The water well and the well sinker

In traditional perceptions, the water well was seen primarily as a source of drinking water, a source of life-giving water for humans and animals in the household. The word fântână is of Latin origin, with its root word fons (pl. fontis), meaning spring, origin, beginning. The technical construction of the well consisted of a series of components and stages to be carried out by the well sinker, assisted by the villagers involved in the activity. The well sinker is the person who digs, builds, repairs and cleans the well. In medieval Moldova there were no guilds of well workers, but the profession was practiced by peasants in the villages and by foreign craftsmen invited to the royal court. According to popular tradition, the fountain sinker had to observe a series of strict rules of personal hygiene, renounce intimate relations for the duration of the construction, be pious, not quarrel with anyone, not commit the sin of death, and have a good reputation in the community and in neighboring villages. Women were not allowed at the well construction site, otherwise people believed that the spring would dry up or even the well would collapse. During the digging and building of the well, the women prepared dishes, set the table and then offered pomeni – buckets, towels, colaci, i.e. special gifts to the men who participated in this community activity

Maritime and Coastal Archaeology · Geology