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A-Mazing.

There is a basic maze found throughout many parts of Europe consisting of seven interlocking concentric band with a straight exit line running from the center to the base of the pattern. The ancient maze was the center of folk festivities, games and rituals. The maze has been found in England, Ireland, Germany, Italy, Sweden, Wales, Scotland, Russia and Norway. Similar designs have been found in Denmark, Spain, India and South Africa. Some patterns have been cut into the ground (aka turf mazes) and others built from stones laid into the ground. For reasons unknown they are known as Troytowns thought to have been derived obviously from the word ‘Troy’.

Mazes in general have a lot of symbolism. They have been with us since prehistoric times. To the ancients, it was a symbol of the netherworld where ordinary mortals could be trapped within and die. Only the initiated could find their way out and thus conquer death. Some believe that the maze pattern may have been a map of the underworld, its symbolism revealing a return to the center – a return to the self no matter how difficult.

In pre-Christian times, the maze spiral is thought to have represented resurrection, in ancient Greece, human mortality and similar maze-like spirals in ancient Egypt, revitalization.

In contemporary times it is popular to ‘walk a maze’.  Participants often report experiencing heightened awareness when they could not find their way out of the maze. To the ancients there was a religious connection, the pattern constituting protection for the churches, temples and tombs upon which they were carved.

So why the name Troytown? There is actually no connection to the infamous Homeric city. For all intent and purpose the name association has been left to linguists who have related it to Indo-European language meaning “to turn.”

Are you A-Mazed?

For general info -

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Troy_Town

https://culturedecanted.com/2014/07/31/the-psychology-of-the-maze-as-a-modern-symbol/

My info rehash resource - The Unexplained, Vol. 14 pgs. 1642-1645