In 2011, 70 years have passed since Sune Lindqvist published the standard work Gotlands Bildsteine (1941-42). This is an event worth celebrating given the great impact that this publication has had on Iron Age and Viking Age research in Scandinavia.

The aim of this symposium is to gather researchers and other experts for a meeting to establish contact between various disciplines (Runology, Archaeology, Iconography, Saga research, History of religion), in order to achieve an overview of the field and hopefully to arrive at a new Stand der Forschung for Gotland picture stone research.

We also wish to call attention to the fact that the Gotland picture stones are of national as well as international concern warranting professional care and documentation. The scope of this symposium is to give an overview of chronology, find circumstances and the use of picture stones in various disciplines, to summarize current research and to point out gaps and future issues.

The preliminary program includes two days of paper presentations with invited scholars, a visit to the picture stone exhibition at the Gotland Museum and an excursion to picture stones in situ and in churches as well as contemporary Iron Age and Viking Age archaeological sites.

The symposium is initiated by the runic research group at the Swedish National Heritage Board and will be held in our premises in Visby.

The preliminary program can be found below. The registration form can be found here: Www.sep2011.raa.axaco.se. The last day for registration is Thursday June 23rd.

We encourage early registration, because the number of participants is limited. The registration is binding.