The famous
labyrinth near Kandalakshi in Kola Peninsula in Russia is a source of
mystery to researchers. Diverse theories have been mooted that range from
ritualistic purpose to navigational guide to seafarers, owing to the fact that similar
labyrinths are found in the coastal region around the peninsula. The location
is far north, lying inside the Arctic Circle.
The labyrinth that is dated at 2000 BCE is shown below.
Mysterious stone labyrinths on the Kola Peninsula. Source: Lori/Legoion-Media
The surprise element is that this looks similar to the
Chakra Vyuha – the circular formation of military array employed by the
Kauravas in the Mahabharata war in which Abhimanyu, the son of Arjuna was
trapped and killed.
Though no one have an idea of how this formation looked
like, I happened to see this formation in the walls of Halebid temple and am
producing it here from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Halebid2.JPG
.
The utility of this formation seems to work in two days. One
can be kept safe in the middle from an attacker who would find it difficult to
reach him though he could see him. The attacker, if not aware of the route runs
the danger of getting trapped. That was how Abhimanyu was trapped.
The similar design of the labyrinth in Kola Peninsula makes me
think that it could have been used to trap animals. Once an animal enters the labyrinth, it may
be going round and round through the passages and may not know how to come out
of it.
The date of the labyrinth in Kandalaksha coincided with the
presence of the Sami
people, known for hunting and reindeer herding. They might have used these
labyrinths to trap the animals or keeping them from escape. But from where they
got the exact replica of this design?
Its here I find this labyrinth as an additional evidence for
Sami people’s connection with India in a remote past. They share lot of cultural similarities with Indians,
particularly the Tamil people, which can be read in my
blog on Sami and Estonia connection with Tamils .
Wherever the Tamil presence is noticed in the past, there similar
labyrinths are found. The tablet with the motif of the labyrinth shown below was
recovered from the site of the Mycenaean palace supposed to have been destroyed
in a fire in 1200 BCE. Though rectangular, the concept is the same.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:NAMA_Tablette_1287.jpg
Similar rectangular labyrinth is found engraved in a silver
coin found in Knossos, where Minotaur was housed. Its period was 400 BCE. It is
shown below.
The myth of the Minotaur who was housed at
the centre of this labyrinth might give further clues on the utility of the
labyrinth at Kandalaksha. Either a tough animal was kept trapped there or some precious
animal was kept safe from the predators.
Much older than these from the Minoan and Sami society, were
the seals of Lothal that also exhibit similar but simple patterns of labyrinth.
The early Harappan (Lothal) coinciding with the Mahabharata
time (3136 BCE) we find the Chakra Vyuha of Mahabharata the oldest of all the
available designs of the labyrinths. From Mahabharata, we are able to further
connect it with the design of the chamber of the Soma drinker. The Soma drinker
was expected to confine himself within a chamber. Though the chamber does not
look like a labyrinth, one has to go around and round to reach the middle chamber whose purpose
was to keep the person (soma drinker) away from outside world and particularly
away from sunlight! A reconstruction of such a model chamber has been attempted
by scholars based on Susruta samhita.
Source article : The Soma Drinker of Ancient India - Kamla-Raj Enterprises
Similar purpose of keeping the Minotaur is found in the Mycenaean
labyrinth. The Kandalaksha labyrinth also could have been used for a similar
purpose of keeping their herd in safe custody.
Related
articles from my blog:
Tamil
connection to Sami people
*****
From
https://www.look4ward.co.uk/archeology/baffling-puzzle-prehistoric-russia-s-labyrinths/
The Baffling Puzzle Of Prehistoric Russia’s Labyrinths
June 26, 2017
In early October 2014 the Kosmopoisk research expedition on
the Kola Peninsula in northwest Russia, an area with five stone labyrinths,
came to an end. Some of these archeological monuments date back to 2,000 B.C.,
meaning that they are older than the Egyptian pyramids. Traditional science links
the labyrinths to northern peoples’ religious outlooks. However, one of
Russia’s most well-known researchers of anomalous phenomena, Vadim Chernobrov,
the director of Kosmopoisk, is convinced that the stone patterns served as
landmarks for ancient mariners.
