GP 430 Stenkyrka Lillbjärs XI

Context and Discovery ⓘ
The cemetery of Lillbjärs (or Lilla Bjärs, sometimes just Bjärs, also as Bjers), in Stenkyrka parish is one of the largest and most important grave fields on Gotland (RAÄ Stenkyrka 26:1; Lindqvist 1941/42 II, p. 118; Thunmark-Nylén 1995–2006 III:2, p. 627). It includes more than 1000 visible stone settings (rösen (citst) and other circular or almost circular stone mounds), as well as a ship-shaped stone setting from the Bronze Age (5 x 2.25 m), and a monumental (17 m in diameter) grave mound called ʻÄuglehaugʼ (or ʻUgglehaugʼ), which probably dates to the Migration Period. An old path of about 550 m leads through the entire area in an east-west direction. Many of the graves were robbed; only a small number have been excavated, including about a dozen dating to the Viking Period. Remarkable features of the stone mounds are a surrounding dry-stone wall consisting of several layers of limestone slabs, as well as the frequent occurrence of grave orbs (large spherical stones) (gravklot), erected stone slabs, and picture stones in the immediate context of the (Vendel or Viking Period) graves (ibid. pp. 582–583). Lindqvist published nineteen picture stones from this grave field – GP 369–373, 377–381, 388–396, 429–431, 440 Stenkyrka Lillbjärs I–XIX.

“In November 1908, O. V. Wennersten reported in a letter to the National Antiquarian that a local, Emil Svensson in Tune, had discovered three picture stones on the ground belonging to Lillbjärs and taken custody of them. […] On this occasion, the antiquarian Emil Eckhoff visited the find place during the following summer and sent to SHM the stones [Stenkyrka Lillbjärs I–VI] as well as three fragments of another slab, which, however, did not clearly represent a picture stone. He also collected numerous grave orbs (gravklot) […]. In 1911, [Fredrik Nordin] visited the site and was given more information by Svensson about the find place and the circumstances of the discovery of the stones […]. When [Fredrik Nordin] returned in 1913 to conduct excavations, Svensson in the meantime had moved away, and unfortunately, it turned out to be impossible to locate all the find places described by him” (ibid.). Nordin excavated several stone settings in 1913 as well as during the following summer and discovered eight more picture stones in situ (Stenkyrka Lillbjärs VII–XIV). Between 1910 and 1912, three more picture stones were reported to Gotlands Museum by Svensson and moved to Visby where they are still kept today (Stenkyrka Lillbjärs XV–XVIII). Stenkyrka Lillbjärs XIX was found later, in 1927.

Most of the picture stones from Stenkyrka church presumably came from the Lillbjärs cemetery as well. Nevertheless, the stock of picture stones from this site can by no means have been recorded completely, and there is good reason to believe that this grave field in the future will provide even more discoveries (cf. Lindqvist 1941/42 II, p. 118).

The stones X–XIV were discovered by Fredrik Nordin during investigations conducted in 1913 and 1914 and delivered to Statens Historiska Museum in 1916 (Fornvännen 1917, p. 15; Lindqvist 1941/42 II, pp. 118–121). The small stone GP 440 Stenkyrka Lillbjärs X was found during Nordin’s excavation of grave mound no. 11, just next to its walled edge (ibid. I, fig. 34; II, figs. 500, 508). The slab was standing upright, only about 10 cm protruding from the ground. Its decorated broad side was facing to the north, while its western narrow side was facing the north-eastern edge of mound no. 11, only 10 cm next to it. The stone mound no. 14 is situated only about 25 cm north of the stone slab. Stenkyrka Lillbjärs XI was situated 1.25 m south of no. X with its decorated side facing south. It was standing upright, with its decorated broad side directly next to the stone mound no. 12 and thus seemed to be part of its surrounding wall. Most part of the stone was buried in the ground, as in the case of no. X, and only 10 cm were visible above ground. GP 431 Stenkyrka Lillbjärs XII, which is worked but apparently not decorated, was standing about 80 cm southeast of mound no. 14, circa 100 cm east of stone no. X, facing to south/north as well, but was slightly tilted towards the south and east. Nothing else was found in its vicinity. The small stone was secured in the ground with one larger and several smaller fieldstones. The location, the results of the excavation and possible interpretations of these three unusual stones are discussed by Lindqvist in detail (ibid. 118–121), including maps, photos, and quotations of longer passages from Fredrik Nordin’s report (see ATA dnr 599/16).

