Stora Hammars stones, Viking Age image stones in Lärbro, Gotland, Sweden

The Stora Hammars stones are four phallic-shaped Viking Age image stones, carved around the 8th century CE and originally set at the Stora Hammars farm near Lärbro on Gotland. Two were moved to the open-air museum Bungemuseet in Fårösund in 1923 and the other two in 1946. Stone I carries six panels; Stone III has four, its lowest showing a ship with warriors. The carvings on Stones II and IV are too worn to read.

The four image stones date from around the 8th century CE, placing them in the Germanic Iron Age rather than the later Viking Age. They stood originally at the Stora Hammars farm near Lärbro parish on Gotland. Two were moved to the open-air museum Bungemuseet in Fårösund in 1923, and the remaining two followed in 1946.

The stones were moved from the Stora Hammars farm to the open-air museum Bungemuseet in Fårösund, two in 1923 and two in 1946. There they are displayed as examples of Gotland's picture stones, and the carvings are read alongside texts such as the Skáldskaparmál.

The first and third stones remain better preserved and show carved details more clearly, while the other two have weathered considerably over time. Plan to spend time looking closely at all the panels to spot the different figures and scenes.

Stone I stands out for its six separate narrative panels that tell multiple stories side by side on one surface. This arrangement reveals how the carvers wanted to compress layers of meaning into a single monument.