GP 400 Stenkyrka kyrka I














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Parish Find Location Stenkyrka
Find Location Stenkyrka church, between the tower and the roof of the nave.
Find Context Classification Church
Coordinate Find Location (lat) 6411166
Coordinate Find Location (long) 709898
Parish Present Location Stenkyrka
Present Location In situ
Present Location Classification ChurchIn-Loco
Coordinate Present Location (lat) 6411166
Coordinate Present Location (long) 709898
Context and Discovery The stone “[…] is installed, with the obverse facing downwards, as the western lintel of the 66 cm wide 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 kerbstone GP 375 Stenkyrka kyrka II is incorporated just next to the slab.
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 were 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).
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. GP 375 Stenkyrka kyrka II
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. 490) but not photographed for Lindqvist’s edition. It represents most of the upper part of an early-Type picture stone, with its upper edge missing/hidden. “Limestone slab, at least 12 cm thick. The obverse is almost flat (hewn?); the narrow side that is facing outwards represents one of the picture stone’s vertical sides and is hewn flat for a width of up to 12 cm and at right angles towards the obverse; there is an approximately 1 cm wide chamfer in between. This side has a length of 85 cm and is slightly curved inwards” (ibid. p. 115). The decoration is easily discernible.
Description of Ornament and Images Most of a large roundel is well-preserved, featuring a swastika-like motif that consists of four spirals, the upper one of which is not visible anymore. The border decoration formed by pairs of parallel grooves can be observed on both lateral sides of the monument. These carvings are well documented by Sörling’s drawing. “The decoration mainly is executed with slightly-chiseled background fields both inside the spiral-filled roundel and in the two grooves along the two vertical edges. The drawing [by Sörling] reproduces only the portion of the fragment that is visible through the hatch” (Lindqvist 1941/42 II, p. 115, fig. 490).
Interpretation of the Imagery No interpretation
Type and Dating The slab represents a tall early-type picture stone, i.e. Type A according to Lindqvist’s typology, dating between AD 400 and 600. Lindqvist (1941/42 I, p. 28) classifies the fragment as representative of his Vallstenagruppe. This group is named after the stone GP 537 Vallstena Vallstenarum I, and is characterized by a big single roundel as main motif. Very similar spiral motifs occur frequently among the early-type picture stones; however, the use of this specific pattern as central element is unusual. Hauck (1983a, pp. 544–545) subsumes “smaller” stones with different kinds of spiral patterns in the central roundel, including Stenkyrka kyrka I, under the group name Vallstenarum-Havor-Gruppe (Typus V). GP 537 Vallstena Vallstenarum (I)
References Lindqvist 1941/42 II, p. 115, fig. 490; Hauck 1983a, p. 545, fig. 23; Guber 2011, p. 142 cat. no. 66.
Observerades första gången i slutet av 1800-talet eller början av 1900-talet, inmurad i en öppning mellan tornet och långhusets vind. På samma plats som GP 375 Stenkyrka kyrka II.
Nuvarande lokalisering
Samma plats idag.
Beskrivning
Övre delen av en tidig bildsten (period A), bevarad längd 85 cm. Kantdekor och största delen av en stor virvel, med mindre virvlar inom sig bevarade.
Datering
Dateringen oklar, men tillhör perioden 400-500-talen.
Tolkning
Ingen tolkning.
AA
TitleGP 400 Stenkyrka kyrka I
Jan Peder Lamm ID 229
Lindqvist Title Stenkyrka, Kirche I
Last modified Apr 17, 2025