GP 385 Stenkyrka kyrka 10

Context and Discovery
The fragment was found in Stenkyrka church, where it had been re-used as building material. More information about the actual find location and kind of re-use is not available. 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). 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. Stenkyrka kyrka 10 was also found on this occasion, in 1955. Today, the stone is on display in the arrival hall of Visby Airport.

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 floor 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). 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).

Measurements, Material and Condition
The limestone slab is 1.44 m high and 0.70 m wide between the protruding corners of the head. The mushroom-shaped monument is almost completely preserved and undamaged; only a small part of the root is broken off at an angle at the bottom. The obverse is relatively flat and well-preserved. However, the head field is somewhat uneven and more weathered.

Description of Ornament and Images
The bas-relief depictions were secondarily repainted after the discovery of the stone; a corresponding photograph (neg. no. XV:440) is preserved in the old catalogue of Gotlands Fornsal (kartoteket). The following can be taken from the photo: The obverse is divided into two picture panels, a head field and a lower field. The lower field shows, on a row of six waves turned to the left, a sailing ship with a chequered sail. The sail’s upper framing line separates the ship image from the head field. The hull of the ship is box-shaped, with vertically ascending stems tapering to a point at the top. On the ship, apparently standing with their feet on the railing, three crew members are depicted facing left, one to the left of the mast and two to the right. While the figure on the far right remains extremely unclear (perhaps he is seated holding the rudder that extends from the hull at the bottom right), the other two men are clearly visible. They have long, pony-tailed hair and are each holding a sheet rope in their hands, which is connected to the lower framing line of the sail. In the upper field, only very faint remnants of the decoration are visible, probably parts of the extremities and body of a horse. It is likely to have been an equestrian motif. The border that frames the picture fields is filled with a complex interlace pattern that forms a row of figure-eight-shaped elements. On the left side, however, this unusual pattern merges into irregular, diffuse decoration.

Interpretation of the Imagery
Regarding the (eschatological) interpretation of the ship and horseman motifs see in particular GP 390 Stenkyrka Lillbjärs III.
GP 390 Stenkyrka Lillbjärs III

Type and Dating
Tall mushroom-shaped late-type picture stone. The monument belongs to a small group of large Type C(/D) stones with slightly convex head and corners protruding at right angles to the body (Lindqvist 1941/42 I, tbl. III). Best examples are GP 37 Bro Eriks I, GP 45 Bro Eriks II, GP 185 Hejnum Rings, and GP 191 Hejnum Mallgårds 1 (and also the Type E stone GP 32 Boge kyrka, which represents a palimpsest). This head shape corresponds to certain Type B ʻdwarf stonesʼ. Therefore, Lindqvist (ibid. p. 46) regards the mentioned monuments as a “Hybridgruppe”, probably representing a phase of transition between ʻAbschnittʼ B and C. If this interpretation is correct, those stones could be regarded as the earliest Type C stones, presumably dating to the 8th century or possibly around 700.
GP0037
GP0045
GP 185 Hejnum Rings
GP 191 Hejnum Mallgårds 1
GP 32 Boge kyrka

References
Oehrl 2019a, p. 211.

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