The Swastika Stone is a stone adorned with a Swastika

Swastika

The swastika is an equilateral cross with its arms bent at right angles, in either right-facing form in counter clock motion or its mirrored left-facing form in clock motion. Earliest archaeological evidence of swastika-shaped ornaments dates back to the Indus Valley Civilization of Ancient...

 located on the Woodhouse Crag, on the Northern edge of Ilkley Moor

Ilkley Moor

Ilkley Moor is part of Rombalds Moor, the moorland between Ilkley and Keighley in West Yorkshire, England, United Kingdom. The peat bogs rise to 402 m above sea level...

 in West Yorkshire

West Yorkshire

West Yorkshire is a metropolitan county within the Yorkshire and the Humber region of England with a population of 2.2 million. West Yorkshire came into existence as a metropolitan county in 1974 after the passage of the Local Government Act 1972....

. The design has a double outline with five curved arms enclosing several so-called 'cup' marks, the like of which can be found on other stones nearby.

The design is unique in the British Isles, so its close similarity to Camunian rose

Camunian rose

The Camunian rose is the name given to a particular symbol represented among the rock carvings of Val Camonica. It consists of a meandering closed line that winds around nine cup marks...

 designs in Italy have led some to theorize that the two are connected. In fact, the troops stationed in Ilkley during Roman occupation were recruited from the Celtic Lingones. This tribe was native to Gaul, but in around 400 BCE, some migrated across the Alps to the Adriatic coast. Some believe the Ilkley Lingones were recruited from here rather than from Gaul. It is possible that the Italian Lingones passed through the Valcamonica region at some point, took on the swastika designs they found as part of their tribal symbolism, and carved it on the nearby moor when stationed in Ilkley.

UK children's author Terry Deary

Terry Deary

Terry Deary is a children's author now living in Burnhope, County Durham, England.A former actor, theatre-director and drama teacher, Deary says he began writing when he was 29...

 has suggested the carving depicts a boomerang

Boomerang

A boomerang is a flying tool with a curved shape used as a weapon or for sport.-Description:A boomerang is usually thought of as a wooden device, although historically boomerang-like devices have also been made from bones. Modern boomerangs used for sport are often made from carbon fibre-reinforced...

.

See also

• Fylfot
  Fylfot
  Fylfot or fylfot cross , is a synonym for swastika, sometimes used in Britain.However – at least in modern heraldry texts, such as Friar and Woodcock & Robinson – the fylfot differs somewhat from the archetypal form of the swastika: always upright and typically with truncated limbs, as...
  
  
• Germanic pre-Christian use of the swastika
• Western use of the Swastika in the early 20th century
  Western use of the Swastika in the early 20th century
  The swastika is an equilateral cross with its arms bent at right angles, in either right-facing form or its mirrored left-facing form. Archaeological evidence of swastika-shaped ornaments dates from the Neolithic period and was first found in the Indus Valley Civilization of the Indian...
  
  
• Camunian rose
  Camunian rose
  The Camunian rose is the name given to a particular symbol represented among the rock carvings of Val Camonica. It consists of a meandering closed line that winds around nine cup marks...
  
  

External links

• The Swastika Stone
• Image of the swastika stone — a 20th century replica is in the foreground of the picture; the original carving can be seen a little further away, at the centre-left of the picture.