Located in a school playing field, it has taken a mechanical digger to finally uncover it. Some exposed medieval stonework appears to be a catchment trough and part of a nearby priory may once have stood on the site. In fact, it is not actually known if what has been found is spa water or merely surface rainwater. Yet already there are organised visits to the site and the school has erected a sign inviting 'visitors and pilgrims' to call at the school office. We should not be surprised at such religious curiosity, nor even that some people are anxious to endow the waters with magical power.
Water has strong religious connotations throughout the world among many faiths.
After all, water is the basis of all physical life and civilisation. Despite the fascination it holds for us, however, no amount of water can cleanse the soul. This must be evident to any rational person. The good folk of Barnsley may have uncovered a long lost well, but to claim that its contents have mystical powers is superstition pure and simple. Recently, in India, the Hindu religious festival of Maha Kumbh Mela , or Great Pitcher Festival, attracted 70 million devotees to the banks of the River Ganges in what was said to be the largest human gathering in history.