Archaeologists Unearth 7,000-Year-Old Swastika in North-western Bulgaria

I would normally place Thracian Finds within the Area of Thracian Finds, but thought the following was deserving of it's own Post, due to the many misconceptions we current hold in respects to the Swastika.

Many do suggest it is actually an Symbol from India, but here it is, 7000 Years Old and found in Bulgaria.

20 May 2010 | A pottery fragment with the image of a swastika, dating to 7,000 years ago, and an ancient female adornment with a phallus are among the artefacts shown for the first time as part of the on-going exhibition “Gods, Symbols and Ancient Signs” in the museum in Vratsa in north-western Bulgaria.

[atsimg]http://files.abovetopsecret.com/images/member/bb0f3bbde03f.jpg[/atsimg]

The swastika-decorated clay pottery fragment was found by archaeologists during excavations of a ritual pit around the village of Altimir near the town of Vratsa. The find dates back to the beginning of the Stone-Copper Age and shows that this symbol traverses the centuries and cannot be linked solely to Hitler’s party, archaeologists explained.

The swastika as a symbol dates to the Neolithic period in Ancient India, according to previous archaeological finds. It can also be seen on Roman and Medieval artefacts. Although it was commonly used all over much of the world without stigma and still occurs widely in religions such as Hinduism and Buddhism, the swastika has become stigmatized in the Western world, because of its iconic usage in Nazi Germany.

The Link goes on to also offer some other examples of Items currently being displayed. Many various Items from an assortment of periods.

I trust the find is of interest.

Ciao

Shane

This is not a Nazi swastika. If you held it up to a mirror and viewed the image, then it would be considered to be a Hakenkreuz swastika, only after rotating it counter clockwise about 15 degrees. This shape has obviously been around a long time. Adolf Hitler hijacked this symbol to conatate his Third Reich.

[edit on 25-5-2010 by Violater1]

Thanks for sharing this new find.

It made me search for some historic significance of the symbol and was amazed at what I found. I had no idea about the true origin of the Swastika and now will look at it with a total different view!

The swastika (from Sanskrit svástika स्वस्तिक) is an equilateral cross with its arms bent at right angles, in either right-facing (卐) form or its mirrored left-facing (卍) form. Archaeological evidence of swastika-shaped ornaments dates from the Neolithic period in Ancient India. It occurs mainly in the modern day culture of India, sometimes as a geometrical motif and sometimes as a religious symbol. It remains widely used in Indian religions such as Hinduism, Buddhism and Jainism.

Though once commonly used all over much of the world without stigma, because of its iconic usage as Hakenkreuz in Nazi Germany the symbol has become stigmatized in the Western world, notably even outlawed in Germany.

The word swastika is derived from the Sanskrit word svastika (in Devanagari स्वस्तिक), meaning any lucky or auspicious object, and in particular a mark made on persons and things to denote good luck. It is composed of su- meaning "good, well" and asti "to be" svasti thus means "well-being." The suffix -ka either forms a diminutive or intensifies the verbal meaning, and svastika might thus be translated literally as "that which is associated with well-being," corresponding to "lucky charm" or "thing that is auspicious."[

There is so much more to learn about this important symbol in ancient times! Those interested should read the link for more info. There is quite a bit. Almost deserves its own thread.

In Hinduism, the two symbols represent the two forms of the creator god Brahma: facing right it represents the evolution of the universe (Devanagari: प्रवृत्ति, Pravritti), facing left it represents the involution of the universe (Devanagari: निवृत्ति, Nivritti). It is also seen as pointing in all four directions (north, east, south and west) and thus signifies grounded stability. Its use as a Sun symbol can first be seen in its representation of the god Surya (Devanagari: सूर्य, Sun). The swastika is considered extremely holy and auspicious by all Hindus, and is regularly used to decorate items related to Hindu culture.

