Working together with Penguin and The British Museum, we’ve given reading groups the chance to explore their local museums and tell us all about their favourite discoveries. Now we’re sharing the best entries on Reading Groups for Everyone; today we’re showcasing a Roman discovery from Cheshire.
Roman brooch
The group visited the Weaver Hall Museum and Workhouse in Northwich, Cheshire, which houses a mix of objects found in the area dating back to the Bronze Age. The object chosen by the group is a small swastika brooch cast in copper. The brooch is not from Nazi Germany but dates back to the Roman period.
The brooch was found near Northwich by John Watts. The word swastika derives from the Sanskrit word svastika, meaning “Good To Be”, it was considered a good luck symbol.
The swastika was also called the Crux Grammatica as it is a cross shape made from 4 ancient Greek Gamma characters. It has been around for thousands of years in Hindu Holy texts, as a pagan symbol & as an early Christian symbol representing the Holy Cross.
In the mid-nineteenth century German nationalists began to use the swastika, because it had ancient Aryan/Indian origins, to represent a long Germanic/Aryan history. Because of the Nazis the swastika soon became a symbol of hate, anti-Semitism, violence & death.
‘I have chosen this object because it is a stark example of how different groups of people have used an ancient symbol for their own purposes, changing its meaning as it suits them.’ Catherine Smith
For 3,000 years, the swastika meant life and good luck. But, because of the Nazis, it has also taken on a meaning of death and hate. Unfortunately, the Nazis were so effective at their use of the swastika, that many people do not even know any other meaning for this symbol.
Contributor: Catherine Smith
