Iron Age rock carving of an anticlockwise swastika (groove & cross of 9 cups) on Woodhouse Crag overlooking Ilkley in Wharfedale, West Yorkshire.

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Iron Age rock carving of an anticlockwise swastika on Woodhouse Crag overlooking Ilkley and the Wharfe valley. A groove around an equal-arm cross of 9 cups forms 4 curving arms plus a reversed ? around a 10th cup. An ancient symbol of well-being, named from the Sanskrit svastika (good + being), the German Nazi Party reversed its arms to form their emblem. The view NE includes Ilkley where the church is built on the site of a Roman fort & an altar to Verbia, goddess of the River Wharfe, has been found. The moors above Ilkley abound with Bronze Age rock carvings but this is likely to be late first millennium BC having affinities with Celtic art such as the windplay motif.

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Size: 4051px × 5438px
Location: The Swastika Stone, Woodhouse Crag, Ilkley, West Yorkshire, England, UK
Photo credit: © Mick Sharp / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No

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