Ardre image stones

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, which is about four kilometers north of Stånga, Gotland County, Sweden.

Description

The Ardre image stones were re-used as paving under the wooden floors of the local church in the Ardre parish of Gotland. Before the historical significance of rune and image stones was understood, they were often used as materials in the construction of roads, bridges, and buildings. The image stones were re-discovered when the church was being restored around 1900. The stones are now preserved in the Swedish Museum of National Antiquities in Stockholm.

Ardre VIII

The largest and most famous of the stones is the Ardre VIII stone, dated to the 8th or 9th century, depicts scenes from Norse mythology, notably the Lay of Weyland the smith, Thor fishing for Jörmungandr, the punishment of Loki for the death of Baldr, and Odin riding to Valhalla on Sleipnir. Other images on this stone, such as the woman on the right with two swords, are not currently understood as they do not conform to any known Norse myth that has survived to the present time. The image-stone's longboat motif with its mariners somewhat resembles a depiction found on the Överhogdal tapestry No. III from Härjedalen.

Picture stone

A picture stone, image stone or figure stone is an ornate slab of stone, usually limestone, which was raised in Germanic Iron Age or Viking Age Scandinavia, and in the greatest number on Gotland. 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.

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.