Parish Find Location 
Tofta

Find Location 
Tofta church

Find Context Classification 
Church

Coordinate Find Location (lat) 
6379880

Coordinate Find Location (long) 
689763

Parish Present Location 
Tofta

Present Location 
The fragment is embedded in the church floor, in the place where it was originally found.

Present Location Classification 
Church
In-Loco

Coordinate Present Location (lat) 
6379880

Coordinate Present Location (long) 
689763

Material 
Limestone

Height 
81

Width 
36

Lindqvist Type 
C/D (ca. 700-1000)
E (ca. 1000-1150)

Lindqvist Shape 
Unclear

Runic Inscription or not 
No

Context and Discovery 
The fragment was identified by Beata Böttger-Niedenzu in 1983. 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 Tofta fragment is embedded in the floor of the choir, about 1 m to the north-east of the altar. Its decorated surface is facing upwards.

The nave and the choir of Tofta church in their current shape were built during the 14th century. Beneath the floor of the choir, the remains of a 12th-century church building were uncovered during restoration work in 1958/59. In 1962, Sune Lindqvist published two Type A stones (GP 527 Tofta kyrka 1 and GP 528 Tofta kyrka 2), which were found there and subsequently transferred to Gotlands Museum.
GP 527 Tofta kyrka 1
GP 528 Tofta kyrka 2

Measurements, Material and Condition 
The fragment is roughly rectangular in shape, about 0.81 m in height and c. 0.36 m wide. The edge of the north-facing long side is quite irregular, and the upper right (south-east) corner of the slab is cut off. The stone is light grey in colour and has a rather rough surface, which is greatly worn down by footsteps. The edges are partly covered by concrete.

Description of Ornament and Images 
Only a narrow (c. 1.5–2 cm) band is left of the ornamentation, running along almost the entire length (c. 0.70 m) of the edge of the stone’s south-facing long side, describing a gentle curve at its top (east) end. It is clearly visible, marked by two parallel carved lines. This band probably was part of a border decoration, framing the interlace. Apart from it, only few slight traces of carvings can be perceived, which appear to represent the remains of a carved background plane of a lost bas-relief.

Interpretation of the Imagery 
No interpretation

Type and Dating 
If the carved band actually represents the frame of a border decoration (see VI), the stone belongs to a late picture stone type, Lindqvist’s ʻAbschnittʼ C–E, which means it dates between c. AD 800 and 1100.

References 
Böttger-Niedenzu 1988, pp. 14–15.

 
Fyndplats
Stenen påträffades 1983 i Tofta kyrka, där den har blivit återanvänd i korgolvet.

Nuvarande förvaringsplats
Stenen är fortfarande inmurad i golvet i kyrkans kor, nordöst om altaret.

Beskrivning
Det handlar om ett ungefär rektangulärt bildstensfragment av storleken 0.81 x 0.36 m.

Stenen har troligen varit dekorerad med bilder i låg relief men eftersom ytan nötts ned av kyrkobesökarnas fötter är inga rester av figurframställningar bevarade. Det finns bara några smärre huggspår i den försänkta bakgrunden samt en dubbel kantlinje längs den ena långsidan, som antagligen tillhörde en kantbård med flätband.

Datering
Förmodligen 700-talet eller mellan omkring år 800 och 900-talet e.Kr. (vikingatid).

Tolkning
Ingen tolkning.

SO

Title
GP 529 Tofta kyrka 3

Fornsök ID 
L1976:4921

RAÄ ID 
Tofta 189:1

Jan Peder Lamm ID 
431

ATA
K-Samsök