Edinburgh Royal Mile Witches’ Well (#0436)

Just on the edge of Edinburgh castle, at the start of the Royal Mile, the barely visible Witches’ Well fountain.

The well “commemorates the Scottish women who were accused of witchcraft and murdered between the 15th and 18th centuries” and is at the exact site where over 300 women were burned due to suspicion of being witches. Scotland has the honor of having executed the most women on charges of witchcraft.

The fountain was created in 1894 to acknowledge the inequities of that past. If you zoom in you’ll see engravings of two women’s heads, one looking calm, the other diabolical. As the plaque above the fountain describes: “The wicked head and serene head signify that some used their exceptional knowledge for evil purposes while others were misunderstood and wished their kind nothing but good.”

Sources:
1) www.royal-mile.com/history/witches-well.html
2) theculturetrip.com/europe/united-kingdom/scotland/articles/the-haunting-story-behind-the-witches-well-in-edinburgh

(Part of a documentation of 2018 exploration/reflection on Brexit and populist movements in Europe, keyword Europe2018)