The Swastika Stone: Sun? Fire? Boomerang!?
The cache, a camo-taped preform tube, is hidden near this historic and mysterious carved gritstone rock on the top of Woodhouse Crag on the northern edge of Rombald's Moor with wonderful views, especially to the north-west up the Wharfe valley.
To Reach the Cache Location: See GCA962F Gnarled Eco-Warrier for parking and access waypoints. From that cache simply continue on up the trail to the top of the slope and location of Step 1.
To Find the Cache:
Step 1: head for N 53 55.117 W 1 51.335 where you will find a bench with a memorial plaque. On this you will note that:
a) the number of vowels in the persons name = A
b) he was born and died in the Bth month of the year
c) he lived for 9C years
Step 2: continue to the nearby railed enclosure of the Swastika Stone. In the front railing is a small gate with a padlock which will give you the following:
d) the sum of the two figures at the top of the base of the lock = 9D
e) if the lock was made in UK, the value of E = 1, if Japan = 2, if Germany =3
f) the base is held on by F bolts
The cache is hidden at
N 53 55.DCB W 1 51.E(A-D)(F+5)
The Swastika Stone is probably the best known of the numerous carved rocks on the moor. It is adorned with a swastika-like design, having a double outline with four curved arms and an attached S-shape, each curve enclosing a so-called 'cup' mark (making a total of 10).
There are in fact two Swastika stones here - the carving closest to the railings is a Victorian copy of the now much fainter, heavily weathered original carving just a metre or so beyond it, added to show a clearer design.
While there are many examples of rock art on the Moor few have this level of ordered design. Most only have a few cups, sometimes surrounded by one or more rings, set out with no discernible pattern.
The design is rare in the British Isles and is similar to art of the Celtic Iron Age period but most archaeologists believe that such carvings, as with others on the Moor, probably date to the late Neolithic or early Bronze Age (about 2,000 BC).
However, its close similarity to Camunian rose designs carved into rocks at Sellero, Italy and other rose designs in Val Camonica have led some to theorise that the two are connected. Roman troops stationed in Ilkley during the occupation were recruited from the Celtic Lingones. This tribe was native to Gaul, but in around 400 BC, some migrated across the Alps to the Adriatic coast. Some believe the Ilkley-based 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.
The meaning of the design is unclear, although in many ancient civilizations, the swastika symbol relates to the sun.
Bizarrely, Terry Deary, a top children's author claimed in 2004 that it represented a boomerang suggesting it must have been invented in Yorkshire and not Australia! - see here.
The Swastika Stone is a Scheduled Monument #1012014 first listed 10 August 1923. The Swastika Stones is also a well-regarded bouldering location . . . ' this charming little collection of rocks is home to a selection of boulder problems that give a mid-grade technical challenge away from the masses'. Some 46 climbs are listed on the (boulder) climbing site.
See here for a fascinating and detailed blog on the history, archaeology and possible meaning of the stone.
