Picture stone
Encyclopedia
A picture stone, image stone or figure stone is an ornate slab of stone, usually limestone
Limestone
Limestone is a sedimentary rock composed largely of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different crystal forms of calcium carbonate . Many limestones are composed from skeletal fragments of marine organisms such as coral or foraminifera....

, which was raised in Germanic Iron Age
Germanic Iron Age
The Germanic Iron Age is the name given to the period 400–800 in Northern Europe and it is part of the continental Age of Migrations.-Germanic Iron :...

 or Viking Age
Viking Age
Viking Age is the term for the period in European history, especially Northern European and Scandinavian history, spanning the late 8th to 11th centuries. Scandinavian Vikings explored Europe by its oceans and rivers through trade and warfare. The Vikings also reached Iceland, Greenland,...

 Scandinavia
Scandinavia
Scandinavia is a cultural, historical and ethno-linguistic region in northern Europe that includes the three kingdoms of Denmark, Norway and Sweden, characterized by their common ethno-cultural heritage and language. Modern Norway and Sweden proper are situated on the Scandinavian Peninsula,...

, and in the greatest number on Gotland
Gotland
Gotland is a county, province, municipality and diocese of Sweden; it is Sweden's largest island and the largest island in the Baltic Sea. At 3,140 square kilometers in area, the region makes up less than one percent of Sweden's total land area...

. More than four hundred picture stones are known today. All of the stones were probably erected as memorial stones, but only rarely beside graves. Some of them have been positioned where many people could see them at bridges and on roads.

They mainly differ from runestones by presenting the message in pictures rather than runes. Some picture stones also have runic inscriptions, but they tell little more than to whom the stone was dedicated. Lacking textual explanations, the image stones are consequently difficult to interpret. Similar stones in Scotland are known as Pictish stones
Pictish stones
Pictish stones are monumental stelae found in Scotland, mostly north of the Clyde-Forth line. These stones are the most visible remaining evidence of the Picts and are thought to date from the 6th to 9th centuries, a period during which the Picts became Christianized...

.

Groups

The dating of the stones is based on studies of their shapes and ornamentations. Subsequently, three distinct groups of stones exist with various aesthetics, locations and purposes.

400-600 AD

The first group of picture stones was made in the period 400–600 AD. These have a straight form and the upper part is shaped like the edge of an axe. The ornamentations are usually circular forms with vortex patterns and spirals, but also with images of ships, people, and animals. These older stones were usually raised within grave fields, albeit not on the graves themselves.

500-700 AD

The second group of picture stones come from the period 500–700 AD, and they are small stones with stylized patterns.

700-1100 AD

The third group was made in the period 700–1100 AD and they consist of tall stones with necks and tall bow-shaped profiles. Their ornamentations present a rich array of pictures: ships with checkered sails and scenes with figures in different fields. The borders are often decorated with various plaited patterns. Many scenes show sacrifices
Blót
The blót was Norse pagan sacrifice to the Norse gods and the spirits of the land. The sacrifice often took the form of a sacramental meal or feast. Related religious practices were performed by other Germanic peoples, such as the pagan Anglo-Saxons...

 and battles, and a common scene on the stones is a man, riding a horse, welcomed by a woman holding a drinking horn. What is seen are representations of a wealth of legends and myths. Sometimes depictions from Norse mythology
Norse mythology
Norse mythology, a subset of Germanic mythology, is the overall term for the myths, legends and beliefs about supernatural beings of Norse pagans. It flourished prior to the Christianization of Scandinavia, during the Early Middle Ages, and passed into Nordic folklore, with some aspects surviving...

 and Norse legends can be identified, but largely the stories behind them have not survived in written form.

The image stones are valuable sources which complete knowledge from archaeology concerning ships and sails, and they provide information on armor, wagons, and sleighs. The later stones in this group feature an upper field with stylized cross and dragon patterns in the style of some runestones. These stones usually were raised on roads and at bridges to be visible.
The largest of the picture stones on Gotland is found in Änge in the parish of Buttle. It is 3.7 metres tall and is richly ornamented in the style of the 8th century.

Isle of Man

A comparable tradition is found on the Isle of Man
Isle of Man
The Isle of Man , otherwise known simply as Mann , is a self-governing British Crown Dependency, located in the Irish Sea between the islands of Great Britain and Ireland, within the British Isles. The head of state is Queen Elizabeth II, who holds the title of Lord of Mann. The Lord of Mann is...

 where high funeral crosses of stone
Manx Runestones
The Manx runestones were made by the Norse population on the Isle of Man during the Viking Age, mostly in the 10th century. Despite its small size, the Isle of Man stands out with many Viking Age runestones, in 1983 numbering as many as 26 surviving stones, which can be compared to 33 in all of...

 were richly ornamented with the same teeming world of warriors and Norse deities as the image stones of Gotland.

Individual image stones

  • Ardre stone
  • Hunnestad Monument
    Hunnestad Monument
    The Hunnestad Monument , listed as DR 282 through 286 in the Rundata catalog, were once located at Hunnestad in Marsvinsholm north-west of Ystad, Sweden. It was the largest and most famous of the Viking Age monuments in Scania, and in Denmark, only comparable to the Jelling stones...

  • Ledberg stone
    Ledberg stone
    The Ledberg stone, designated as Ög 181 under Rundata, is an image- and runestone located in Östergötland, Sweden.-Description:The Ledberg stone, similar to Thorwald's Cross, a partially surviving runestone erected at Kirk Andreas on the Isle of Man, features a figure with his foot at the mouth of...

  • Norse art
    Norse art
    Norse art is a blanket term for the artistic styles in Scandinavia during the Germanic Iron Age, the Viking Age , and sometimes even used when describing objects from the Nordic Bronze Age...

  • The Snake-witch
    Snake-witch
    The Snake-witch , Snake-charmer or Smiss stone is a picture stone found at Smiss, När parish, Gotland, Sweden. Discovered in a cemetery, it measures in height and depicts a figure holding a snake in each hand...

  • Stora Hammars stones
  • Tängelgärda stone
    Tängelgarda stone
    The image stone at Tängelgårda, Lärbro parish, Gotland, Sweden is decorated with a scene of warriors holding rings, one horsed, with Valknut symbols drawn beneath.-External links:...


External links



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