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Troy Towns
Arkaim
Arkaim is a 2nd millennium BC archaeological site in Russia, although some date it to 7000 BC(c). The site was rediscovered in 1987 just as the locality was at risk of submersion due to a proposed nearby dam-building project. This was later put on hold.
It has been compared with Stonehenge(b), Troy Towns(d) and Plato’s Atlantis(a). It is also claimed as a psychic ‘hotspot’’(e) as well as a site of UFO activity!
The suggested Atlantis link is just fanciful and does not stand up to the most cursory examination. For example, there is no evidence that Arkaim was ever submerged as Atlantis was recorded to have been by Plato.
A 2014 article that compared Arkaim with Stonehenge commented that “It would seem that Arkaim is an even better astronomical observatory than its namesake.”(g)
Victoria Lepage, a purveyor of mystical twaddle has endeavoured to incorporate Arkaim into her pathetic view of world history(h).
Dale Drinnon’s website included an extensive entry on Arkaim in Feb. 2012(f).
August 2015 produced a report(i) that a 2,000-year-old skeleton of a female, with an elongated skull, had been unearthed in the vicinity of Arkaim. Apparently, this was the result of a local tradition of head-binding.
(a) https://balkhandshambhala.blogspot.com/2013/02/shambhala-ancient-arkaim.html
(b) https://mysteriousuniverse.org/2014/01/arkaim-russias-stonehenge-and-a-puzzle-of-the-ancient-world/
(c) Ajit Vadakayil: STONEHENGE OF ARKAIM RUSSIA – CAPT AJIT VADAKAYIL (archive.org)
(g) https://mysteriousuniverse.org/2014/01/arkaim-russias-stonehenge-and-a-puzzle-of-the-ancient-world/
(h) Arkaim: Russia’s Ancient City & the Arctic Origin of Civilisation | Truth Control (archive.org) *
(i) 2,000-Year-Old ‘Conehead’ Skeleton Unearthed At Russia’s Stonehenge – News Punch (archive.org)
Troy Towns
Troy Towns is the name given to turf mazes in Britain and their counterparts, the many stone lined labyrinths to be found in Scandinavia, the Baltic countries and as far east as Russia, where Arkaim is considered by some to be a form of troy town(d).
>A German website (in English) offers a detailed review of Troy Towns in Sweden(f).<
W.H. Matthews (1882- ) listed a total of thirty-seven extant English turf labyrinths in his 1922 book [1686], noting that there were once many more, including some in Scotland and Wales. Today, only eight historic turf labyrinths survive in England, only two of which still bear the name of Troy: The City of Troy in Dalby, North Yorkshire, and Troy at Troy Farm, Somerton, Oxfordshire. Saffron Walden is home to the largest, and some maintain oldest, surviving English turf labyrinth.(e)
All these are supposedly inspired by the ‘original’ labyrinth on Crete. To suggest(c) that labyrinths or Troy Towns are in any way intended to memorialise Plato’s description of the layout of Atlantis is just unbridled conjecture.
(a) https://www.mymaze.de/trojaburg_en.htm
(b) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Troy_Town
(c) The mystery of the labyrinth (archive.org) *
(e) https://www.dailygrail.com/2017/07/the-labyrinths-of-troy/
Labyrinth *
Labyrinths, are one of the many mysteries of the ancient world, with the earliest examples apparently dating back around 4,000 years(t). In Egypt, around 1800 BC Pharaoh Amenemhet III was responsible for building what is reputed to have been the largest labyrinth at Hawara containing three thousand rooms according to Herodotus, who visited it in the 5th century BC. Herodotus’ description inspired Athanasius Kircher to draw a plan of the underground complex(u).
The Labyrinth along with the double-headed axe, the labyris, are usually associated with Minoan culture. However, the labyrinth is an ancient symbol found around the world in locations such as Italy(s), India(g), Egypt(h), England(q), Finland(r)and even in the New World as Evan Hadingham has shown an example [1309.261] at Pacatnamú in Peru. In Scandinavia, they are known as Troy Towns – Trojeborgar. Sweden has the greatest number with 200(e).
