The symbol experienced a resurgence in the late nineteenth century, following extensive archaeological work such as that of the famous German archaeologist Heinrich Schliemann. He connected it with similar shapes found on pottery in Germany and speculated that it was a “significant religious symbol of our remote ancestors. This belief that the “German race” descended from the Aryan race is likely one of the main reasons the Nazi party formally adopted the swastika or Hakenkreuz (Ger., hooked cross) as its symbol in 1920."