Swastika (Germanic Iron Age)

The swastika design is known from artefacts of various cultures since the Neolithic, and it recurs with some frequency on artefacts dated to the Germanic Iron Age, i.e. the Migration period to Viking Age period in Scandinavia, including the Vendel era in Sweden, attested from as early as the 3rd century in Elder Futhark inscriptions and as late as the 9th century on Viking Age image stones.

Examples include a 2nd-century funerary urn of the Przeworsk culture, Poland, the 3rd century Værløse Fibula from Zealand, Denmark, the Gothic spearhead from Brest-Litovsk, Belarus, the 9th century Snoldelev Stone from Ramsø, Denmark, and numerous Migration Period bracteates. The swastika is drawn either left-facing or right-facing, sometimes with "feet" attached to its four legs.

The symbol is closely related to the triskele, a symbol of three-fold rotational symmetry, which occurs on artefacts of the same period. When considered as a four-fold rotational symmetrical analogue of the triskele, the symbol is sometimes also referred to as tetraskele.

The swastika symbol in the Germanic Iron Age has been interpreted as having a sacral meaning, associated with either Odin or Thor, but the Indoeuropean tradition associates the four-fold swastika with solar deities and deities preceding Thor are rather associated with three-fold or more often six-fold symbology.

Bracteates

Many small, thin gold pieces called bracteates, often with writings in old runes, feature the swastika symbol. Most of these bracteates are of a type called "C," showing a human head above an animal, which many think represents the Germanic god Woden/Odin. The swastika is usually placed next to the head. Most of these swastikas face left (卍), but some face right (卐). The direction of the swastika matches the way the runes are written, which is from right to left.

Some examples where the swastika is part of the writing include: DR BR12 Darum 4 (lïïaþzet lae : t卐ozrï); DR BR38 Bolbro 1 and DR BR40 Allesø (both zlut : eaþl lauz 卐 owa); DR BR41 Vedby (...] lauz 卐 owa); DR BR53 Maglemose 2 (卍(l)kaz). In these writings, the swastika might stand for a word related to shine or light.

Anglo-Saxon England

The early Anglo-Saxon ship burial at Sutton Hoo, England, had many items with the swastika symbol on them. These items are now kept at the Cambridge Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology. The swastika was also found on a sword and belt at Bifrons in Bekesbourne, Kent, in a grave from around the 6th century.

Interpretation

Hilda Ellis Davidson suggested that the swastika symbol might have been linked to Thor, the god of thunder, and could represent his hammer Mjolnir. She noted many examples of the swastika found in Anglo-Saxon graves from the pagan period, especially on cremation urns from East Anglia. Some of these swastikas were made with great care, showing they may have been important as symbols for funerals. The runic inscription on the Sæbø sword, dating to around AD 800, is also seen as evidence connecting the swastika to Thor in Norse paganism.