Well Construction in the Middle Ages & How Groundwater Was Found [Medieval Professions: Well Sinker]

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00:00 Introduction
00:31 Well Sinker
00:45 Well Wright
00:58 Well Master
01:10 The Importance of Wells
02:04 Deep Wells
02:40 Well Construction
04:01 Preventing Suffocation
05:16 Huge Staired Well
05:59 How Wells Developed
07:19 Wells in Ancient Greece
08:22 Wells in Ancient Rome
08:57 Deciding Where to Dig a Well
10:46 Water Witching / Dowsing Rods
Music by Vindsvept (Lake of Light)
/ vindsvept
CC BY 4.0 License: creativecommons.org/licenses/...

[@McHaven07]

Yo, that fire vacuum trick, if true, is really awesome! And I have to say, for all my fascination with trivia and tidbits about the world, I've never looked into the water table and exactly how it works. I'll definitely pay more attention from now on. Great video, as always, my man!

[@dsloop3907]

fire vacuum was used to "cool" homes in the deep south. The very top part of the house was a large dome which had a vent at the top, with a ring of gas jets around the id. The heat from the gas fires exiting the vent would cause air to be drawn thru the house.

[@BltchErica]

In the countryside in Romania they still use wells. The water is always so pure and refreshing.

[@JS-jh4cy]

Until the cows piss on the grass beside the well in a rain storm

[@Luckingsworth]

Every country in the world still uses wells in the countryside. So annoying when irrelevant countries think they are special or different.

[@abc-ze2es]

@@Luckingsworth Rude for no reason man

[@dubuyajay9964]

Hello.

[@Mojo_3.14]

Most of the wells in New England are now covered and converted to pump wells, but the well water is still a main source of water for thousands of homes. You can tell the older homes because the stone wells are still there in the front or side yard, just with a cover on top. Newer homes still have a well dug but it links directly to an electric pump and water pressure tank (usually in the basement)

[@YoutubeUser-hg4wf]

My great great grandfather told a story several times about his dad digging a well in the early 1900s all the ladies in the family took their fans and fanned air into the well hole so they guys taking turns digging didn't suffocate I don't know how deep they had to go or anything but it worked

[@GallowglassAxe]

Another amazing video. You don't think about this but when brought o light making a well with medieval tools is an engineering feat. I look forward to the Artesian well because my family has history of that. If you want some photos of overflow pipes and such I think I can get you some if the neighbors didn't plug it up. As for dousing I have a couple of personal antidotal references. My grandfather use to do it and what he told me was that you need to use a freshly cut Y shape branch. He says that the branch is naturally attracted to water and when it is over a water source it pulls it down. I was never able to do it this way. Then a couple of years ago I worked with a guy name Joe in a machine shop. He had a pair of the angle metal rods he made. He set a glass of water on the ground told me to hold the rods out shoulder width pointing straight with a loose grip so it can swing in my hand. When I brought the rods over the glass of water they turn towards each other and pointed to the glass. I checked to see if they were magnetic and they were not. Not sure if it was some magic trick he pulled on me or what it was rather strange. He didn't explain to me how it worked or what type of metal he used (they looked and felt like steel to me).

[@KobeanHistory]

Thanks! I've got some pictures of flowing artesian wells but if you'd like to send some, you can send them through discord (the link to the server is in the description) and I'll use them in the video or if email is easier: [e-mail]

[@GallowglassAxe]

@@KobeanHistory I will try to get it it too you when I get to see my parents either this weekend or the next. Where I live now is in the mountains and artesian "spring" water is sold at a premium here. lol

[@shabadooshabadoo4918]

I'm a little late perhaps with this reply, but yes it is a magic trick. The way it works is the same as a lot of other magic tricks, but with dousing basically you hold the sticks in such a way that they magnify any subconcious movement in your muscles. So when your eyes see that you are holding the sticks over water your brain starts thinking "will they cross" which very slightly moves your muscles an amount you cant perceive but its enough that the sticks will fall out of balance and cross. If you do a blind test with like 10 different cups and have someone fill one with water you will see that the dousing rods are exactly as bad at guessing which one has water as you are without them.

