Parish Find Location 
Roma

Find Location 
Roma (parish) church, re-used in the floor.

Find Context Classification 
Church

Coordinate Find Location (lat) 
6381432

Coordinate Find Location (long) 
706092

Parish Present Location 
Roma

Present Location 
Still in situ, in the floor of the choir.

Present Location Classification 
Church
In-Loco

Coordinate Present Location (lat) 
6381432

Coordinate Present Location (long) 
706092

Material 
Limestone

Height 
166

Width 
85

Lindqvist Type 
C/D (ca. 700-1000)

Lindqvist Shape 
Tall stone

Runic Inscription or not 
No

Context and Discovery 
The stone was identified by B. Böttger-Niedenzu in 1984. Böttger-Niedenzu, who submitted her master’s thesis on Gotland’s picture stones to the Ludwig-Maximilians-University of Munich in 1982, went through Gotlandic rural churches during the years 1981–1985 and discovered not fewer than 38 previously unknown picture stones, which she published in a brief catalogue in 1988. The stone Roma kyrka 1 is placed in the floor of the choir, north-west of the altar, partly hidden by the communion bench. A second picture stone fragment was identified by Böttger-Niedenzu in the nave of the church, re-used as base of the 13th century baptismal font, see GP 331 Roma kyrka 2. The current nave and choir of the church were erected in the middle of the 13th century. A preceding church building at the same spot, from which only the sacristy is left, was built during the late 12th century.
GP 331 Roma kyrka 2

Measurements, Material and Condition 
The stone was reworked to an almost rectangular slab of 166 x 85 cm. Its long sides face to the east and west, and the north-facing narrow side runs parallel to the church wall. Approximately one quarter of the stone’s surface is hidden by the communion bench which crosses and covers the slab from West to East. In the north-west corner of the stone, the long side is slightly bent inward, possibly indicating the neck of a mushroom-shaped picture stone. The limestone is light grey; a dark area or stain in the middle of the surface is secondary (mortar/cement). The front side of the stone is facing upwards; however, the surface is almost completely worn and polished by footsteps.

Description of Ornament and Images 
There are many faint traces of carved background planes discernable all over the surface, indicating a primitive bas-relief decoration which is typical for Viking Age picture stones on Gotland. However, the figurative decoration itself, the raised fields of the bas-relief, are so worn and smoothed by footsteps that no motifs and figurative elements remain definable. An accumulation of traces is located at the most southern part and in particular in the south-west corner of the slab. Particularly clear traces are situated at the most northern part and the north-western corner, presumably indicating the ornamented frame (border) of the monument.

Interpretation of the Imagery 
No interpretation

Type and Dating 
Since the relatively tall stone slab seems to have been decorated with a typical bas-relief, it most likely belongs to Lindqvist’s ʻAbschnitt C/Dʼ, less probably to ʻAbschnittʼ E, which means it could be roughly dated to between the 8th century or ca. AD 800 and 1000. As the long side is slightly bent inward, the original mushroom shape of the picture stone can be guessed at (see V).

References 
Böttger-Niedenzu 1988, p. 12.

 
Fyndplats
Stenen påträffades 1984 i Roma sockenkyrka, där den har blivit återanvänd i korgolvet.

Nuvarande förvaringsplats
Stenen är fortfarande inmurad i golvet i kyrkans kor, nordväst om altaret. Altarskranket med knäfall (nattvardsbänken) övertäcker ungefär en fjärdedel av stenytan.

Beskrivning
Det handlar om ett ungefär rektangulärt bildstensfragment av storleken 1.66 x 0.85 m. Stenen har troligen varit dekorerad med bilder i låg relief men eftersom ytan nötts ned av kyrkobesökarnas fötter är inga rester av figurframställningar bevarade. Det finns dock många huggspår i den försänkta bakgrunden och troligen rester av en kantbård med flätband.

Datering
700-talet eller mellan omkring år 800 och 900-talet e.Kr. (vikingatid).

Tolkning
Ingen tolkning.

SO

Title
GP 330 Roma kyrka 1

Fornsök ID 
L1976:9508

RAÄ ID 
Roma 77:1

Jan Peder Lamm ID 
423

ATA
K-Samsök