The mysterious fountain in the Ebersberg Forest occupies the region.
Now, with the question of age, a crucial riddle has been solved.
Other questions are still open.
District
- The mysterious fountain in the Ebersberg forest is poorer by a secret: The scientists who examine the historical hole for its history were able to prove how old it is.
This information allows a number of other conclusions to be drawn as to who created the well and why.
The wooden fountain below the waterline, which is ten meters deep, has proven to be communicative.
"The stones give us no information," says Ebersberg historian and district home caretaker Thomas Warg.
But the oak beams on which the fountain wall made of unmortared river stones rests have allowed the building to be determined by C14 dating.
Fountain in the Ebersberg forest: C14 dating points to the 15th century
The radiocarbon method, also known as the radiocarbon method, is used to determine the proportion of a radioactive carbon isotope in the examined material.
Its degree of decay indicates its age.
In the case of the Ebersberg fountain, according to the archaeologist Bernhard Häck from the Bavarian State Office for the Preservation of Monuments, the laboratory determined that the fountain was created between 1441 and 1444 and used as a water source until it was covered and forgotten in the 1950s and 1960s.
"So the fountain was in use for over 600 years," Häck concludes.
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Riddles in the forest: district home caretaker Thomas Warg in a depression of unclear origin near the well.
© Peter Kees
For Warg district home nurse a cause for celebration and a small setback at the same time.
The hope that the fountain is a centuries-old archaeological treasure has now been confirmed.
Nevertheless, it is a little younger than initially thought: Warg's favorite theory was that it served as a kind of rest stop - for the salt carts coming from the south-east, which drove through the forest close to the discovery site before Munich was founded (1158).
And quite a few had still seen the ancient Romans at play, who had built a road through the area.
Mysterious hole deep in the forest near Ebersberg: Benedictine monks probably involved
Now Warg, who as a scientist knows that one can be wrong, says: "The fountain has more to do with the forest than we thought." He shows a historical map on which a line divides the Ebersberg forest in half from north to south severed.
To the west, the forest belonged to the Wittelsbach dukes at the time in question in the 15th century.
In the east, where the fountain is located, the Benedictine monks from the Ebersberg monastery were in charge.
Both had managers tasked with enforcing forest ordinances, such as hunting, logging, and grazing rights.
And that is the most plausible theory for local historian Warg: The monastery maintained a seat called “Waldhufe” for a sub-forester who was deployed in the forest for this purpose. With a groundwater well so that the man did not have to squat thirsty in the forest.
At that time, the now overgrown place was a clearing, says the historian.
And it was close to a former connecting route between Ebersberg and Sempt - today's state road 2080, which runs just a stone's throw away.
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High-tech in action: In 2020, a specialist company will explore the well for the first time with a camera probe.
© Stefan Rossmann
The exploration of the mysterious fountain in the Ebersberg Forest continues
The researchers consider it implausible that the age-significant fountain box would have been replaced over the centuries and that the fountain could actually be even older because of the construction.
Warg still sees some scope towards the 14th century in the carbon dating: He is now researching which Ebersberg abbot could have commissioned the well.
"History isn't like a crossword puzzle that you can solve and then you're done," he says.
More like a jigsaw puzzle where each piece helps to better understand the development of the region.
The dating of the wooden water pipe (“Dichel”) found in the well should provide further information.
And the archaeologist Häck, infected by the enthusiasm triggered by the find in Ebersberg, wants to look for further traces of that forester's seat from back then in the spring.
In the forest administration of today, they are already considering how the well can be made accessible as a tourist attraction in the future.
Possibly built over with a well house - and maybe even in a condition that you can draw water there again.
The news of the rediscovery of the centuries-old well in the Ebersberg Forest caused a national sensation in 2020.
Reactions came from all over Germany - despite delays in research caused by the pandemic, a tracking shot in depth made the find tangible for archeology enthusiasts.
In any case, the Ebersberg forest is surrounded by myths.
The horror story of the White Lady at the Hubertus Chapel has given visitors the creeps for many years.
You can read more news from the Ebersberg region here.
By the way: everything from the region is also available in our regular Ebersberg newsletter.