[@bootlegger8818]

I looked for this on purpose because I'm moving to an island in the Caribbean. This is exactly what I was looking for. Thank you for the video 👍

[@priestesslucy3299]

This type of well takes so much manpower. But if you have it (big family or big pockets) it's really cool

[@skaterdude10001]

A topic that has always fascinated me, yet there seems to be so little information online about it. Perhaps one would be able to do more extensive research in old European libraries. The oxygen supply is quite fascinating and Ive never heard about it. One point I think you misunderstood about the construction of wells, was that the bricks were laid as the well was still being dug.You would lay the first layer when you were perhaps only a few feet down and that layer of bricks would sink with you. Usually there was wooden support layers every couple of feet. Well sinkers would often encounter large rocks or perhaps a layer of bedrock, often wells would be abandoned but explosives were often employed. And well sinkers (of ordinary brick lined village wells) would often employ a young assistant that would haul the excavated dirt and lay the brick layers as mentioned above. Great video.

[@priestesslucy3299]

How do the bricks sink without falling apart?

[@nevisysbryd7450]

@@priestesslucy3299 I stumble across you in so many places

[@priestesslucy3299]

@@nevisysbryd7450 so many? I'm mostly only in Weeb and Natural Building/Permaculture and DnD type spaces

[@nevisysbryd7450]

@@priestesslucy3299 I suppose I end up overlapping with the building by virtue of historical videos. Straight up overlap in ttrpg and weeb stuff, though.

[@JCOwens-zq6fd]

I grew up on well water my whole life & we ALWAYS used a bent copper rod loosely held in each hand to find out where to dig.

[@SC-nd9gt]

I'm doing research for a novel I'm writing and was having trouble finding research on this topic. Thank you, this was great!

[@KobeanHistory]

Thanks! Glad it was helpful :)

[@Quercus_Maximus]

This youtube video may be helpful. kzbin.info/www/bejne/lZSbm6mfrbZ6prM

[@samanthamcdonagh7856]

I’ve just discovered an 80 ft deep 4 ft wide well whilst digging my garden. I have contacted an archaeologist and I’m waiting for him to get back to me. Feels very creepy to have such a deep well in my garden.

[@marshalvladimir8859]

Very interesting. Any update??

[@samanthamcdonagh7856]

@@marshalvladimir8859 we had to close it up , it was only a very small part that had been exposed, not a danger. I rent my house so wasn’t able to really do much but the site has been submitted to archives so that’s it really. There seems to be many in my area as well.

[@visibletoallusersonyoutube5928]

@@samanthamcdonagh7856 by closed up do you mean filled?

[@samanthamcdonagh7856]

@@visibletoallusersonyoutube5928 No, just the cap stone secured.

[@sophiejones3554]

@@samanthamcdonagh7856 good. That means they will probably come back sometime or another. It would be good to talk to your town about your deed to make sure the archaeologists will have permission to come back and look at the well if you sell the house. You might need an exception on your deed to make sure that can happen, depending on what your local laws are like.

[@ultrasuperkiller]

Absolutely love this series! thank you for making it!

[@opalfenwick3953]

Hello! I absolutely LOVED your video on medieval wells! I'm studying them for a short story I have in progress. Could you tell me any more about the duties of a medieval well master? Thank you so much for this video.

[@AlkDarksniper]

Underrated channel man, you're content is amazing!

[@KobeanHistory]

Thanks!

[@akuno_]

Amazing video, thank you!

[@Khether0001]

Your channel is absolutely amazing!!! =)

[@compostlipstick]

Really cool educational videos, thanks!

[@hurgle3197]

Absolutely great video! I had no idea how wells worked lol

[@richardcook555]

You are very good at what you do. Have you considered doing videos on brewing and the sort of related......urine trade?

