What is a Labyrinth?

A maze, a prison, a sacred precinct, a place of peace... the labyrinth is an enigma and a riddle, one that has puzzled historians for centuries. Where did it come from, how was it used? Why
is it making a comeback?

Source http://www.truia.net/Labyrinths.html

Excerpt from the Book "Labyrinths"

Since the last decades of the 20th Century, an ancient mystery has been reappearing in our midst. The strange and sinuously beautiful labyrinth­­born some time in the Bronze Age and still going strong­­has been emerging once again across the landscape of the industrialized world, reasserting itself as one of the preeminent symbols and playthings of the human imagination. Across Europe and the Americas, Australia and New Zealand, it has been appearing, in new and creative forms, in public squares, parks and churches, prisons, hospitals, retreat centers and wilderness areas, in private gardens, schools and even alongside freeways.......

The labyrinth's re-emergence poses many interesting questions about who we are and where we are going. History shows that it crops up in times of change and breakdown in traditional social and religious structures. Over and over again, it appears as a device for protection and guidance in times of difficulty and struggle. Today, in awakening us to our deeper humanity, our "hearts", it has the possibility­­so some people think anyway­­of becoming a tool for peace which can encourage tolerance and understanding, important functions in a crowded, busy world. (Ibid - Labyrinths)