A picture stone, image stone or figure stone is an ornate slab of stone, usually

limestone Limestone ( calcium carbonate ) is a type of carbonate sedimentary rock which is the main source of the material lime. It is composed mostly of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different crystal forms of . Limestone forms whe ...

, which was raised in

Germanic Iron Age The archaeology of Northern Europe studies the prehistory of Scandinavia and the adjacent North European Plain, roughly corresponding to the territories of modern Sweden, Norway, Denmark, northern Germany, Poland and the Netherlands. The regio ...

Viking Age The Viking Age () was the period during the Middle Ages when Norsemen known as Vikings undertook large-scale raiding, colonizing, conquest, and trading throughout Europe and reached North America. It followed the Migration Period and the Ger ...

Scandinavia Scandinavia; Sámi languages: /. ( ) is a subregion#Europe, subregion in Northern Europe, with strong historical, cultural, and linguistic ties between its constituent peoples. In English usage, ''Scandinavia'' most commonly refers to Denmark, ...

, and in the greatest number on

Gotland Gotland (, ; ''Gutland'' in Gutnish), also historically spelled Gottland or Gothland (), is Sweden's largest island. It is also a province, county, municipality, and diocese. The province includes the islands of Fårö and Gotska Sandön to the ...

.The article ''Bildstenar'' in ''

Nationalencyklopedin ''Nationalencyklopedin'' (; "The National Encyclopedia" in English), abbreviated NE, is a comprehensive contemporary Swedish-language encyclopedia, initiated by a favourable loan from the Government of Sweden of 17 million Swedish kronor in 19 ...

'' (1990).Hadenius, Stig; Nilsson, Torbjörn; Åselius, Gunnar (1996) ''Sveriges historia: vad varje svensk bör veta''. Bonnier Alba, Borås. p. 28. More than four hundred picture stones are known today.A presentation at the County Museum of Gotland.
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

runestone A runestone is typically a raised stone with a runic inscription, but the term can also be applied to inscriptions on boulders and on bedrock. The tradition began in the 4th century and lasted into the 12th century, but most of the runestones da ...

s 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.

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 CE

The first group of picture stones was made in the period 400–600 CE. 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 CE

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

700-1100 CE

The third group was made in the period 700–1100 CE 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 Sacrifice is the offering of material possessions or the lives of animals or humans to a deity as an act of propitiation or worship. Evidence of ritual animal sacrifice has been seen at least since ancient Hebrews and Greeks, and possibly exis ...

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, Nordic, or Scandinavian mythology is the body of myths belonging to the North Germanic peoples, stemming from Old Norse religion and continuing after the Christianization of Scandinavia, and into the Nordic folklore of the modern period ...

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.

Isle of Man

A comparable tradition is found on the

Isle of Man ) , anthem = "O Land of Our Birth" , image = Isle of Man by Sentinel-2.jpg , image_map = Europe-Isle_of_Man.svg , mapsize = , map_alt = Location of the Isle of Man in Europe , map_caption = Location of the Isle of Man (green) in Europe ...

where high funeral crosses of stone were richly ornamented with the same teeming world of warriors and Norse deities as the image stones of Gotland.An article on the site of the Swedish Museum of National Antiquities
.

Notes and references

Individual image stones

Ardre stone The Ardre image stones are a collection of ten rune and image stones, dated to the 8th to 11th centuries, that were discovered at Ardre Church, in Ardre, Gotland, Sweden. The principal edition is by Sune Lindqvist. Description The Ardre image ...

Hunnestad Monument The Hunnestad Monument ( sv, Hunnestadsmonumentet), listed as DR 282 through 286 in the Rundata catalog, was once located at Hunnestad at Marsvinsholm Castle, Marsvinsholm north-west of Ystad, Sweden. It was the largest and most famous of the Vik ...

* Ledberg stone * Viking art *The

Snake-witch The Snake-witch ( sv, Ormhäxan), Snake-charmer ( sv, Ormtjuserskan) or Smiss stone ( sv, Smisstenen) is a picture stone found at Smiss, När socken, Gotland, Sweden. History Discovered in a cemetery, it measures in height and depicts a figu ...

Stora Hammars stones The Stora Hammars image stones are four Viking Age image stones located in Stora Hammars, Lärbro parish, Gotland, Sweden dating from around the 7th century CE. Description The four Stora Hammars image stones are phallic shaped. Similar combina ...

* Tängelgärda stone
Stenkyrka Lillbjärs III stone

External links

Pictures of stones at Bunge Museum
Bunge, Gotland, Sweden
The Picture Stone Hall

Gotland Museum The Gotland Museum ( sv, Gotlands museum) (previously known as ''Länsmuseet på Gotland'' or ''Gotlands Fornsal'') in Visby, Sweden, is the county museum of Gotland. It was founded by the Friends of Gotland's Antiquity society in 1875, at the in ...

, Visby, Sweden {{European Standing Stones Rock art in Europe Medieval European sculptures Stone monuments and memorials Stone sculptures * Scandinavian history Gotland Archaeological terminology (Germanic) Vendel Period