[@KobeanHistory]

Thanks! I will make a video on brewing at some point but haven't planned it for anytime soon, I did make some videos about brewing when I went to Bruges a few years ago. I'll link the beer museum one here: kzbin.info/www/bejne/iKnUlKlpmLSgmdU I also just realised I have a video from Bruges where we visit a brewery that I forgot to upload so I might upload that soon as well although it was recorded 4 years ago haha And the closest video I have on urine is the pissprophet, I'll link that here as well: kzbin.info/www/bejne/gn_SpayYZ7CNf7s

[@catwrangler7907]

Thanks well documented

[@kinslowrainer3982]

I'm pretty sure that fire method is what mines used to get fresh air down to the miners as well.

[@CalebSteele]

Very good video.

[@lancasterjim2441]

Dowsing really works. I watched my uncle locate a sewer pipe then he let me try it in another location with the brass rods and it worked spot on I couldn’t believe it found the pipe 4’ deep .

[@operator6471]

very interesting.

[@smithwesson1700]

can anyone tell me what's the word he used 3:35 "well diggers had to keep in mind how close they were digging to any ___" i keep on hearing "sus pit" and the auto CC says "suspect".

[@KobeanHistory]

Cesspit

[@Clepsyd_]

Not sure if you still care after a year, it's "cesspit". You definitely don't want _those_ fluids in your drinking water...😅

[@Plentisaki]

Very interesting! With regard to maintaining fresh air down a deep well shaft as it was being dug, do you think it possible that a bellows system may have been used? Certainly, bellows were used by blacksmiths, so maybe they were utilised to help well diggers.

[@KobeanHistory]

Thanks! We don’t have any accounts (that I could find) about it but that could definitely have been a possibility and that would make sense.

[@Plentisaki]

@@KobeanHistory Cheers for the reply. Believe it or not I work at a castle that has a well that was dug by hand in the 12th century to a depth of 400' (130m) and it would be great to find out how it was supplied with air as it was being dug. 👍

[@dubuyajay9964]

Scroll up. Someone wrote a family account from the early 1900's about this.

[@hunterrobinson-1395]

I know this method for drawing air in was definitely used by natives and aboriginals as a means for cooking. Different purpose but exact same concept.

[@TaiNguyen-wu4lq]

Trying to connect this method to oak island mystery on how they could’ve possibly build the well first before the treasured were buried

[@ryanbeard1119]

Feel so spoied ,since the smallest well you can have today can produce more water that if lines of people were drawing froma si gle bucket puller all day.

[@cupwalker24.7]

Who wants to see how we do it today .... And how much hard manual slave labor it takes to drill a well .

[@crossie10]

When I was a young apprentice my boss asked me to take the top course of bricks off an old well that had been demolished to ground level, of course you never stop taking off the top course as the bricks are laid in a spiral. When constructing Wells the bricks were added at the top and the ground dug out around the perimeter, so the brick lining dropped as you dug. Also you could turn the plans upside down and build a chimney!!!

[@lord.joseenriquemaysonetma9800]

Hola buenos tarde yo quiero ejercer él títulos de Nobleza qué es Caballero o Lord en su país y en el mío gracias por su atención saludos cordiales feliz tarde para todos ustedes.

[@randomtraveler2440]

well well well

[@youtubeaccount6539]

My uncle swears that he found his well through water witching

[@brentvenckeleer729]

Westeroscraft!

[@sandravalani359]

Excellent Presentation...I absolutely lovVed youR beatiful video with well done vital hiStorical information!😍GettinG wateR should neVer become a "loSt aRt"!👍Happppi SpRinG fellow appreciatoR oF taSty clean wateR!✌😀🙏😇🌹🌞🌹☕🍵☕

[@leoscheibelhut940]

Dowsing for water definitely works, I have done it myself to successfully find breaks in underground waterlines. I'm no expert though. Some people are super good at it and others are incapable of learning it. There is abundant evidence that some people many people can use dowsing to find water and that some can find water at great depth. There still is no adequate scientific explanation for how it works though.

[@terancegault2558]

Good stuff good to know Onel0Ve always 1A¿A1 Onel0Ve