The Sutton Hoo burial contained a sceptre/whetstone, topped with a bronze stag; a symbol that can be traced back to the Steppe. Several similar staff terminals have been found in Scythian burial sites in Siberia and China, and a few similar examples have been found in Anatolia, of Hittite origin.
It appears that the stag may have been an early Indo European tribal standard, carried from the Steppe across to the North Sea.
After all, stags feature prominently in the Edda; Dáinn, Dvalinn, Duneyrr and Duraþrór feed on Yggdrasil, Eikþyrnir lives in Valhøll and stands over Hvergelmir, and Freyr fights Beli and Surtr with an antler after giving up his sword.
It appears that the stag may have been an early Indo European tribal standard, carried from the Steppe across to the North Sea.
After all, stags feature prominently in the Edda; Dáinn, Dvalinn, Duneyrr and Duraþrór feed on Yggdrasil, Eikþyrnir lives in Valhøll and stands over Hvergelmir, and Freyr fights Beli and Surtr with an antler after giving up his sword.