lindqvist Type 

Lindqvist Shape 

Runic Inscription or not ⓘ
No

Context and Discovery ⓘ
The tower is the oldest remaining part of the church (building history: Roosval 1942, pp. 86–89; Lagerlöf/Svahnström 1991, pp. 175–176). It was built around AD 1200 as an addition to a small Romanesque stone church from the later part of the 12th century, the foundations of which were discovered inside the present church during the last restoration in 1953/54. The present nave and choir with sacristy were built around AD 1300. Parts of the old Romanesque church’s façade reliefs are incorporated into the outer wall of the Gothic nave (Roosval 1942, p. 95). However, while the tower was being added, parts of the old relief-decorated nave seem to have been dismantled, because also in the tower, in the outer wall and in the tower staircase, parts of the Romanesque image frieze were installed (ibid. pp. 92, 95, figs. 98, 103).

The picture stone fragment Hogrän kyrka II “[…] is incorporated into the tower’s west wall as the top stone in the ceiling of the staircase, with its obverse facing down and its hewn side facing south. First observed in 1928 by Johnny Roosval [ATA dnr 2480-28]. GP 207 Hogrän kyrka III is “[…] integrated into the masonry in a similar manner to No. II (perhaps belonging to the same stone) and used as a stone in the ceiling at the third step, below No. II” (Lindqvist 1941/42 II, p. 78). GP 208 Hogrän kyrka I was found in 1801, lying in the churchyard. According to the inventory (RAÄ Hogrän 70), there are possibly two more kerbstones in the church – one has a bowl-like depression (piscina) and was used as a baptismal font foundation (0.58 x 0.48, 0.23 thick); the other is located at the entrance to the choir (0.93 x 0.93, 0.2 m thick) and possibly represents the base of a pillar. It is highly doubtful, however, that these really represent Type A ʻkerbstonesʼ.
SO
GP 207 Hogrän kyrka III
GP0208

Measurements, Material and Condition ⓘ
Only a roughly rectangular section of the stone slab is visible between the walls of the narrow stairway. “Limestone slab, almost 20 cm thick. The obverse is rather rough, not dressed. The south-facing narrow side features three grooves, each about 4 cm wide and slightly concave, running parallel to the edge. Overall, this edge [i.e., the upper edge of the stone] is very slightly convex; it is visible for a length of 86 cm and extends westwards into the masonry for an unknown distance. Between the obverse and this narrow side, a chamfer of about 1 cm width existed. The narrow side facing east [which is difficult to access] is hewn flat for more than 20 cm, probably at an obtuse angle towards the obverse. A 42 cm-long part of the obverse, measured from this edge, rests on another stone in the staircase’s masonry. The visible section of the obverse has a length of 46 cm and a width of 53–57 cm” (1941/42 II, p. 78). A crack running from the decorated upper edge to the lower broken edge divides the slab into two halves. The surface is rough due to many fossil inclusions.
SO

Description of Ornament and Images ⓘ
“The decoration of the obverse consists of a 15 cm-wide, patterned border along the chamfer. It is executed with rather wide and shallow lines that – at least today – are not defined sharply. On both sides of the fracture running across the stone, two lines crossing the border can be seen that separated two sections with different patterns” (1941/42 II, p. 78). In the photo of the secondary painted stone published by Lindqvist (ibid. fig. 424), which was taken by H. Faith-Ell in 1933 (ATA run- och bildstenssamling 1751:16), these two patterns can be seen in more detail. One section preserves a wave-like element, which may belong to a wave pattern as on GP 187 Hejnum Bjärs II, and the other an S-shaped curved element, which can be compared to the pattern on GP 135 Hablingbo Havor IV.
SO
GP 187 Hejnum Bjärs II
GP 135 Hablingbo Havor IV

Interpretation of the Imagery ⓘ
No interpretation

Type and Dating ⓘ
Lindqvist (1941/42 I, pp. 28, 31–33, 110) categorized Hogrän kyrka II as a kerbstone (Randstein) that is included within his first grouping of picture stones, ʻAbschnittʼ A, which date to circa AD 400–600 (see also Oehrl 2019a, pp. 8–10). Hogrän kyrka II is included within Lindqvist’s group 4 kerbstones which he determined to have a knitting pattern (Strickmuster). Lindqvist (ibid.) also included GP 135 Hablingbo Havor IV, GP 137 Hablingbo Havor VI, and GP 251 Lärbro Norder Ire III in this category, but it should be noted that there is a lot of variation among the “knitting pattern” designs on these stones. Hogrän kyrka II also displays a spiral wave-like pattern on the left side of the border panel.

According to Lindqvist (1933, pp. 105, 107; 1941/1942 I, pp. 21, 31–33), the kerbstones and erected Type A picture stones were possibly connected and could have created a singular monument with the erected picture stones placed within the grave mound encircled by an edge chain of carved kerbstones. However, no evidence has been found to confirm that any of the erected Type A picture stones were placed within a grave mound (Larkin 2023a, p. 50). Since the edges of the slab are not completely visible or broken off and its exact shape and dimensions are consequently unknown, this assignment is, however, not essential. Theoretically, it could also have been an upright monument, as is possibly the case with several stones classified as kerbstones by Lindqvist.
CJL/SO
GP 135 Hablingbo Havor IV
GP 137 Hablingbo Havor VI
GP 251 Lärbro Norder-Ire III

References ⓘ
Lindqvist 1941/42 I, pp. 28, 33; II, p. 78, fig. 424; Roosval 1942, p. 92; Lamm/Nylén 2003, p. 188.

 ⓘ
Fyndplats
Bildstenen observerades första gången 1928, då den satt i taket i trappan i tornets västra mur.

Nuvarande lokalisering
Samma placering som 1928.

Beskrivning
Kantsten (period A), synlig längd 86 cm och bredd 57 cm. Kantdekor.

Inskrift
Ingen inskrift.

Datering
Kan inte dateras med säkerhet, men tillhör perioden cirka 400-600.

Tolkning
Ingen tolkning.

AA

Title
GP 206 Hogrän kyrka II

Fornsök ID ⓘ
L1976:2317

RAÄ ID ⓘ
Hogrän 70 (1-2)

Jan Peder Lamm ID
151

Lindqvist Title ⓘ
Hogrän, Kirche II


Last modifed Oct 23, 2024

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Developer Data
Identifier: GP0206-3D
ID: 4738
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