GP 238 Lokrume Lauks

Context and Discovery
There is not much information available; Lindqvist (1941/42 II, p. 99) briefly notes: “This picture stone was found in 1907 by the farmer N. Olsson in Stainakar, where it was used as a bridge crossing a ditch. The finder donated it to GF in 1911.”

Measurements, Material and Condition
“Limestone slab, 13 thick at the top, 6–12 cm at the bottom. The obverse is uneven and pitted, the narrow sides are hewn approximately at right angles towards the obverse, the reverse is rough and unworked. The stone’s total height is 148 cm, of which 75 cm is accounted for by the part above the lower edge of the framing. The width of the head is 77 cm, that of the neck 69 cm, that of the root 99 cm” (Lindqvist 1941/42 II, p. 99). The monument is completely preserved but the upper right half of the decorated surface is much eroded.

Description of Ornament and Images
The decoration is executed in a coarse bas-relief. In accordance with the photo of the painted stone provided in his book, Lindqvist describes the carvings as follows: “Of the decoration, a framing border can be identified that formed in a sense like a ‘misunderstood’ three-strand interlace pattern. Also, there probably is a watercraft in the bottom part of the field, with stems rising up at about right angles from a curved keel” (Lindqvist 1941/42 I, fig. 38 [cf. ATA 1718:43, taken 1933 by H. Faith-Ell]; II, p. 99). An unpublished drawing by Olof Sörling, which is also kept in ATA, only depicts the remains of the border but not the vessel.

Interpretation of the Imagery
No interpretation

Type and Dating
Middle-type picture stone, i.e., Type B according to Lindqvist, dating to between AD 500 and 700. The stone belongs to those Type B stones described by Lindqvist (1941/42 I, pp. 38–39) as ʻdwarf stonesʼ with convex head and corners protruding horizontally. Lindqvist does not assign it to any of his subgroups. According to Martin Rundkvist’s (2012, p. 160) typology, the stone’s shape represents Type dwarf2, belonging to his period 2, which he dates to the Early Vendel Period. The only partly preserved ship is assigned by Lindqvist (1941/42 I, p. 65) to his Larsarvetypus and seems to correspond to the vessel on e.g., GP 83 Fole kyrka. The interlace border is comparable to GP 83 Fole kyrka, GP 340 Sanda Sandegårda I, and GP 74 Endre skog.
GP 83 Fole kyrka
GP 340 Sanda Sandegårda I
GP 74 Endre skog