Parish Find Location 
Rute

Find Location 
In the choir of Rute church.

Find Context Classification 
Church

Coordinate Find Location (lat) 
6416949

Coordinate Find Location (long) 
732903

Parish Present Location 
Rute

Present Location 
Inside the church, secondarily used in the floor of the choir.

Present Location Classification 
Church
In-Loco

Coordinate Present Location (lat) 
6416949

Coordinate Present Location (long) 
732903

Material 
Limestone

Height 
35

Width 
33

Lindqvist Type 
C/D (ca. 700-1000)
E (ca. 1000-1150)

Lindqvist Shape 
Unclear

Iconographic Keywords 
triangle 

Runic Inscription or not 
No

Context and Discovery 
The fragment was identified by Beata Böttger-Niedenzu in 1984. In 1982, she submitted her master’s thesis on Gotland’s picture stones to the Ludwig-Maximilians-University of Munich, and during the years 1981 to 1985, she visited Gotlandic rural churches, discovering not fewer than 38 previously unknown picture stones, which she published in a brief catalogue in 1988. The Rute fragment is situated in the floor of the choir, next to the sacristy. The choir and nave of Rute church were built in the middle of the 13th century; shortly afterwards the tower was erected (Roosval 1935, pp. 40–50). It is possible that the current church replaced an older church building of the 12th century. However, no traces of such an early church have been excavated so far. Since the time of construction, only minor changes have been made to the exterior of the church. The sacristy, which has a masonry base, was added during the 17th century (ibid. p. 44).

Measurements, Material and Condition 
The fragment is set into the floor of the choir with the obverse facing upwards. The part of the stone visible today, which forms an irregular square, measures about 35 x 33 cm. The limestone slab is covered to the north by the wooden wall paneling of the sacristy and to the east by the threshold stone in front of the sacristy entrance. Consequently, the actual size of the picture stone fragment cannot be determined. The surface is weathered and worn, only a few traces of the decoration are still visible.

Description of Ornament and Images 
Abraded remains of a bas-relief are visible on the stone, especially the rough carved background surfaces, from which indistinct worn raised fields stand out here and there. Two intersecting lines can be made out, which may have been part of the framing of different image panels. Böttger-Niedenzu (1988, p. 13) notes a triangular element, but this is difficult to verify.

Interpretation of the Imagery 
No interpretation

Type and Dating 
The bas-relief appears to indicate a late picture stone type, Lindqvist’s ʻAbschnittʼ C/D or even E, which means the fragment dates to between the 8th century and the 10th century (possibly even the 11th century).

References 
Böttger-Niedenzu 1988, p. 13.

Title
GP 338 Rute kyrka

Fornsök ID 
L1976:7228

RAÄ ID 
Rute 113:5

Jan Peder Lamm ID 
424