30/01/2026
See the Gotland Picture Stones from home! Friday I was invited to the Gotlands Museum here in Visby as it announced its new digital resource, an online archive cataloging in extraordinarily high detail the famed picture stones. These magnificent picture stones were the reason I first visited Gotland in 1999, and to stand in the hall in which I first stood then, and see this database revealed by its creators was a great thrill for me. What you must understand are two things: First, the Gotland picture stones are utterly unique. They are dressed stones, as opposed to carved into living rock; these slabs of limestone were quarried, carefully shaped, then carved and embellished. They were created over a period of hundreds of years on Gotland to record the actions of the Gods and great heroes; to celebrate belief in the afterlife, and to memorialize the actions of the Sun and Nature. And second, along the way they captured vivid snapshots of what early life was like, and comprise the greatest pictorial record we have of such things as how ships were rigged, the weapons carried by warriors, dress and hair styles for both men and women, and much more. Historical events and myths are depicted which we now have little or no knowledge of.
In other words, the Gotland picture stones are truly priceless. Try this challenge: see if you can open a single reference book - a single one - about the Viking Age without seeing one or more depicted. That is how vital they are to our understanding of the era.
On this website you can zoom in on any stone, rotate them, browse for stones bearing images of ships, or birds, or horses, and many, many other features. The international team compiling this database worked tirelessly over five years tracking down over 700 picture stones or fragments thereof, including many in inaccessible places, such as built high into church walls and attics, or overgrown by shrubbery in Gotland's forests. The website is great fun to explore, and will be an tremendous source of information and inspiration to all researching and admiring these stones. I hope you enjoy looking at it.
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My book series, The Circle of Ceridwen Saga, is set in 9th century England and Gotland. Book One is free on octavia.net. Welcome to the adventure!
https://gotlandicpicturestones.se/s/index/page/homepage
