The Ardre image stones are a collection of ten runic and stone image stones dating from the 8th to the 11th centuries. These stones were discovered in Ardre church, located in Ardre, Gotland, Sweden. The primary edition of these stones was conducted by Suna Lindqvist.
Historically, the Ardre stones were repurposed as paving materials under the wooden floors of the local church in the Ardre parish on the island of Gotland. Before the significance of runic and image stones was recognized or valued, they were often utilized as construction materials for roads, bridges, and buildings. The image stones were rediscovered during the church's restoration efforts around 1900. Today, these stones are preserved in the Swedish Museum of National Antiquities in Stockholm.
The most significant and well-known stone among the collection is Ardre VIII, which dates from the 8th or 9th century. This stone features depictions of scenes from Norse mythology, including "The Tale of Wayland the Blacksmith," "Thor Fishing Jörmungand," Loki's punishment for Baldr's death, and Odin riding to Valhalla on Sleipnir. However, some other depictions on this stone, such as the woman with two swords on the right, remain unexplained, as they do not correspond to any known Scandinavian myths that have survived. Additionally, the depiction of the barque motif stone with its sailors bears some resemblance to the image on the Överhogdal #III tapestry from Härjedalen. The main study of this stone has been conducted by Ludvig Buisson.