A man was left in awe after spotting intriguing markings on an Ordnance Survey map from the 1850s and deciding to investigate their location.

Chris Gledhill, a self-proclaimed history buff, embarked on a journey to Oxfordshire in pursuit of two locations marked ‘Spring’ and ‘Physic Well’ that had piqued his interest. “I love looking at old maps,” he penned in a caption on TikTok, accompanying a video of his adventure.

“There is so much cool historical stuff marked on them that you can’t see on the modern Google/Apple Maps.” Chris ventured into the countryside, passing quaint thatched-roof cottages dating back to the 14th and 15th centuries. However, his medieval route would lead him to something far more ancient.

Chris chose to seek out ‘Physic Well’ first, explaining: “Physic in old English means medicine or healing… these are ancient Pagan holy sites usually about 2,000 years old and sometimes older. It’s hard to find them today, but they still showed them on the old maps.”

Venturing through woodland, Chris eventually stumbled upon the site – a natural pool of water encased by a manmade stone surround.

“You can see here on the ancient path that someone has made a kind of bathtub shape out of it,” Chris disclosed further. “The water would be fed through some kind of underground spring, so it would never dry up.”

After tossing in a penny as an “offering”, Chris proceeded to the ‘Spring’ site – one that he confessed left him feeling “blown away”. This time, he was greeted by a more intricate structure, but no less ancient. “I was expecting just to find another hole in the ground – not something as elaborate as this,” he admitted.

“This site is absolutely amazing… that bit at the back is the old well where the water would have bubbled out of,” Chris pointed out, indicating a small surface area within a large rocky enclosure. “On the right there are steps down into what would have been like a pool of spring water,” he added.

Chris was also taken aback by a stone on the surface that had been carved to create a basin-like shape with spouts appearing from the sides. “I’ve no idea what that was for,” he confessed. “It’s mostly dry today, but you can still see at the bottom it’s quite muddy and wet… I reckon after some rain the water will still bubble from the hole.”

Chris concluded by expressing his awe that for “more than 2,000 years, people had used those steps to head down to bathe in the holy waters of the spring, perhaps hoping for healing or fertility”.

In response, one TikTok user mused: “I wonder what it would take to get them up and running again.” To which historian Chris replied: “I think the water table has been messed with by the local farms tapping the springs for livestock and irrigation. Probably the farms would need to leave alone for a while for them to refill properly to medieval levels.”

Regarding the mysterious stone, meanwhile, one curious follower questioned Chris: “Could the rock be for washing clothes or something?” To which he responded: “My mind was thinking sacrificial stone but yup clothes washing is far more wholesome.”

Whilst a third fascinated observer remarked: “Wow that’s so interesting! If you cleared the dirt etc do you think the spring would run again?” Chris explained: “I think the underground water table is a lot lower that it once was, hence it was mostly dry when I visited. I think after prolonged heavy rains the water will well up.”