GP 375 Stenkyrka kyrka II

Context and Discovery
“Fragment of a kerbstone that is installed, with the obverse facing downwards, as the lintel next to and to the east of stone No. I [GP 400 Stenkyrka kyrka I] in the hatch leading from the tower to the attic above the nave’s vaults. It was first observed by [Fredrik Nordin]” (Lindqvist 1941/42 II, p. 115). The slab is only partly visible.

The earliest church at this place was probably a wooden building that was replaced by a stone church in the first half of the twelfth century. The foundations of the first stone church have been discovered beneath the flooring of the current church, which was built during the thirteenth century. The nave was erected shortly after the dedication of the choir in 1255, the new tower between 1280 and 1310 (on the building’s architectural history, see Roosval 1911, pp. 84–86; 1914, pp. 1–52, esp. 21–24; Lagerlöf/Svahnström 1991, pp. 239–243).

In his book “Gotlands Bildsteine”, Sune Lindqvist (1941/42 II, pp. 115–118) lists nine picture stones from Stenkyrka church. By contrast, the list put together by Jan Peder Lamm in 2003 contains no fewer than 40 new discoveries (Lamm/Nylén 2003, nos. 238–276, 425, 426). The unusually large number of stones found not only in the church, but in the entire parish, is an indicator of the political and religious position that Stenkyrka probably already held even before the first church was built (see Roosval 1914, p. 5). Many of the new finds from the church were discovered during a large-scale restoration, which was carried out in 1954/55 according to plans by the architect Rolf Bergh.
SO
GP 400 Stenkyrka kyrka I

Measurements, Material and Condition
The visible part of the stone, which forms a rectangle, was drawn by Olof Sörling in 1917 (Lindqvist 1941/42 II, fig. 491) but not photographed for Lindqvist’s edition. “Limestone slab, at least 16 cm thick. The obverse is naturally smooth. The narrow side that is facing outwards features three shallow grooves running lengthwise, of which the first two (seen from the obverse) both are 5 cm wide. Overall, this section is at right angles towards the obverse and is separated from it by an about 1 cm wide chamfer. The narrow side mentioned above is visible for a length of 109 cm and slightly convex longitudinally (chord height 2 cm)” (ibid. p. 115). The carvings on the obverse (see VI) are well-preserved. The section of the broad side that is visible within the hatch is 70 cm long and 50 cm wide.
SO

Description of Ornament and Images
“The decoration of the obverse (the stone’s original top face) consists of two narrow, faintly chiseled grooves close to the chamfer. The drawing was made after a sketch by FN [Fredrik Nordin] and only reproduced the part of the stone visible through the hatch” (Lindqvist 1941/42 II, p. 115). The two 1 cm wide chiseled grooves run parallel to the upper edge of the stone. The first groove begins 1.5–2 cm in from the edge and the two grooves are approximately 1.7 cm apart.
CJL/SO

Interpretation of the Imagery
No interpretation

Type and Dating
Lindqvist (1941/42 I, pp. 28, 31–33, 110) categorized Stenkyrka kyrka II as a kerbstone (Randstein) that he includes within his ʻAbschnittʼ A which dates to circa AD 400–600 (see also Oehrl 2019a, pp. 8–10). According to Lindqvist (1933, pp. 105, 107; 1941/1942 I, pp. 31–33), the kerbstones formed an edge chain which surrounded a grave mound, possibly with an erected Type A picture stone in the center. 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). The Stenkyrka kyrka II is assigned by Lindqvist to his Väskinde category (Västkindetypus) of kerbstones, which is named after GP 548 Väskinde kyrka IV and characterized by pairs of linear grooves on the broad side of the stone that run parallel to the outer edge and serve as the only decorative elements on the stone (Lindqvist 1941/42 I, pp. 28, 33). The three broad (5 cm wide) longitudinal grooves on the outer narrow side described by Lindqvist are not common to the kerbstones. When there is a pattern of grooves on the narrow side it is typically the pattern of alternating horizontal and vertical grooves that are indicative of Lindqvist’s group 7 kerbstones, exemplified by the GP 377–381 Stenkyrka Lillbjärs VI kerbstones. However, three horizontal grooves (3 cm wide) are found on GP 206–207 Hogrän kyrka II and III which are categorized as kerbstones.
CJL/SO
GP 548 Väskinde kyrka IV
GP 377 Stenkyrka Lillbjärs VIa
GP 378 Stenkyrka Lillbjärs VIb
GP 379 Stenkyrka Lillbjärs VIc
GP 380 Stenkyrka Lillbjärs VId
GP 381 Stenkyrka Lillbjärs VIe
GP 206 Hogrän kyrka II
GP 207 Hogrän kyrka III