Editing Swastika (section)

====Europe====
{{See also|Swastika (Germanic Iron Age)}}

Iron Age attestations of swastikas can be associated with [[Proto-Indo-Europeans|Indo-European]] cultures such as the [[Illyrians]],<ref name="Stipčević">{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=NLcWAQAAIAAJ&q=swastika|title=The Illyrians: history and culture|first=Aleksandar|last=Stipčević|date=1977|publisher=Noyes Press|access-date=14 February 2017|via=Google Books|isbn=978-0-8155-5052-5}}</ref> [[Indo-Iranians]], [[Celt]]s, [[Ancient Greeks|Greeks]], [[Swastika (Germanic Iron Age)|Germanic peoples]] and [[Slavs]]. In [[Sintashta culture]]'s "[[Country of Towns]]", ancient [[Proto-Indo-Europeans|Indo-European]] settlements in southern Russia, it has been found a great concentration of some of the oldest swastika patterns.<ref name="ru-sled.ru"/>

Swastika shapes have been found on numerous artefacts from [[Iron Age]] Europe.<ref name="Concise Armenian Encyclopedia p. 663" /><ref>Jacob G. Ghazarian (2006), ''[https://books.google.com/books?id=cKHYAAAAMAAJ&q=%22Armenian+symbol+of+eternity%22 The Mediterranean legacy in early Celtic Christianity: a journey from Armenia to Ireland] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230105083219/https://books.google.com/books?id=cKHYAAAAMAAJ&q=%22Armenian+symbol+of+eternity%22&redir_esc=y |date=5 January 2023 }}'', Bennett & Bloom, pp. 263, p. 171 "...{{spaces}}Quite a different version of the Celtic triskelion, and perhaps the most common pre-Christian symbolism found throughout Armenian cultural tradition, is the round clockwise (occasionally counter-clockwise) whirling sun-like spiral fixed at a centre{{snd}}the Armenian symbol of eternity."</ref><ref>K. B. Mehr, M. Markow, ''Mormon Missionaries enter Eastern Europe'', Brigham Young University Press, 2002, pp. 399, p. 252 "...{{spaces}}She viewed a tall building with spires and circular windows along the top of the walls. It was engraved with sun stones, a typical symbol of eternity in ancient Armenian architecture."</ref><ref name="Stipčević"/><ref name="MigSym" /><!--Not all the cultures listed may be in that ref; feel free to add those that are and remove those that are not – or locate additional refs so long as they meet WP:RS.-->

The swastika shape appears on various Germanic [[Migration Period]] and [[Viking Age]] artifacts, such as the 3rd-century [[Værløse Fibula]] from Zealand, Denmark, the [[Goths|Gothic]] spearhead from [[Brest-Litovsk]], today in Belarus, the 9th-century [[Snoldelev Stone]] from [[Ramsø]], Denmark, and numerous Migration Period [[bracteate]]s drawn left-facing or right-facing.<ref name="OLDTIDENS" />

The [[Anglo-Saxon paganism|pagan]] [[Anglo-Saxons|Anglo-Saxon]] [[ship burial]] at [[Sutton Hoo]], England, contained numerous items bearing swastikas, now housed in the collection of the [[Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology, University of Cambridge|Cambridge Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology]].<ref name="DAVIDSON83" />{{Failed verification|date=August 2017}} A swastika is clearly marked on a hilt and sword belt found at [[Bifrons]] in Kent, in a grave of about the 6th century.

[[Hilda Ellis Davidson]] hypothesised that the swastika symbol was associated with [[Thor]], possibly representing his [[Mjolnir]]{{snd}}symbolic of thunder{{snd}}and possibly being connected to the Bronze Age sun cross.<ref name="DAVIDSON83" /> Davidson cites "many examples" of swastika symbols from Anglo-Saxon graves of the pagan period, with particular prominence on cremation urns from the cemeteries of East Anglia.<ref name="DAVIDSON83" /> Some of the swastikas on the items, on display at the Cambridge Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology, are depicted with such care and art that, according to Davidson, it must have possessed special significance as a [[funerary art|funerary symbol]].<ref name="DAVIDSON83" /> The [[runic inscription]] on the 8th-century [[Sæbø sword]] has been taken as evidence of the swastika as a symbol of Thor in [[Norse paganism]].