The largest example in Sweden was discovered at the Mesolithic site on Blå Jungfrun Island(j).
Tracy Boyd, in a lengthy paper(m) about Chartres Cathedral, mentions in footnote 27 that “Many of the labyrinths originally installed in cathedrals in France were later destroyed by the Church itself”!
Eberhard Zangger claimed that “most labyrinths are found around the Mediterranean” and “that at the end of the Bronze Age, the labyrinth was a recognised pattern around the eastern Mediterranean.” [484.136] He proceeds to link the labyrinth with Troy, which, in an earlier book [483] he had identified as Atlantis.
India’s second-largest example, measuring 56 feet by 56 feet, was partly uncovered in Gedimedu near Pollachi(i) in 2015. It is estimated to be 2,000 years old and has a design similar to those found on clay tablets found at Pylos, Greece, from 1200 BC.
Indian Labyrinth
Labyrinths were also incorporated into very many churches and cathedrals throughout Europe. Lucile Taylor Hansen gives some examples of mazes in the United States[572.276].
It has been suggested by a number of writers that the labyrinth had some connection with Atlantis(a)(b). Such suggestions are interesting but highly speculative. Lewis Spence does so in The History of Atlantis. J. D. Brady touches on this in his book, Atlantis[0738] where he announced that Atlantean gold treasure was to be found within a labyrinth on the Greek island of Lemnos.
What I find interesting is that so many widespread examples of the labyrinth retain the irregular elements of the symbol even when depicted in a rectangular rather than a rounded style. An extensive website covering all aspects of labyrinths and mazes is worth a visit(c). There is also The Labyrinth Society(f) to further whet your appetite.
In 2014 an article(o) by April Holloway described a collection of labyrinths that I consider the most mysterious of all. They are situated on Russia’s Solovetsky Islands (or Solovki), which “are an archipelago located in the Onega Bay of the White Sea, Russia. It is here where there can be found thirty-five Neolithic labyrinths, known as ‘vavilons’ (‘Babylons’) in the local dialect, which date back to around 3,000 BC. The most remarkable are the stone labyrinths of Bolshoi Zayatsky Island, a group of fourteen labyrinths in a 0.4km 2 area.” The Atlas Obscura website offers a number of images(p).
In 2017, an extensive article by John Reppion offers further information on the history and geographical spread of labyrinths(k). Similarly, Gary Vey offers an article with additional information and more images(l).
Some researchers have attempted to link the outline of the labyrinth with the concentric design of the harbour of Plato’s capital city. The harbour was described as a series of perfectly concentric circular features ‘as if created on a lathe’ (Critias 113d), whereas the labyrinth is more spiral with a slightly offset entrance. My conclusion regarding the labyrinth is; fascinating– yes, Atlantis – probably not.
The persistent use of this ancient symbol was highlighted by an aerial image, sent to me by Hank Harrison, of a Catholic school in California.
(a) MMM Group Home Page (archive.org)
(b) www.duepassinelmistero.com/Il%20mito%20di%20Atlantide.htm
(c) Labyrinthos Homepage (archive.org)
(e) https://www.mymaze.de/trojaburg_en.htm
(f) The Labyrinth Society: The Labyrinth Society: Sacred Geometry and Labyrinths (archive.org) *
(h) https://www.ancient-origins.net/ancient-places-africa/lost-labyrinth-ancient-egypt-part-1-002033
(k) https://dailygrail.com/Guest-Articles/2017/7/The-Labyrinths-Troy
(l) Labyrinth: walk on the wild side / Viewzone
(m) our lady of chartres (archive.org)
(o) https://www.ancient-origins.net/ancient-places-asia/ancient-stone-labyrinths-bolshoi-zayatsky-001573
(p) https://www.atlasobscura.com/places/bolshoi-zayatsky-island
(q) https://andrewgough.co.uk/articles_land/
(r) Labyrinths and Ritual in Scandinavia | BLADE HONER (wordpress.com)