Parish Find Location 
Ardre

Find Location 
Agricultural field, 200 (100?) m south of the farmstead Petsarve, Ardre parish (RAÄ Ardre 151:1).

Find Context Classification 
Agricultural Field

Coordinate Find Location (lat) 
6365669

Coordinate Find Location (long) 
722489

Present Location Classification 
Gotlands Museum Fornsalen

Coordinate Present Location (lat) 
6393355

Coordinate Present Location (long) 
696536

Material 
Limestone

Limestone Type 
crinoid limestone

Geological Group 
Hemse Group (40%)

Height 
55

Width 
35

Thickness 
7,5

Lindqvist Type 
B

Lindqvist Shape 
Dwarf stone

Iconographic Keywords 
ship 
sail 
cross 
mast 

Runic Inscription or not 
No

Context and Discovery 
“Found about 1911 by the farmer Rudolf Strömbäck while ploughing a field about 200 m south of the farmstead to the south of the main road. The stone is said to have been toppled over in a northerly direction and lain with the image of the ship facing downwards” (Lindqvist 1941/42 II, p. 26). The distance of 200 m from the road is given in the inventory Fasta fornlämningar in Ardre parish (ATA), however, according to the RAÄ map (Ardre 151:1), it should be 100 m instead.

Measurements, Material and Condition 
“Limestone slab, at the top 5 cm thick, at the foot 8 cm, at the root 10 cm. […] The narrow sides are divided from the broad sides by chamfers of widely varying width. Height 71 cm, 48 cm of which above the root. The width is 32 cm between the upper corners, 24 cm at the middle of the body, 26 cm at the base” (Lindqvist 1941/42 II, p. 26). The monument is completely preserved and undamaged, including its massive root. The most-decorated side (face A) is very flat and even, the also-decorated reverse (face B) quite rough and unsightly.

Description of Ornament and Images 
Lindqvist (1941/42 II, p. 26) describes the decoration as follows: “On both faces, the decoration is executed with carved lines, 3 to 5 mm wide. On one face [A], the field within the framing border, which features a simplified ʻtwisted cordʼ pattern, is divided in two parts about halfway up the body by a horizontal border, on the other [B], it is quartered by diagonal lines [forming a St. Andrew’s cross]. In the upper field on the former face [A], there is the image of a ship with abruptly rising stems and in the middle the schematized depiction of mast and sail (?).” The carvings are well preserved and discernable on both the photos of the painted and unpainted stone as well as Olof Sörling’s drawing from 1913 (ibid. I, figs. 57–58; fig. 314; cf. ATA 1648:59a–b; B3:48b; B3:48b [H. Faith-Ell 1933 and 1937]).

Interpretation of the Imagery 
The St. Andrew’s cross on face B has been regarded as a result of the influence of Continental Christian iconography. A diagonal cross decoration reminiscent of Christian symbolism is also depicted on GP 112 Gothem Bentebingels 2 and in particular GP 274 Norrlanda Bringes – see the pertinent article for more detailed information and interpretation. Christian influence on Type B picture stones is also discussed in the cases of deer depictions (for more details see GP 551 Väskinde Butter) and the aquatic bird motif (for more details see GP 276 När Rikvide I).
GP 112 Gothem Bentebingels 2
GP 274 Norrlanda Bringes
GP 551 Väskinde Butter
GP 276 När Rikvide (I)

Type and Dating 
Middle-type picture stone, i.e., Type B according to Lindqvist, dating to between AD 500 and 700. The stone belongs to those Type B stones described by Lindqvist (1941/42 I, pp. 38–39) as ʻdwarf stonesʼ with convex (in this case almost ogival) head and corners protruding horizontally. Lindqvist assigns GP 24 Ardre Petsarve II to his so-called Stenstugruppe (1941/42 I, pp. 37–38), which is characterized by the shape as well as depictions of aquatic birds in the lower field and a simple vessel (i.e., ships of the Rikvidetyp – ibid. I, p. 66) in the upper field of the stone. However, Lindqvist does not exclusively assign stones with bird depictions to this group. These monuments are frequently decorated on both sides. Lindqvist considers them to have been placed pairwise on graves. Good parallels to GP 24 Ardre Petsarve II, regarding shape and decoration, are GP 274 Norrlanda Bringes and GP 107 Gothem Västerbjärs.

According to Martin Rundkvist’s (2012, p. 159) typology, the stone’s shape represents Type dwarf2, belonging to his period 2, which he dates to the Early Vendel Period. Varenius (1992, appendix 2) assigns the ship depiction on GP 24 Ardre Petsarve II to his group 2 (enkel rigg), which he dates to the period between the 7th and the 9th century.
GP 274 Norrlanda Bringes
GP 107 Gothem Västerbjärs

References 
Lindqvist 1941/42 I, pp. 37, 66; figs. 57–58; II, p. 26, fig. 314; Böhner 1968, pp. 188–189; Varenius 1992, p. 62, fig. 18; Guber 2011, p. 111 cat. no. 4; Oehrl 2019a, p. 168.

 
Fyndplats
Bildstenen påträffades omkring år 1911 vid plöjning av en åker cirka 100 till 200 m söder om gården, söder om en större väg.

Nuvarande lokalisering
Gotlands museum, bildstenshallen

Beskrivning
En helt bevarad dvärgsten (period B), 71 cm hög, varav 48 cm över roten. Bredden 32 cm i den övre delen, 24 cm i mitten och 26 cm vid basen. Bilder finns på båda sidor av stenen. På den ena sidan ett skepp och en schematisk framställning av en mast och ett segel. På den andra sidan ett Andreaskors.

Datering
Kan inte dateras med säkerhet, tillhör perioden 600-800-talen.

Tolkning
Andreaskorset kan vara en influens från en kristen kontinental ikonografi.

AA

Title
GP 24 Ardre Petsarve II

Fornsök ID 
L1977:5085

RAÄ ID 
Ardre 151:1

Gotlands Museum ID 
GFC1878

Jan Peder Lamm ID 
18

Lindqvist Title 
Ardre, Petsarve II

ATA
K-Samsök