GP 360 Sproge kyrka

Context and Discovery
According to a report by runologist Sven B. F. Jansson on April 10, 1965 the stone was found in January 15, 1965, in a sacrament-niche in the southern wall of the apse during restoration work (Jansson 1966). The stone was found when a filled-in niche was broken up in the southern wall of the apse, directly south of the altar. It was taken out from the niche on January 19, 1965.

The church was built in the early 13th century. The chancel, apse and longhouse were built c. 1225–1250, and the tower was added c. 1300 (Bergman 1982, p. 19; BeBR). Remains of a wooden predecessor of oak, possibly a stave church, were found 1965. Some remains are stored in the parish storage and in Gotland Museum. Wall planks from a wooden church were reused in the floor in the stone church (BeBR; Bergman 1982, pp. 15–19, p. 43).
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Measurements, Material and Condition
The measurements are: height 0.93 m, width 0.46 m and thickness 0.08–0.10 m. The runes are 5–6 cm high. The material is reddish limestone of a type known from Garda, Hoburgen and Karlsöarna. The edges are hewn, and the ornament is carved in deep relief.

The stone was broken into two parts, but both parts were built into the same niche. The stone had been used as a piscina (basin) and has a large hole. Breakage of the stone damaged its lower left and upper right parts, and consequently also damaged parts of the runic inscription. There were no traces of paint when the stone was found, but it was partly covered by plaster. The stone was repaired by stonemason Henry Karlsson of Slite stenhuggeri.
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Description of Ornament and Images
As on other E-stones, the runic inscription runs along the edges. The main motif is a runic ornament with two facing dragons. The dragons’ heads are unusual, as they are reminiscent of but not exactly like runic animals of P1 or P2 in Gräslund’s style chronology (Gräslund 2006). At the neck, there are large knots on the rune band, and a dividing horizontal ribbon in the form of a rope-stick seems to cross the picture stone above the dragons. Unfortunately, this part is largely damaged by the piscina.

In the head of the stone, we see a draught horse with a sleigh. The sleigh has an undercarriage, on which the driver is sitting, holding the reins. Beneath the arm of the driver, there is a curved object, possibly a drinking horn or a ring. Above the sled-motif, there is a knot.

A particular technical and ornamental detail in the adornment of some branches of runes in the inscription are pitted terminals, a typical Gotlandic feature that also appears on, for example, GP 355 Sjonhem kyrka I (G 134), GP 356 Sjonhem kyrka II (G 135) and GP 214 Kräklingbo Smiss II (G 116). Outside Gotland, terminals marked by dots have been noticed on stone crosses in Rogaland in Norway (Crouwers 2019, p. 119). Greek crosslets with pitted terminals as seen on the Rogaland crosses are furthermore found on stone monuments in Argyll, Western Scotland (Crouwers 2019, p. 205). This feature, with a pit at the beginning and end of ornament lines, is likewise known from metal art, i.e., the weathervane from Söderala. Bernhard Salin drew a parallel to runestones on Öland and Gotland, and he indicated that this detail also appears in England. Salin did not mention which particular objects he referred to but suggested that this ornamental detail derived from Western influence (Salin 1921, pp. 1–16).

The stone was 3D-scanned in 2013 and the carving technique was compared to other E-stones as well as with 11th-century runestones on the Swedish mainland. The result suggested that the carver of GP 360 might have been influenced by styles current on the mainland runestones, but still adhered to local craft tradition (Kitzler Åhfeldt 2019, p. 104).
LKÅ
GP 355 Sjonhem kyrka I
GP 356 Sjonhem kyrka II
GP 214 Kräklingbo Smiss II

Interpretation of the Imagery
When this picture stone was found, it was the first time a sleigh was seen on a picture stone, and the driver was at first interpreted as a man. The only other sleigh-motif found on a picture stone so far is on GP 234 Levide kyrka 3, but the sleigh-motif has often been interpreted in relation to the motifs with wagons, and sleighs and wagons are often discussed together. In nearby Levide, both a stone with a sleigh (GP 234 Levide kyrka 3) and another stone with a wagon (GP 231 Levide kyrka; G 77) have been found (Jansson 1966, p.106). The picture stones have both these motifs in common with the Oseberg and Överhogdal tapestries, from the 9th and 11th centuries, respectively. Currently, there are six stones known with either a wagon or a sleigh, two with sleds and four with wagons (GP 3 Alskog kyrka, GP 120 Grötlingbo Barshalderhed, GP 71 Ekeby kyrka, GP 231 Levide kyrka. Women drive four of those vehicles; in the remaining two cases, gender is undefined. On two stones, the wagons or sleighs occur in connection with women with drinking horns; on two other stones, the woman in the wagon carries the horn herself (Böttger-Niedenzu 1982, pp. 44–47, Tab. II).

