Archaeological news about the Archaeology of Later Medieval Europe from the Archaeology in Europe web site

Monday 7 November 2016

'Cursed' Medieval Well Found in England


The well was once believed to wash away sins; then it became the site of a curse.


A Medieval well that was once believed to wash away sins, while healing eye and skin diseases has been recovered in England. Legend has it that the well was also cursed and records indicate a strange death occurred there.

St. Anne's Well was found on the lands of a private farm on the border between the townships of Rainhill and Sutton St Helens, near Liverpool, UK.

According to Historic England Heritage, which commissioned the excavation, "the well had become completely filled with earth due to ploughing."

"When we first got to the well we found that there was very little indication of it on the surface, but after excavation it was found to be in reasonable condition," Jamie Quartermaine, an archaeologist who supervised the dig, told Discovery News.


The well was built of local sandstone blocks and consisted of a shallow square basin with two steps leading down into the bottom.

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