Mysterious hole in the forest: Wooden beams are supposed to reveal a secret

Created: 06/07/2022, 15:14

By: Robert Langer

Volunteers: Sarah Arnold from the Kreisbildungswerk, who is a trained archaeologist, and Helmut Stalla from the Förderwerk of the Forest Museum examine material that has been extracted from the well on Wednesday.

© Langer

Experts hope that the new analysis will provide further insights into the age of the mysterious fountain in the forest.

Ebersberg – It is now clear: the mysterious fountain in the Ebersberg forest is about twelve meters deep.

So far, neither hidden jewels nor any sunk weapons from the two world wars have been found.

Cave archaeologist and excavation manager Bernhard Häck (State Office for the Preservation of Monuments) assumes that the well, around which many myths have grown (we reported), could date from the late Middle Ages or the early modern period, possibly around the year 1500. Then according to Häck indicates the construction.

The archaeologist had to abseil down the shaft several times, always extensively secured.

Any remaining water should be pumped out

A find at the bottom of the well could provide more information.

There, stones and, above all, very well-preserved heavy oak beams were used as the lowest level.

A sample of the wood could make dating possible.

But getting a piece of a beam as a kind of drill core proved difficult on Wednesday.

Another task for the volunteer fire brigade in Ebersberg was technically demanding.

The helpers should pump out the remaining water in the well.

It was about a layer about 80 centimeters high, i.e. about one cubic meter.

The fire brigade is equipped with equipment that is used, among other things, to pump out basements in the event of a flood.

But it is usually about a delivery height of possibly five meters.

In the case of the well in the forest, it was twice as high.

The solution was finally the use of a pump from the water management office.

Shards and bones found

On Wednesday, a layer of mud about half a meter thick was then removed from the depths of the well with buckets.

The material was rinsed with water, separated with sieves and examined in detail.

Among other things, smaller bones and shards were found.

The investigations are still ongoing.

The same also applies to water samples taken from the well.

And it is also clear that after pumping out, no more water actually pressed in.

The material found and the findings obtained are now being further evaluated.

It remains open whether the many questions about the well can then be clarified with the results;

among other things, to consider what purpose the plant in the middle of the forest, far away from all settlements, served at all.

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