The stone mound no. 11 (SHM 15227:11) contained a cremation burial with three small bronze lumps as the only recorded finds. Stone mound no. 12 (SHM 15227:12) also contained a cremation burial; apart from the burned human bones only unburned bones of sheep could be discovered. According to Lindqvist, mounds of this kind, with a surrounding stone wall, date to the Migration and Vendel Periods. As a matter of fact, stone mound no. 14 (SHM 15645; Nerman 1969/75, Grf. 292), which contained burned human bones, can be dated to the Vendel Period (7th century?) based on finds such as arrow heads and in particular a bone comb (see ibid. and Thunmark-Nylén 1995–2006 IV:2, p. 662). Apparently, Nordin believed that the small picture stones X, XI, and XII originally were erected as grave markers or decoration slabs related to the stone mounds and thus must be dated to the same period (Lindqvist 1941/42 II, p. 120). Lindqvist (ibid. 120–121), however, suggests that the stones X and XI belonged together, forming a grave construction which was older than the mounds (see also ATA dnr 0870/33):

“Perhaps […] these stones jointly mark the site of a subterranean grave (oriented north-south), of which it must in this case be assumed was older than the walled graves 11 and 12. As [Fredrik Nordin], however, did not seem to have taken this possibility into account, the National Antiquarian tasked Amanuensis E. Floderus with conducting an excavation on site and providing clarification.” However, Floderus was not able to discover any finds which could support this suggestion. “The possibility, at any rate, remains that the stones X and XI together represented a cenotaph. […] That the stones no. X and XI represented the remains of older monuments at the same site, is, in a certain way, confirmed by the stone slab that possibly could be understood as the kerbstone of a picture stone monument of ʻAbschnittʼ A and that lay just west of grave no. 14 and is mentioned by [Fredrik Nordin] in connection with the examination of that grave [GP 377–381 Stenkyrka Lillbjärs X]. […] According to [Fredrik Nordin’s] overview map, no. XII was slightly more than 1 m away from no. X, in an easterly direction. The broad sides were thus turned in the same directions as those of the other two stones. Therefore, it might be imagined that no. XII represented one of the short ends of another grave oriented north-south or part of a cenotaph.”
GP 369 Stenkyrka Lillbjärs IV
GP 370 Stenkyrka Lillbjärs VII
GP 371 Stenkyrka Lillbjärs IX
GP 372 Stenkyrka Lillbjärs XIII
GP 373 Stenkyrka Lillbjärs XIX
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 388 Stenkyrka Lillbjärs I
GP 389 Stenkyrka Lillbjärs II
GP 390 Stenkyrka Lillbjärs III
GP 391 Stenkyrka Lillbjärs V
GP 392 Stenkyrka Lillbjärs VIII
GP 393 Stenkyrka Lillbjärs XIV
GP 394 Stenkyrka Lillbjärs XV
GP 395 Stenkyrka Lillbjärs XVII
GP 396 Stenkyrka Lillbjärs XVIII
GP 429 Stenkyrka Lillbjärs XVI
GP 431 Stenkyrka Lillbjärs XII
GP 440 Stenkyrka Lillbjärs X

Measurements, Material and Condition ⓘ
“Limestone slab, 9–11 cm thick. The obverse is rich in fossils and quite knobby, while the reverse is smooth. The obverse probably had once been hewn above the root. The narrow sides are hewn above the root, the vertical sides are straight lengthwise but slightly convex crosswise. The obverse is convex longitudinally, and even or insignificantly convex across. A 2.5 cm wide chamfer separates the narrow sides from the reverse. The stone’s total height is 74 cm, of which 40 cm are accounted for by the part above the root. At the root and above the root, the width is 36 cm” (Lindqvist 1941/42 II, p. 126). The small monument is completely preserved.

Description of Ornament and Images ⓘ
“On the obverse, the stone is decorated along the vertical edges with two rough lines with rounded bases, and along the upper edge with wider and shallower double lines. In the field, no traces of decoration are found” (Lindqvist 1941/42 II, p. 126). The carved grooves (which are not painted) are clearly discernable (see ibid. I, fig. 32; cf. ATA 105:11 [taken 1918] and B3:88 [taken by H. Faith-Ell in 1937].

Interpretation of the Imagery ⓘ
No interpretation

Type and Dating ⓘ
Early-type picture stone, Type A according to Lindqvist’s typology, which is commonly dated to between AD 400 and 600. Lindqvist calls those monuments Type A “dwarf stones with rectangular or almost rectangular shape” (1941/42 I, p. 31). There is only a small number of stones of this kind known so far; apart from GP 440 Stenkyrka Lillbjärs X, Stenkyrka Lillbjärs XI, and GP 431 Stenkyrka Lillbjärs XII, only GP 187 Hejnum Bjärs II and GP 188 Hejnum Bjärs IV are to be mentioned. There is only very poor decoration on these stones which makes it debatable whether those monuments should be called ʻpicture stonesʼ or not. The grave mounds next to the small, erected stones from Lillbjärs are dated by Lindqvist to the later Migration Period or the Vendel Period (ibid. II, p. 120; see IV).
GP 440 Stenkyrka Lillbjärs X
GP 431 Stenkyrka Lillbjärs XII
GP 187 Hejnum Bjärs II
GP 188 Hejnum Bjärs IV

References ⓘ
Fornvännen 1917, p. 15; Lindqvist 1941/42 I, p. 31, figs. 32, 34; II, pp. 118–121, 126, figs. 500, 508; Oehrl 2019a, p. 32, fig. 18.

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