The sleigh and wagon scenes in a picture stone context have been interpreted as related to women as female counterparts to the mounted warrior and the journey to Valhalla (Almgren 1934, p. 116; 1940; Lindqvist 1962, p. 81; Böttger-Niedenzu 1982, p. 46; Snædal 2010; Oehrl 2017, p. 16). This connection is confirmed by wagon graves with women (Müller-Wille 1985; Staecker 2002; for more about the wagon-motif, see GP 231 Levide Kyrka). The motif continues to appear on picture stones into the 11th century, as on GP 231 Levide kyrka, GP 71 Ekeby kyrka and the stone in question here, GP 360 Sproge kyrka, and may be a conservative element that has a long survival. The wagons and sleighs relatively often are found on cist stones (Snædal 2004, p. 60, 2010), which may further indicate a relationship to women. At first, Lindqvist regarded the cist stones as memorials for women (Lindqvist 1941/42 I, p. 59), but later he turned to regard them as cists for votive offerings (Lindqvist 1964, p. 82).

On Överhogdal II, there is a horse with a sleigh with two passengers, one of whom is lifting an object with a long shaft, perhaps a cross, a torch or an axe (Horneij 1991, p. 58; Franzén and Nockert 1992, p. 48). It might also be a wand. Franzén and Nockert indicate that a close examination reveals that it is a cross (Franzén and Nockert 1992, p. 48). One of the passengers is marked by the symbol that Horneij calls a five-point-cross, i.e., the heraldic knot (or Sw. Sankthanskors) (Horneij 1991, p. 57). In one interpretation, the couple is understood as a wedding couple (Horneij 1991, p. 78, p. 82). There may be another sleigh, empty and with no horse, below this motif (Horneij 1991, p. 58; Franzén and Nockert 1992, p. 46–48 Fig. 40, 49).

In the Oseberg burial, full-size sleighs are included in the burial goods, construction details of which have been discussed by Sune Lindqvist in relation to Levide 3 (Lindqvist 1964, p. 74). A weapon grave with a sleigh, interpreted as the grave of a merchant due to the find of scales among the grave goods, was found in Röstahammaren in the same region as Överhogdal (Welinder 2009, pp. 63–64). In this region, sleighs and wagons seem to be parts of the local burial customs and are not particularly associated with women.

Earlier ethnographic studies of sleighs distinguish between sleighs with one or two runners. On the former, the load is tied directly on to the runner; they are smaller and, probably, they were pulled by people, for example for bringing home the bag from a hunting trip. The latter, with two runners, have undercarriages; they are heavier and were pulled by beasts of burden (Berg 1935; Oldeberg, 1956, pp. 231–232).
LKÅ
GP 234 Levide kyrka 3
GP 231 Levide kyrka (I)
GP 3 Alskog kyrka
GP0120
GP 71 Ekeby kyrka

Type and Dating
Lindqvist Type E. The size relates the stone to the so-called dwarf stones. The first preliminary assessment that circulated in newspapers was a dating to the 10th century (Gotlands Allehanda), but on closer examination this was soon revised to the 11th century (Jansson 1965, 1966). Snædal dates the stone to the middle of the 11th century (G 373; Snædal 2002, p. 100). The ornament indicates that the stone may belong to the style group P1 or P2 in Gräslund’s style chronology (Gräslund 2006), indicating a date to the first half of the 11th c. AD, but the heads of the runic animals are not easily classified.
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References
Svahnström 1965; Jansson 1965; 1966, pp. 105–106; Bergman 1982, pp. 65–66, fig. 80; Snædal 2002, p.70, p. 100; G 373.

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