This is a Victorian copy of the original much fainter carving.
View of the faint original carving (top of photograph) and Victorian copy (bottom of photograph). April 2003
Probably the most well known carved
rock on the Moor, the Swastika Stone is an unusual design and it is not clear
if it dates from the same time as the other rocks on the moor (the Bronze
Age) or if it a later Iron Age carving. Situated on the edge of Woodhouse
Crag with extensive views, there are in fact two Swastika stones here - the carving
closest to the footpath is a Victorian copy of the now much fainter original carving
just a metre or so beyond it.
The design itself consists of four spiral arms with a cup in the loop of each
arm and also one within the outer ring of each arm. There is also a cup in the
centre of the design meaning the cups themselves form a 5x5 cross figure. A strange
squiggle also emerges from one of the arms.
What this design means is unclear, although it is known that in many ancient civilizations
the swastika is recognised as a symbol relating to the sun.
PRAWR = Prehistoric Rock Art of the West Riding (Boughey and Vickerman 2003