The bronze frontispiece of a ritual pre-Christian ({{circa|350–50 BCE}}) shield found in the [[River Thames]] near [[Battersea Bridge]] (hence "[[Battersea Shield]]") is embossed with 27 swastikas in bronze and red enamel.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.thebritishmuseum.ac.uk/compass/ixbin/hixclient.exe?_IXDB_=compass&_IXSR_=wt9&_IXSS_=%2524%2bwith%2ball_unique_id_index%2bis%2b%2524%3dOBJ1172%26_IXNOMATCHES_%3dgraphical%252fno_matches%252ehtml%26_IXMAXHITS_%3d1%26_IXDB_%3dcompass%26_IXSESSION_%3d7q_PyrzUX1l%26_IXFIRST_%3d1&_IXFIRST_=1&_IXMAXHITS_=1&_IXSPFX_=graphical/full/&_IXimg=ps260150.jpg&submit-button=summary|title=The Battersea Shield|publisher=[[British Museum]]|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070324011256/http://www.thebritishmuseum.ac.uk/compass/ixbin/hixclient.exe?_IXDB_=compass|archive-date=24 March 2007}}</ref> An [[Ogham]] stone found in Aglish, [[County Kerry]], Ireland ([[CIIC]] 141) was modified into an early Christian gravestone, and was decorated with a [[cross pattée]] and two swastikas.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.ucl.ac.uk/archaeology/cisp/database/stone/aglis_1.html |title=CISP entry |publisher=Ucl.ac.uk |access-date=2 March 2010}}</ref> The [[Book of Kells]] ({{circa|800 CE}}) contains swastika-shaped ornamentation. At the Northern edge of [[Ilkley Moor]] in West Yorkshire, there is a swastika-shaped pattern engraved in a stone known as the [[Swastika Stone]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.aenigmatis.com/prehistoric-sites/england/england-3.htm|title=Megalithic Sites in England – Photo Archive|author=Martin J Powell}}</ref> A number of swastikas have been found embossed in [[Galicia (Spain)|Galician]] metal pieces and carved in stones, mostly from the [[Castro culture]] period, although there also are contemporary examples (imitating old patterns for decorative purposes).<ref>Domínguez Fontela, J. (1938): [http://paxinasdaguarda.blogspot.com.es/2015/02/ceramica-de-santa-tecla-ii.html ''Cerámica de Santa Tecla. Un hallazgo importantísimo''] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180323155012/http://paxinasdaguarda.blogspot.com.es/2015/02/ceramica-de-santa-tecla-ii.html |date=23 March 2018 }} in Faro de Vigo.</ref><ref>Romero, Bieito (2009): Xeometrías Máxicas de Galicia. Ir Indo, Vigo.</ref>

[[File:Swastika from Baltic.jpg|thumb|upright 0.75|''[[Ugunskrusts]]'' motif]]
The ancient [[Balts|Baltic]] thunder cross symbol (''pērkona krusts'' (cross of [[Perkons]]); also fire cross, ''[[ugunskrusts]]'') is a swastika symbol used to decorate objects, traditional clothing and in [[Excavation (archaeology)|archaeological excavations]].<ref name="Guénon-2001">{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=CQRWnf2JflQC&q=lithuania+use+of+swastika&pg=PA62|title=The Symbolism of the Cross|last=Guénon|first=René|date=2001|publisher=Sophia Perennis|isbn=978-0-900588-65-5|page=62|language=en}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://latvians.com/index.php?en/CFBH/Zimes/zimes-10-rhetoric.ssi#WIKFN3|title=Latvia and the Swastika|website=latvians.com|access-date=2018-11-08}}</ref>

According to painter Stanisław Jakubowski, the "little sun" (Polish: ''słoneczko'') is an [[Early Slavs|Early Slavic]] pagan symbol of the Sun; he claimed it was engraved on wooden monuments built near the final resting places of fallen Slavs to represent eternal life. The symbol was first seen in his collection of Early Slavic symbols and architectural features, which he named ''Prasłowiańskie motywy architektoniczne'' (Polish: ''Early Slavic Architectural Motifs''). His work was published in 1923.<ref name="Old Slavic Symbols" />

