The Maze Symbol in Negev Rock Art: Map of the Underworld

The maze represent the underworld with its convoluted passage

The maze motif in Negev Desert rock art is not a decorative pattern. It appears consistently at the lowest part of the image, carved at the bottom of the rock surface. Its closed and winding form represents the confined realm of the underworld — the place through which the soul must pass before returning to life.

In many Negev panels, the elements are arranged vertically. What is placed at the bottom relates to the underworld; what appears in the middle relates to the earthly realm; and what stands above belongs to the sky or the sun. The maze consistently occupies this lowest position.

Its meaning does not come from myth alone, but from its position within the image. Above the maze appear birds, human figures, or solar disks — all marking movement upward. The entire scene therefore records a sequence: descent, passage, emergence, and renewal.

The terms maze and labyrinth are often used interchangeably, but they are not identical. A labyrinth traditionally has a single winding path leading to the center and back out again. A maze, by contrast, contains multiple paths and dead ends. The Negev engravings resemble mazes in form, yet function symbolically like labyrinths: they depict a single necessary journey through a confined realm. For clarity, the term “maze” is used here to describe the carved motif.

In each figure below, selected elements are marked with numbers for clarity. The numbering is local to each image and serves only to identify the elements discussed in that specific panel. Each rock art composition forms a complete symbolic world of its own.

The Maze as Underworld

In Fig.1, the maze (1) is carved at the bottom of the panel. Above it stands the tri-fingered bird (2), and above that appears the sun (3). This vertical order is deliberate. The image guides the eye upward, from the enclosed underworld, through transition, toward renewal.

The maze marks the beginning of the journey. The bird marks transition. The sun marks rebirth.

The Maze and the Reborn Soul

In Fig.2, the maze begins at the lowest edge of the rock face and rises upward through a tightly convoluted passage. Embedded within this winding structure are large, pronounced eyes — a powerful and unsettling element. These eyes are not decorative; they confront the viewer directly, creating a sense of vigilance and fear. They appear to guard the threshold of the underworld, projecting alarm toward anyone who enters the confined realm. The maze is therefore not merely a path, but a psychological ordeal — a domain of danger through which the soul must pass before ascent becomes possible.

The large bird retrieves the soul once the confined passage is completed. The small anthropomorphic figure (1 in this panel) represents the renewed state of existence. The journey encoded here is sequential and structured: descent, ordeal, emergence, rebirth.

The maze is therefore not symbolic in isolation. It functions as the lower phase within a cosmological system mapping movement between realms.

The Maze and the Solar Cycle

In Fig.3, the maze (3) is integrated into a solar narrative. The circular disk represents the sun (2) emerging from the underworld. After traversing the confined labyrinthine space below, the sun resumes its celestial journey in a wheeled wagon (1).

Here the cosmological system becomes explicit: the human journey after death mirrors the nightly descent and rebirth of the sun. The maze operates as the structural bridge between cosmic cycle and human destiny.

Comparative Structural Parallels

The association between labyrinth and underworld is also documented in other ancient cultures. Herodotus described the Egyptian labyrinth at Hawara (12th Dynasty, 19th century BCE) as a vast mortuary complex reflecting ordered confinement. In Greek tradition, the labyrinth of Daedalus embodied enclosure, ordeal, and transformation.

These parallels are not cited as sources of influence. Rather, they demonstrate that across cultures the labyrinth functions as a spatial metaphor for transition between realms — a structural logic comparable to that observed in Negev rock art.

The maze in Negev rock art marks the lowest part of the cosmological scene — the underworld through which both the soul and the sun must pass. Its meaning becomes clear when read together with the figures placed above it.

These panels are not random collections of symbols. They are structured images arranged from bottom to top. The maze always appears at the beginning of the journey — before ascent, light, and renewal.

The image must therefore be read as a sequence of movement between realms.

Conclusion

The maze in Negev rock art is not an isolated motif, nor a decorative abstraction. It functions as the structured lower register of a mapped cosmological system. Its placement at the base of the composition marks the realm of confinement, ordeal, and transformation.

When read together with the figures positioned above it — birds, solar disks, or anthropomorphic forms — the image reveals a coherent sequence: descent into the underworld, guarded passage through a confined domain, and emergence toward renewal.

The maze therefore encodes movement between worlds. It records not a story in words, but a spatial diagram of transition — linking human destiny with the nightly journey of the sun.

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Yehuda Rotblum