摘要：****The labyrinth concept exists in multiple forms,and is attested as both artistic depiction and mythological motif in many ancient and modern cultures across parts of Europe,India,the south-western United States and South-America.1 Two distinct types of labyrinth symbol can also be identified in ancient Mesopotamia,the most common of which is a round,spiral-shaped design based on the appearance of animal intestines examined during *** practice of extispicy involved the solicitation of omens through the ritual slaughtering of animals,the entrails of which were then‘read’by scholars who specialised in divination.2 These‘spiral’labyrinths,inscribed on a series of clay tablets dated to the Kassite period,3 are here compared with labyrinth patterns from the ancient Mediterranean,and it is suggested that both types of design may have shared a common origin rooted in anatomical observation.