The belief that the walls of Troy were built in the form of a labyrinth has associated its name with an ancient ornamental and constructive motif.
Although nothing in the archaeological record supports it, since ancient times the legend spread that the walls of Troy were built in the form of a complex defensive labyrinth, so that any enemy who entered the interior would be unable to find the exit.
This relationship has been traced in some pieces found in Etruscan sites in Italy, such as the 7th century BC vase. found in Tragliatella showing a labyrinth next to the word Trvia and that is probably the origin of the association of the term. Also on Greek coins, and one has even been found painted on a wall in Pompeii.
The most plausible theory is that its origin refers to the Cretan labyrinth of the minotaur, for some reason confused with the Trojan city. The fact is that it is currently called City of Troy to this type of representations.
Similar motifs appear on a Mycenaean clay tablet written in Linear B found at Pylos, dating to 1200 BC. But also in petroglyphs from the Bronze Age in Spain, in rock carvings from the Iron Age in North Africa, and places as far away as India, Sumatra and Java.
The motif also appears in the form of megalithic labyrinths found mainly in coastal areas and islands of Scandinavia and Russia. There are about 300 in Sweden, 200 in Finland, 60 in Russia, 20 in Norway, and even a few examples in Estonia and Germany. The researchers believe that the motif arose independently in various cultures, and even compare it with some of the Peruvian Nazca culture.
These European megalithic labyrinths usually have a diameter of between 5 and 25 meters, and are formed with relatively small stones, between 30 and 40 centimeters in diameter, arranged in spiral curves, sometimes double. The entrance and exit of the labyrinth is done through the same place, normally facing south or southwest.
Its function and exact dating are still unknown, estimating the origin of the oldest around the year 3000 BC , and the most modern in medieval times. Several hypotheses have been proposed that relate them to games and ritual dances, superstitions of fishing villages, as stone traps to trap spirits inside. that caused storms, and even as a symbol of the passage to the afterlife.
Those that exist in the Russian archipelago of the Solovetsky Islands in the White Sea stand out for their degree of conservation, being here also the largest of all known. Most of them, about 14, are located on the western end of the small Bolshoi Zayatsky island. which is only 1.25 square kilometers in area.
Next to them there are many burial mounds and other megalithic structures, without their exact relationship being known or whether they were created by the same people. The entire complex has been listed as a World Heritage Site since 1992.
