Page - 219 - in The Power of Urban Water - Studies in premodern urbanism

13 Medieval andPost-MedievalUrbanWaterSupply andSanitation 219 Fig. 5:Göttingen, theKlotzbrunnen inHetjershausen showsawellwith stoneenclosure anda longwooden lever to lift the bucketwithwater. systemof runnerandguides). Itwasconstructedonawooden frameof 1.13medge length.The well exists todayand still reaches thegroundwater at 6.30munder the surface. Otherwellswere constructedabove round frames, forwhichout-of-usewheels couldbe re- used sometimes (e.g. Groner Tor Straße 1428). The largest excavatedwell inGöttingen showed a diameter of 1.60m (Prinzenstraße829). The stones againwere chiselled round on the inside and it was infilled in the 17th century, as finds indicate. In Papendiek street, a groundwater well hadan inlet of awaterpipeline in theupperpart of the lining.Ahistorical etchingof 1765 showsapublicwell at this place.30 InGöttingen, inmorethan30yearsofarchaeological investigation,noexampleofawooden wellhasbeen found, so it seems likely there isnone.Limestonewas themainbuildingmaterial for everythingandcouldbe foundeasily in the surroundings.Wood,whichwasneeded for the wooden, timber-framedhouses,waspotentially too expensive. What did the wells look like? Unfortunately, the upper part, the part of the wells above ground, is alwaysmissing. The Sachsenspiegel, amedieval book of laws, requireswells to be built knee-high above the ground, in order to prevent people falling in. If somebody died (be- cause he fell in), a penalty is due. The illustrated edition of the Oldenburger Sachsenspiegel from 1336 showsawellwith a beamnext to it to lift the bucketswithwater.31 In the village of Hetjershausen,nowpart of the townofGöttingen,anexampleof this typeofwoodenconstruc- tion still exists (Fig. 5). Another possible construction is a drawwellwith awindlass,where the buckets could be pulled upwardswith a chain or a rope. A decorated fragment of a plate of ‘Werraware’ in the collectionsof theStadtarchäologie showsoneof these,with apitched roof above it32 (Fig.6). 28 FStNr.48/07;Arndt 2007, 269–271. 29 FStNr. 17/08;Arndt 1998b, 198. 30 Papendiek 14, FStNr. no.49/06;Arndt 2004c, 155–157. 31 Sachsenspiegel digital: urn:nbn:de:gbv:45:1–3571; <https://digital.lb-oldenburg.de/ihd/content/pageview/192532> (29.07.2019). 32 Göttingen,Weender Straße 11, FStNr. no. 17/02, Inv. no. 2908 (late 16th/early 17th century).