Patrick Hänsel

Research

The Gotlandic picture stones are a unique archaeological source for the Germanic-Viking culture in Scandinavia. They are known because of their often detail-rich picture motives of the former people, of their myths, and of course of the ship motives which allow to make a reconstruction of the famous Viking ships. Gotland itself is a former reef area from the Silurian which is still preserved in situ. This island in the Baltic Sea shows a unique archive for organisms from that period, especially for Palaeozoic corals. The spectrum of the facies from the Gotlandic rocks includes nearly all facies types. The fossil diversity is huge and that is the reason why Gotland has a great importance for the geological and paleontological research. These Silurian reefs and seafloors were also used in prehistoric times as raw material sources. Especially the limestones and sandstones were needed as well for the Bronze Age ship settings (Swedish skeppsättningar) as for the Iron Age picture stones (Swedish bildstenar). The exact raw material sources for the picture stones are unknown. The aim of this research project is to identify these georesources aided by the isotope data of carbon, oxygen, and strontium (δ13C, δ18O, 87Sr/86Sr) from the outcrops and from the picture stones themselves, and by the fossil content and the facies. With this, transport tracks and distances can be investigated when the outcrop next-door or a special quarry at the other end of the island was used as a raw material source for one or the other picture stone.