Microfacies and stable isotope geochemistry of Gotland’s picture stones – a new approach to solving the problem of the origin of the raw material

• Applicant: Professor Dr. Axel Munnecke
• Subject Area: Prehistory and World Archaeology ; Palaeontology
• Term: from 2018 to 2022
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 398428905

This project is positioned at the intersection of geology and archaeology. It aims to reconstruct the origin of the raw material used for the formation of picture stones from ca. 400 to 1100 AD on Gotland (Sweden). Based on an extensive dataset of stable carbon, oxygen and strontium isotope values from all lithological units on Gotland, several building stones, most of which are now in the museums in Visby and Stockholm, will be analysed and assigned to a specific rock unit on the island of Gotland. The following hypotheses will be tested: (a) the geochemical "Fingerprint" of the building stones allows for a precise attribution to the respective geological rock unit, (b) during different historical epochs specific rock types were preferred, (c) if necessary long transport distances were accepted, (d) the facies type and thus the homogeneity of the rock was an important factor for the choice of the raw material, and finally (e) the distribution dynamic of the picture stones is related to the geological bedrocks.

• DFG Programme: Research Grants
• Co-Investigator: Privatdozent Dr. Benjamin Sigmund Oehrl