page_title: Troy Town
section_title: Historic "Troy" turf mazes in England
hierarchical_section_title: Troy Town / Historic "Troy" turf mazes in England
context_page_description: Many turf mazes in England were named Troy Town, Troy-town or variations on that theme presumably because, in popular legend, the walls of the city of Troy were constructed in such a confusing and complex way that any enemy who entered them would be unable to find his way out. Welsh hilltop turf mazes were called "Caerdroia", which can be translated as "City of Troy".
  W. H. Matthews, in his Mazes and Labyrinths, gives the name as "Troy-town". More recent writers prefer "Troy Town".
  The name "Troy" has been associated with labyrinths from ancient times. An Etruscan terracotta wine-jar from Tragliatella, Italy, shows a seven-ring labyrinth marked with the word TRUIA. To its left, two armed soldiers appear to be riding out of the labyrinth on horseback, while on the right two couples are shown copulating. The vase dates from about 630 BC. The ancient Roman equestrian event known as the "Troy Game", which involved riding in maze-like patterns, has sometimes been linked to this vase.
context_section_description: Of the eight surviving historic turf mazes in England, three have "Troy" names. "The City of Troy" is a small but well-maintained roadside maze near the small villages of Dalby, Brandsby, and Skewsby, not far from Sheriff Hutton in the Howardian Hills of North Yorkshire. "Troy", a beautiful maze in a private garden at Troy Farm, Somerton, Oxfordshire is rather larger, and "Troy Town" maze on St Agnes, the Isles of Scilly, is a small maze of turf and small stones and is reputed to have been laid down in 1729 by the son of a local lighthouse keeper. All three follow the classical labyrinth pattern (as found on coins from ancient Knossos) rather than the medieval variation. It is not known when the first two of these turf mazes were originally constructed, however, the turf was re-cut at Dalby in 1900 due to road damage.
caption: A seven-ring Classical labyrinth. The "Troy" mazes at Dalby and Somerton are based on this ancient design.
exif: {}