The Knidos Labyrinth
The Discovery
© Brigitte van Baren
Only a few years ago a labyrinth inscription was
found on a block of black marble, which lies on the ground to
the West of the Corinthian temple at Knidos in
the Southwest of Turkey. The size of the labyrinth can be estimated
to measure about 21 cm. A small hole in the circular center
of the labyrinth indicates that it was constructed with the
help of an engraving tool. Except the circular center the labyrinth
has the seven paths of the classical type with the central
cross. Above the labyrinth is an inscription in Greek: KYRIE
BOETHIE (Lord help). The other carvings on the block, such
as the Christian cross, palm trees, fruits, the letters Alpha
and Omega allow to date the labyrinth to the 6th and
7th centuries AC.
Source material: Caerdroia
33 (July 2003), Jeff Saward
The Locality
Knidos in the Aegean Sea
Here some information from Wikipedia,
the Free Encyclopedia ... Link >
The Construction
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The walls
18.0 m x 17.8 m |
The path
237 m long |
Drawing |
Here the drawing as a PDF-file >
To make a walkable labyrinth of the type Knidos you
can construct it with 5 different centers and the central cross.
The center of the inner circle center is situated beside the entrance
axis. The curv radiuses are connected together without a sharp bend.
The diameter of the center is the same as the square built over
the 4 points.
The dimensions of the labyrinth and all the measures in the drawing
are scalable. If you want for instance to halve the width, you have
to halve all the other measures too. In other words: You have to
multiply all the measures by the factor 0.5.
To lay out the labyrinth with simple tools the diagonals and the
angular distances are stated. So you can locate the centers of the
circular arcs by measuring from two different points. By the same
way you can construct a right angle.
If you want to have the first way in pointing rightwards you must
mirror the drawing.
The Realisation
Here you can see some examples:
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Rosenbachpark Würzburg |
Schloss Honhardt |
Benediktushof |
The Carving
© Brigitte van Baren
There is also a classical labyrinth with
a larger circular center (from the 7th century) on
the way to the completely circular, Medieval labyrinth 300
- 500 years later.
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