The [[Boreyko coat of arms]] with a red swastika was used by several noble families in the [[Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth]].<ref>{{cite book |surname=Gajl |given=Tadeusz |date=2007 <!--|author-link=Tadeusz Gajl--> |title=Polish Armorial Middle Ages to 20th Century |url= http://gajl.wielcy.pl/herby_nazwiska.php?lang=en&herb=borejko |place=Gdańsk |publisher=L&L |isbn=978-83-60597-10-1 |via=Gajl.wielcy.pl}}</ref>

According to [[Boris Kuftin]], the [[Russians]] often used swastikas as a decorative element and as the basis of the ornament on traditional weaving products.<ref name="Kuftin">{{cite book |surname=Kuftin |given=Boris A. <!--|author-link=Boris Kuftin--> |title=Материальная культура Русской Мещеры. Ч. 1: Женская одежда: рубаха, понева, сарафан |trans-title=Material culture of Russian Meshchera. Part 1: Women's clothing: shirt, poniova, sarafan |series=Proceedings of the State Museum of the Central Industrial Region, 3 |language=ru |place=Moscow |publisher=Tip. "Tajninskij pečatnik" |date=1926 |oclc=490308640 |pages=62–64 |url=https://www.perunica.ru/tradicii/9947-kuftin-ba-materialnaja-kultura-russkoj-meschery-1926-pdf-rus.html}}</ref> Many can be seen on a women's folk costume from the [[Meshchera Lowlands]].<ref name="Kuftin" />

According to some authors, Russian names popularly associated with the swastika include ''veterok'' ("breeze"),<ref name="echoMsk" />  ''ognevtsi'' ("little flames"), "geese", "hares" (a towel with a swastika was called a towel with "hares"), or "little horses".<ref name="Bogdasarov2002" /> The similar word "''koleso''" ("wheel") was used for rosette-shaped amulets, such as a [[hexafoil]]-thunder wheel [[File:Thunder mark (1).svg|30px]]) in folklore, particularly in the [[Russian North]].<ref name="Ivanits">{{cite book |surname=Ivanits |given=Linda J. |date=1989 |title=Russian Folk Belief |publisher=[[M. E. Sharpe]] |pages=14, 17 |isbn=978-0-7656-3088-9}}</ref><ref name="Garshol">{{cite journal |surname=Garshol |given=Lars Marius |date=2021 |title=Olav's Rose, Perun's Mark, Taranis's Wheel |url=https://digital.kenyon.edu/perejournal/vol7/iss4/7/|journal=Peregrinations: Journal of Medieval Art and Architecture |volume=7 |issue=4 |pages=121–151}}</ref>

An object very much like a hammer or a double axe is depicted among the magical symbols on the drums of [[Sami people|Sami]] ''[[noaidi]]'', used in their religious ceremonies before Christianity was established. The name of the Sami thunder god was [[Horagalles]], thought to derive from "Old Man Thor" (''Þórr karl''). Sometimes on the drums, a male figure with a hammer-like object in either hand is shown, and sometimes it is more like a cross with crooked ends, or a swastika.<ref name="DAVIDSON83" />

<gallery>
File:ReceBogaSwargi.svg|Ancient symbol the [[Ashtray from Biała#Hands of God|Hands of God]] or "Hands of Svarog" (Polish: ''Ręce Swaroga'')<ref>{{cite book |last=Grzegorzewic |first=Ziemisław |date=2016 |title=O Bogach i ludziach. Praktyka i teoria Rodzimowierstwa Słowiańskiego |trans-title=About the Gods and people. Practice and theory of Slavic Heathenism |language=pl |location=Olsztyn |publisher=Stowarzyszenie "Kołomir" |page=57 |isbn=978-83-940180-8-5}}</ref>
File:Laimas krusts Lielvardes josta.jpg|Swastika on the [[Lielvārde Belt]], Latvia
File:POL COA Boreyko.svg|[[Boreyko coat of arms]]
</gallery>