Parish Find Location 
Stenkyrka

Find Location 
Stenkyrka church

Find Context Classification 
Church

Coordinate Find Location (lat) 
6411166

Coordinate Find Location (long) 
709898

Present Location Classification 
Gotlands Museum Magasin Visborg

Coordinate Present Location (lat) 
6390259

Coordinate Present Location (long) 
695514

Material 
Limestone

Height 
79

Width 
49

Thickness 
12

Lindqvist Type 
A (ca. 400-600)

Lindqvist Shape 
Tall stone
Kerb stone
Unclear

Runic Inscription or not 
No

Measurements, Material and Condition 
The limestone slab is 79 cm long, 49 cm wide, and 12 cm thick. The broad side is hewn flat and, although worn, has traces of a border panel along the upper edge. The upper narrow side is steeply arched and has a pattern of 3 cm wide alternating horizontal and vertical chiseled grooves. The pattern seems to be 3 horizontal grooves followed by 8 vertical grooves. The remaining left short side is straight and smoothly hewn to a length of 24 cm and a width of 6 cm. The right short end is a secondary fracture. The lower edge is also unprocessed, but it is unclear if this is a secondary fracture or the original lower edge. The back side is rough and unprocessed.
CJL/HS

Description of Ornament and Images 
The 14.5 cm wide border panel runs along the upper edge of the stone and includes two bands of a mirrored compressed band or step design. Due to wearing, the design is only visible in certain areas. The border panel begins 2 cm in from the upper edge of the stone and is framed on the top by two 0.5 cm wide chiseled grooves and a single thinly incised groove. The two mirrored bands are each 5–5.5 cm wide and are separated by a raised band (0.5–0.75 cm wide) that is defined on either side by a thinly incised groove. The design is carved in counter-relief with grooves that are approximately 1 cm wide. The lower edge of the border panel is defined by three thinly incised grooves that form two raised bands that are 0.5–0.75 cm wide. The left side of the border panel is defined by a single thinly incised groove. No other decoration can be discerned on the broad side of the stone.
CJL

Interpretation of the Imagery 
No interpretation

Type and Dating 
Stenkyrka kyrka 12 was categorized as an ‘early’ (tidig) type picture stone by Jan Peder Lamm, which corresponds chronologically with the erected stones of Lindqvist’s ‘Abschnitt’ A that date to circa AD 400–600 (Lindqvist 1941/42 I, p. 22–39, 108–115; Lamm/Nylén 2003, pp. 178, 193; see also see also Oehrl 2019a, pp. 8–10). The same border panel design on Stenkyrka kyrka 12 is found on two of the tall picture stones from ‘Abschnitt’ A, GP 554 Väskinde Kyrka 5 and GP 537 Vallstena Vallstenarum (I) which belong to the Väskinde-Vallstena (VV) subgroup of A-type stones (see Strehlau 2023, pp. 100–103). However, the shape of the remaining upper left corner of the fragment does not correspond to the form of the known types of erected stones from ‘Abschnitt’ A. Additionally, there does not appear to be any decoration below the border panel, but this could be due to wear on the stone.

The pattern of alternating horizontal and vertical grooves on the upper narrow side is the same that is found on Lindqvist’s (1941/42 I, p. 33) group 7 kerbstones, exemplified by the GP 377–381 Stenkyrka Lillbjärs VI a–e kerbstones. The kerbstones (Randsteine) are also included within Lindqvist’s (1941/42 I, p. 28–33) ‘Abschnitt’ A and are characterized by their long, narrow shape and convex upper edge. However, the remaining left short end of Stenkyrka kyrka 12 is relatively wide and straight in comparison to the confirmed kerbstones. It is possible that the left side was hewn secondarily, but it does appear to be the original edge since it coincides with the adjacent border panel. If the left end had been cut secondarily, it is likely that the left side of the border panel would have been cut short, however, the border panel retains its original left side. Based on the combination of features, the stone does not clearly fit into any of the currently known types of picture stones (for further discussion see Larkin 2023a, pp. 34–36).
CJL/HS
GP0554
GP 537 Vallstena Vallstenarum (I)
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

References 
Nylén/Lamm 2003, p. 193; Larkin 2023a. pp. 34–36.

Title
GP 401 Stenkyrka kyrka 12

Gotlands Museum ID 
GFC10981

Jan Peder Lamm ID 
240