Parish Find Location 
Viklau

Find Location 
Outer wall of Viklau church.

Find Context Classification 
Church

Coordinate Find Location (lat) 
6374484

Coordinate Find Location (long) 
707299

Parish Present Location 
Viklau

Present Location 
In situ, built into the outer wall.

Present Location Classification 
Church
In-Loco

Coordinate Present Location (lat) 
6374484

Coordinate Present Location (long) 
707299

Material 
Limestone

Height 
266

Width 
123

Lindqvist Type 
C/D (ca. 700-1000)
Unclear (ca. 400-1150)

Lindqvist Shape 
Tall stone

Iconographic Keywords 
triangle 
rectangle 

Runic Inscription or not 
No

Context and Discovery 
The rectangular stone is built into the outer wall of the rectangular choir, facing to the north. It is placed on eye level, lying on its long side. The walls of the choir are plastered, except for the slab discussed here, which was left visible by the plasterer. The choir represents the oldest part of the church erected around 1140. It was originally built with an apse, which was torn off later.

The stone slab was identified as a picture stone by Beata Böttger-Niedenzu in 1985. Böttger-Niedenzu, who submitted her master’s thesis on Gotland’s picture stones to the Ludwig-Maximilians-University of Munich in 1982, went through the Gotlandic rural churches during the years 1981 to 1985 and discovered not fewer than 38 previously unknown picture stones, which she published in a brief catalogue in 1988.

Measurements, Material and Condition 
The rectangular limestone slab has a size of 2.66 x 1.23 m. There is only a narrow vertical area following the stone’s right (western) edge which is slightly raised and seems to preserve traces of relief carvings. The rest of the surface apparently was reworked and levelled, the decoration deliberately obliterated. The raised part, left visible by the stone mason, is 1.23 m tall and has a width of 0.21 m at the top and 0.31 m at the bottom of the slab.

Description of Ornament and Images 
According to Böttger-Niedenzu, in the upper part of the narrow relief field, a triangle and a roughly rectangular element can be observed. These observations, which can indeed be verified, are the only features indicating a Gotlandic picture stone.

Interpretation of the Imagery 
No interpretation

Type and Dating 
The stone seems to have been decorated in relief style; thus it appears to represent a large late-type picture stone, i.e. ʻAbschnittʼ C/D (8th–10th centuries), less probable E (11th century). However, it remains unclear whether this slab represents a picture stone at all.

References 
Böttger-Niedenzu 1988, pp. 16–17.

 
Fyndplats
Påtraffad i 1985 i Viklau kyrkas yttermur.

Nuvarande förvaringsplats
Fortfarande inmurad i korets norra yttermur. Stenen har i motsats till resten av muren inte blivit putsad. Korets väggar är vitputsade men stenen är synlig i nedre delen av muren.

Beskrivning
Rektangulär häll av 2,66 x 1,23 m storlek. Ytan är sekundärt avhuggen, inga rester av figurliga framställningar är bevarade. Bara på en vertikal strimla på den högre (västra) kanten finns den ursprungliga ytan bevarad. Strimlan är svagt upphöjd och mellan 0.21 och 0.31 m bred. I strimlans övre hälft en trekant och en fyrkantig figur. Om stenen blev omarbetad till en rektangulär plan häll och har ursprungligen varit svampformad och ornerad i planrelief kan man inte säga med säkerhet.

Datering
Kan inte anges med säkerhet; förmodligen 700- till 900-talet e.Kr. (vikingatid).

Tolkning
Ingen tolkning.

SO

Title
GP 539 Viklau kyrka

Jan Peder Lamm ID 
435

ATA