About 60 of the Gotland picture stones are known to have runic inscriptions, amounting to
c. 9 % of the corpus. Most of these occur on the Viking Age stones of Type (“Abschnitt”) C/D and in particular E. The inscriptions are important for dating of the late phases, and they add information about e.g. naming traditions, place names, activities, and cultural context. 

In phase A, there is (presently) only one known picture stone with a runic inscription (GP 268 Martebo Kyrka) in the Older Futhark.

In phase B, no runic inscription has been found so far.

In phase C/D, a handful of the picture stones have runic inscriptions, with a dating interval of the inscriptions to c. 700-1025 (Snaedal 2002, p. 239; Oehrl 2019, pp. 274–280). Most inscriptions are written with short-twig runes, a variant of the futhark (the runic alphabet). These inscriptions are thinly incised and less manifest than the pictures on the same stones, the inscriptions are often damaged and the readings and interpretations uncertain. For some of these inscriptions, it has been discussed whether they are secondary additions to the stone (Oehrl 2019, pp. 275 ff.). Nonetheless, these inscriptions make up a large proportion of the known short-twig inscriptions in the runic corpus and thus hold an important position in the study of the development of this variant of the younger futhark (Källström 2012).

Most of the runic inscriptions (more than 50) belong to the last picture stone phase, Type E. With regard to the runological dating, the chronological span is c. 1000–1150 (Snædal 2002). About 20 of the E-stones can be characterized according to the style-chronological system of prof. Anne-Sofie Gräslund, indicating dates for those stones ranging between c. 1020–1130 (Gräslund 2006). They are distributed on both tall standing stones and dwarf stones of traditional mushroom shape, often called runic picture stones or picture-stone-shaped runestones. The group also includes a number of cist stones. In addition, there is a number of fragments. The runic inscriptions are well integrated in the design of the monument and usually runs in an edge-following band along the contour of the stone. 

As for ornament, E-stones appear in two variants (Westphal 2004). In the first, smaller, variant, the area inside of the edge-following inscription is filled with pictures, similar to those on the C/D-stones. The traditional pictures can be combined with ornament in Ringerike style (see e.g. GP 341 Sanda kyrka I, GP 360 Sproge kyrka I) or Urnes style (eg. GP 22 Ardre kyrka VI). In the other variant, taller, picture-stone-shaped runestones with Middle Scandinavian rune stone ornament, the pictures are replaced by a cross in the head of the stone and a runic beast winding in loops in the lower and middle part of the stone. Often, there is a horizontal ribbon carrying parts of the inscription at the height of the ears of the stone (eg. GP 208 Hogrän kyrka).

The inscriptions on the E-stone are made with long-branch runes. They are deeply incised by indirect percussion and, consequently, are better preserved and more securely read and interpreted. The inscriptions contain a proliferation of names and they align with the mainland (Middle Sweden, esp. Uppland) memorial tradition by mentioning bridges and Christian prayers. A typical Gotlandic characteristic is that the branches of runes as well as ornament lines frequently have drilled endpoints.

Rune-related information in this online edition

Runic Inscription or not
Yes or No. This field serves to filter picture stones with runic inscriptions.

Runic Inscription
The runic inscription, transliterated and transcribed in Old West Norse and Runic Swedish, and translated into modern English and Swedish.
The transliteration, the transcriptions into Old West Norse and Runic Swedish, and the translation to modern English are quoted from the research platform Runor (https://app.raa.se/open/runor). The translations to modern Swedish are made by Magnus Källström. 
The transliteration follows the conventions explained in Runor. The most important are the following (see Runor for more details):
( ) = damaged rune which can be read with some certainty.
[ ] = series of lost runes which can be supplied from another source.
- = a sign, most often a rune, which cannot be defined but is part of the inscription.
... = damaged area in an inscription where runes are presumed to have been. 
^ = bind-rune.

The reading and interpretation in Runor are based on published sources. In a few cases, a more recent reading can be offered in this database. If so, this is clearly stated under the heading Runological Comment.

Runological Comment
Comments on the reading and interpretation of the runic characters. In some cases, a more recent reading can be offered in this database than in Runor. 

Runic Context and Comments
Further observations on the reading and interpretation of the runic inscription. For example comments on noteworthy names, places, and activities and other contextual information.

Runverket ID
The signum G + number is an ID-code used in the record of runic inscriptions kept by Runverket at the Swedish National Heritage Board. The signum originates in the corpus publication Gotlands runinskrifter and other printed publications, and is used in most publications and web-based resources. It is the key to find further references on a specific runic inscription and the object carrying it.

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