GP 441 Stenkyrka kyrka 49

Context and Discovery
The stone is incorporated into the floor of the choir, where it was first detected and documented by Beata Böttger-Niedenzu in 1983 (1988, p. 13). 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. The stones GP 442 Stenkyrka kyrka 50 and Stenkyrka kyrka 49, however, were found in 1983 by Beata Böttger-Niedenzu. In 1982, she submitted her master’s thesis on Gotland’s picture stones to the Ludwig-Maximilians-University of Munich, and during the years 1981 to 1985, she visited the Gotlandic rural churches, discovering not fewer than 38 previously unknown picture stones, which she published in a brief catalogue in 1988.

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, built during the thirteenth century. The tower with its portal was erected 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).
GP 442 Stenkyrka kyrka 50

Measurements, Material and Condition
When Böttger-Niedenzu examined the stone in 1983, it was still visible in places, under one of the pews in the choir room. Today, however, it is covered by a new wooden choir floor and no longer accessible. According to Niedenzu’s 1988 catalogue and her records kept in ATA, the stone represents a roughly rectangular fragment measuring 2.08 x 0.80 m. The carvings seem to be well preserved. Furthermore, she notes: “The stone was apparently recognised as a picture stone during an earlier church restoration, but was not registered, as there are remains of black paint, which was probably applied secondarily, in the carvings” (1988, p. 13).

Description of Ornament and Images
Böttger-Niedenzu’s documents contain two photographs that show certain visible details of the stone. One photo is labelled “detail of the part protruding below the pew”, the other “detail of the part below the bottom of the pew”. The latter photo clearly shows a rondel with a whorl of six raised crescent-shaped elements framed by a double line. Short, corona-like lines lead off from this frame. The other photo shows another rectangular section of the stone’s surface. One of the long sides obviously represents a piece of the original edge of the picture stone, which is accompanied by a double-line border. From this, another double line runs off horizontally, dividing the image field. On one of the panels thus formed, facing each other, another whorl motif can be seen, less clearly, apparently without framing and corona.

Interpretation of the Imagery
No interpretation

Type and Dating
Tall early-type picture stone, i.e., ʻAbschnittʼ A according to Lindqvist’s typology, dating to between AD 400 and 600. As an unusual feature, the apparent division of the image field by a horizontal double line must be emphasized (see VI).

References
Böttger-Niedenzu 1988, p. 13.

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