Where do these circles come from?
The most famous labyrinth above Russia’s polar circle can be
reached by foot from the little town of Kandalakshi in the southern part of the
Kola Peninsula, about 800 miles from Moscow. The path goes through a pine
forest, with volunteers from a local ecological organization putting up signs
so tourists do not get lost.
The ancient builders chose a perfectly round peninsula for
the labyrinths. The stone roads are now almost completely covered with grass
and moss. There is a plaque declaring that the archeological monument dates
back to 2,000 B.C., the only reminder of the site’s place in antiquity.
These types of labyrinths, or Babylons, as scientists call
them, are also found on the coasts of the White Sea and the Barents Sea, in
Scandinavian countries and on the British islands. It is still not clear why
they were built and scientists are divided on the issue. Some think that the
labyrinths were used in shamanistic rituals, while others are convinced of
Babylons’ utilitarian nature: they could have been traps for fish or orientation
points for seafarers.
“The sailors had to place marks on safe plots of land,” says
Chernobrov. “And it was even more important to indicate the place where they
could push out from the coast towards the open sea. In antiquity, fearing
storms, mariners tried to navigate along the coast, but in many places it made
sense to shorten the route through straits, gulfs and the open sea. The
labyrinths were points of a guiding thread, leading the navigators along the
coast.
In order to prove their theory, members of the expedition
used geometric constructions that determine how far the labyrinths could be
seen from the sea. Chernobrov believes that the labyrinths were intentionally
given a round form so that the pattern could be seen at a distance of several
miles independently of the sun’s position during the entire polar day.
During the expedition researchers frequently noticed that
the labyrinth is never found in the shade of cliffs or trees and that the
sunlight always makes it stand out if observed against a gloomy landscape. It
is even noticeable when covered with moss and lichen. Even in the winter, when
covered by a thick layer of snow, the pattern can be seen clearly.
Kosmopoisk’s version of events is not considered mainstream
in scientific circles. Most scientists believe that the Babylons were used by
ancient peoples for religious rituals, such as when appealing to deities for an
abundance of fish. The round patterns could have been guides into the kingdom
of the dead or for detaining the soul of a deceased person so that it could not
enter the world of the living.
Scientists say that the version about the labyrinths being
beacons is not scientific. “Can an exponent of this theory name at least one
historical reference in which a real mariner reported how the labyrinth helped
him orient towards land?” asks Konstantin Kotkin, researcher at the Murmansk
Region Local History Museum. “Most likely not. I am not familiar with these
sources. And science is supported precisely by this type of information.”
There is another version in the documents describing the
labyrinths. Since the Babylons were built next to the sea in places abundant
with fish, they could have been used as traps. The fish could have been brought
into the confused patterns with the flow of the tide and then might not have
been able to find their way back as the water ebbed. However, this theory also
has not received much recognition.
According to Kotkin, in order for ancient people to feed
themselves in this manner, it would have been necessary to build an enormous
number of labyrinths with one at each location where fishermen threw out their
nets, which is difficult to imagine.
Another debatable question is the date of the labyrinths.
Scientists in the middle of the 20th century estimated them to be 4,000 years
old. Contemporary researchers, however, say that the stone patterns are much
younger. They determine their age by the height of the lichen growing inside
the labyrinths. Unfortunately, no one has any concrete proof.
“Science is incapable of unequivocally solving the problem of the age or the purpose of the labyrinths,” says Kotkin. “The monuments don’t tell us anything about themselves and it is very difficult to prove any of the theories. Therefore any one of them is as good as the other. It is important that the theories are supported by real facts. However, all in all, without a doubt the labyrinths are valuable archeological findings that demonstrate the uniqueness of the Russian North.”
2 comments:
Labyrinth Indus Script hieroglyph of Lothal signifies meḍhā 'tangle, labyrinth' rebus मेधा medhā 'yajna, dhanam, riches'
https://tinyurl.com/ycof2qg5
Thanks Dr. Kalyanaraman ji.
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