Wiki Link


Thank you - I've learned something new today. S & F

Wow, great find. Hitler stole and distorted a lot of things, from the Swastika which came from God knows where all the way to the Roman salute. To be fair, if one can be, he did put his own 'spin' (pun intended) on the swastika. I don't know what this ancient sign symbolized, I've read everything from life and love to the way a child positions itself in a mothers womb.

Interesting stuff, thanks for posting.

I am not suprised by this at all. To me, the design is a very primative one and I often find myself making it while doodleing and not knowing I had. Its a symbol that to me has a natural flow and design. I don't know if I am the only one that experiences it but I also find the same with spirals and "lightning" zig zags, just comes naturally

In ancient North America the swastika represents the wandering Hopi clan and spiritual migration.


It symbolizes their migration from the four corners region in the U.s. They were told to split up into clans and then migrate N/S/E/W and when they hit water to turn till they hit water again while peopling the corners.


[edit on 26-5-2010 by Shadow Herder]

Actually there is more to it then meets the eye.
The Swastika along with the Aumkara and AlphaΩ are not only considerd to be sacred symbols. They happen to appear in the quantum structure of the carbon atom.

see: www.sol.com.au...

Swastika? Oh boy, well it's close but it's not.

Hmm did Nazis 7000 years ago put this here to show us they are able to travel in time, They are on the moon right now, I just saw a video called Iron Sky

"Swastika" is still an eye grabber. Be nice if people would mention origins of the symbol and why certain factions used it throughout history.

That is in really good shape for 7,000 years old. Looks like it was made last week. Thanks to those who clarified that it is an ancient symbol before being defiled.

At its most basic it is a sun symbol, another version of the cross.

Think about it. The "son" dies on the cross. The rays of the "sun" form a cross.

Like others have said, this isn't a Nazi swastika. Hitler used the symbol and altered it for his own purposes. He made it a mirror image of the original and cocked it a few degrees. It essentially reversed it's meaning, kind of like an upside down cross.

Interesting that they say it is 7,000 years old though because the swastika has only been traced back 3,000 years so this is still exciting that they found that it is even older than that:

about.com

he swastika is an ancient symbol that has been used for over 3,000 years. (That even predates the ancient Egyptian symbol, the Ankh!) Artifacts such as pottery and coins from ancient Troy show that the swastika was a commonly used symbol as far back as 1000 BCE.

It's not that surprising of a find.

I'm more interested in the other artifacts that were recovered. We already know what this meant even at the time it was inscribed.

So do those who have found this symbol have any speculation on what it means or represents? In my own opinion it would be great to know it's original use was tied to some positive and/or healing ritual.

I guess it is rather difficult to truly understand a symbol when all you have are fragments of various items to guess by. Still, I wonder what it could have meant back then...

Originally posted by PositivelyDetermined
"Swastika" is still an eye grabber. Be nice if people would mention origins of the symbol and why certain factions used it throughout history.

Yeah kinda like the rainbow, it wasn't always gay.

Really I would like to have it back, so gay people please give us the rainbow back pweeeeese You can have Tom Cruise and this guy www.gifbin.com... for it.

The symbol can also be found on statues of buddha, it is a Indian good luck sign

this is from a museum in serbia [vrsac] thats not too far away.





is it a falcon?

It's proof of time travel!! Adolf Hitler went back in time and engraved these swastika's on the Indian, Greek, Roman, and Bulgarian pottery. If Satan can do it to make Christian like religions appear before Christ then Adolf surely could do it.

That is not a Swastika it's a peace symbol...

ancienthistory.about.com...

Originally posted by Julie Washington

Archaeological evidence of swastika-shaped ornaments dates from the Neolithic period in Ancient India.

I am more interested in the fact that this symbol has been traced back to Neolithic India and yet we see it appearing here excavated in Bulgaria and dated to some 7000 years ago.

It reinforces to me the idea of a global civilisation. Any idea if the materials used to make the pot have been investigated to find out if they are indigenous to Bulgaria or are from another region say India?

Anyway thanks for bringing this thread forward.